I will miss that big smile. I enjoyed the times we did get to spend together, especially the family fishing trip in Chelan, Washington.  You will be missed. I wish we could have spent more time together. 

Roan McClain – Who am I  (Finished a few weeks before his death)

I live, I listen, I am.  
A’int no one can ham like I can.  Ya think that might make me happy man – but nah. 
Every day life is sullen, Pulling at me.  
I feel like I’m crazy, Every other week things get a little more hazy.  
Death Aint fazen me.  Instead I see it as a release.  I don’t wish for peace.  I just want to see my homies at least. 
Thoughts bounce around in my head.  Makin me wish I was dead.  Maybe I should take my meds.  
Fuck That! 
The individual is gone, people care more about their lawn than their brother Shawn. Everyone becomes pawns.  Caught up in our lives.   Up until the break of dawn.
Who we think we are is useless, just wana be used less.  Maybe I’ll just make a mess, get ready to say goodbye, things will all be right in time. 
Onto my next line, my next plane ride, high up in the air, you can only ask yourself  “is it fair?”
Nah, That’s just how it is.


although i never really talked to roan at slarts, finding out about his passing was upsetting. i remember thinking that he was hella smart and funny. he was always so nice to everyone no matter who it was, even to me. rest in paradise 

The day I met Roan was the first day of fifth grade at Slarts and I was so nervous. He immediately smiled at me and made all of my nerves disappear. From that moment on, I can't remember a time he wasn't making someone laugh or smile. I miss singing "I am the walrus" and playing kickball with him. I regret not getting to know him better, more than he'll ever know. Thank you, Roan, for always being such a genuine and funny person, you will be greatly missed. 

I met roan at slarts when I was brand new, I was put in a photography class with roan and he was immediately so nice. We made so many memories with our friends leigh, Ethan, Kin, Desi and everyone else in that class. Me and roan didn’t get super close till after he left slarts, but we talked everyday once we we actually became close friends. He was always there and there was never a time he didn’t try to help anyway he could. He never had any motive to be my friend he just was. Roan was a very important person in my life, and I’d never change anything that ever happened with us. I love you roan. 

The first time I met Roan was the first a day of the school year.  I walked in and he just seemed like the guy to talk to so I did. He got me into a lot of music that I had never thought I would listen to, he also was the one person to take time out of his day to teach me how my camera worked. He was always the Guy  I could talk to and he always told it how it was. We were happy to find out that we share the same birthday. He was a true inspiration and helped me when I was going through stuff.  Rest in peace Roan
 You will be greatly missed!

I will always remember the first time I meet Roan..He was under his dining room table looking shy but interested, he peeked out with the most beautiful liquid brow eyes and my heart skipped a beat. He was interviewing me for the job of his babysitter. I had the great joy of being a part of his life when he was just a wee lad..he always seemed  much older though. my husband and I would  reflect that he was a real renaissance toddler !  I am so grateful for the precious time I had with you Roan McClain, I do not know why you could not stay, I will try to honor your memory by being  loving  and empathetic to all living souls around me as your heart would remind me.

I came into Roan’s life at the early age of 6 and later became his step father in the fall of 2013.  From the beginning he accepted me and my children Kammie and Christian into his life without hesitation.  He was excited to have a big sister and big brother to tease and play with when they visited from Boise, ID.   Over the years as a family we valued making memories with the kids so they could experience life as much as possible before moving on into their own lives separate from the family.  For several years during spring break we would go somewhere new with the family.  On these trips I would Charter a fishing  boat and take the boys fishing which created some of my fondest memories of Roan.  Although he would get sea sick most times he always looked forward to going.  As an avid hunter as well I was lucky enough to take him along on a wild boar hunt in Kona Hawaii. He had always wanted to go hunting with me and Christian so I’m glad that we shared that experience last year on our annual spring break trip.   These memories of our time together will be cherished forever and I hope that everyone Roan touched continue to cherish their memories forever. Roan was a special individual unique in his own way that touched many lives in his short time with us.  I will miss the opportunity to watch him grow into a young man and then an adult.  The one lesson learned here would be never stop talking and sharing with family and friends.  I hope and wish that this tragedy opens the eyes of everyone here to the very real problem our society has with teen suicide. Everyone needs to be more aware of how big this problem is and help those around you that may be in need.  
Rest In Peace and Harmony Roan we love you!!

