Sean Alexander Sobel

Sean Alexander Sobel age 17, of Prescott, Arizona passed away Wednesday, December 8, 2010 after having lived with muscular dystrophy, since the age of 6. Sean was born January 7, 1993 in Phoenix, Arizona. He lived in Phoenix and Prescott. He attended Prescott High School. Sean loved to play his guitar and will always be remembered for his courage, strength, and sense of humor.

He was a very spiritual little boy and full of love. This was demonstrated by the time, he and his father were at one of his therapy sessions. The both of them were playing Hangman. The therapist asked his dad to leave the room while Sean was to come up with one word for his dad to guess. The therapist called his dad back into the room, in which Sean was to give only one clue for his father to guess his word. That clue was “it’s in your body”. His father came up with “a heart, a liver”, but those were not the right answers. Finally, his father asked what was the word, and Sean told him “Soul”.

Another instance that demonstrates his kindness and care for others is remembered by his mother who recalls, “Sean and I (mom) were walking together in downtown Prescott in the square. Sean had said to me “look mom”, and I turned my head to see what he was looking at, and I noticed a homeless man who was sitting in the gutter of the street. I was very saddened to see this, and Sean said immediately “this is where he lives, I know him”. I then proceeded to pull out a five dollar bill from my wallet and gave it to Sean and said, “mijo, please give this to him.” As he rode his wheelchair towards him, I wandered off a little to look at the courthouse while he was with the elderly man. After a couple of minutes I turned to see where he was and all of a sudden he comes towards me with this cowboy hat on. I said “where did you get that hat”?! He then said as he was grinning, “My friend gave it to me for the 5 dollars”. I smiled, hugged him and held him tight, then we walked around some more. My son always had the biggest heart I have ever known. What a beautiful soul he had and I will never forget it.”

Sean is survived by his mother, Christina Voight; his father and step-mother Christopher and Lela Sobel; 2 sisters, Arielle, age 14 and Cheyenne, age 4, and a brother, Bradley age 14; Grandparents, Gracie and Joseph Aquino, Jeanniene Sergio and Thomas Sapien; and his dog Cody.

His life is celebrated at a Memorial Service Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 7:00 p.m., at Chapel of the Chimes Mortuary, 7924 N. 59th Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85301. Memorial Contributions may be made in Sean's name by visiting the MDA website.