Hey dude...it’s Thatcher. This may be stupid but I mean whatever. I miss you, you were and always will be one of my best friends. You made me laugh all the time and I loved how we could argue about Liverpool and Arsenal and make funny jokes. Bro! Remember our cactus restaurant project for mrs Travis? Haha that was so funny! Dude I really miss you....I know we didn’t talk a whole lot sense Slarts but I love you and always will. Rest easy Roan ❤️- thatcher(aka thatch man) 

Roan in our math class on our bday =”:(. 

Forever in our hearts 

LLr I love you so much and Ill never forget you ,this hurt me to the bottom of my heart .And to the parents Im so sorry for your loss he was truly special to many.And I know this is weird but if you need anything please text me at 8013005525

Roan, you are greatly missed at school. Throughout middle school and high school, you wore that smile, and it was infectious. My brother and I are thinking about you. 

I am Roan’s manager at his job Rubios. I hired him a few months ago and from the moment I interviewed him I knew he was an amazing kid. I could see he possessed a great spirit about him. He has a great attitude and several guests consistently complemented how well he made them feel. Roan was in the process of being promoted at work with us as he was excelling in such a short amount of time. We are a small family at Rubios in Sugarhouse and we will miss his kind words, positive attitude, great work ethic and bright smile. 

I liked to call Roan my "little nephew." I only knew him for a couple years, but in that time he became like a little brother to me. My favorite thing about him was how he could lighten up any situation, and bring everyones spirts up that he was around. The memory that stands out the most for me is when he came over to my house last summer and we went outside, played around like little kids again, chasing each other with sticks and playing on the swing set. Then we laid out under the stars in the grass for about in hour, the first half talking about how incredible the universe is and then the second half mostly in silence, occasionally pointing out something interesting we saw in the sky. It was one of the most perfect, peaceful moments ever. I'll miss him with all my heart.  

I didn’t know Roan well, but from the summer that I spent with him at YTU as Teen Aides, I can say that he was an extremely kind person with an infectious smile. He possessed one of the most commendable qualities, in my opinion, which is the ability to be close with children. It takes a very special person to make a child feel calm, capable, and important, and Roan did it effortlessly and brilliantly. It was rare to see him without a posse of Green Company kids trailing around him or behind him, laughing and chatting like he was their life long friend. I have always been so impressed by Roan, specifically because he helped children to follow their dreams. 

I think that everyone who knew or met him can firmly say that Roan was one of the kindest and most wonderful human beings to grace this earth. He was funny and vivacious and full of life and always put a smile on my face. I remember the first time I met him on the first day of stage combat at YTU a few years ago. “Hi! What’s your name?” “Hi! I’m Roan!” “Rowan?” “Haha, no Roan” “Oh Roan. Sorry!” “Don’t worry about it. Happens all the time!”, and then he just smiled and kind of giggled. Even then, having just met him, I suddenly felt all of this warm and good hearted energy. And that’s who Roan was, a constant source of warm energy. I am so grateful to have known him. 

Roan and I both went to Salt Lake Arts Academy. For the 4 years we were there we didn’t talk much in school and as far as I can remember we didn’t have any classes together. However, we both took the after school skiing classes and we would talk on the bus sometimes. It wasn’t until the summer of 2017 that I really became friends with the goofball! We were teen-aids (teachers aids) at a summer camp called YTU  and we had all the same classes. We would hang out a lot after camp and talk, joke, and laugh. He always had a way of spreading his good mood especially with our group of friends. We called ourselves The Movie Squad because we all went to see Cars 3 at a drive-in theater. Then we saw the same movie again at a Cinamark; regardless we called ourselves The Movie Squad. Roan looked at the world with a childlike view - in that he could make a lot of things exciting - he was like a brother to a lot of people which is why we called him Lil Broan. I’ll never forget the good memories I shared with Roan.

Roan and I had math together all four years at the Salt Lake Arts Academy. In 7th and 8th grade our assigned seats were next to eachother so many times. He was always such a goof that both Mrs Simms and Mr Armstrong had to put him at an all girl table in order to keep him from being funny and off task during class. It didn’t work :). In 5th and 6th grade Mr Armstrong even tried putting him at his own table to try to keep him from distracting others, yet his humor still reached all of the tables and his jokes would make us laugh throughout the whole class. He would always make fun of me because I would say Oh My Goodness, we would laugh about it for all of math class and Mrs Simms would yell at us. He was the best elbow buddy I ever had. For our Quarter Projects one term in math, he and Kin made a PowerPoint on how to pick locks. This made the whole class go wild! Everyone was laughing so hard! Especially when others tried to pick the lock, and only Kin and Roan could do it. He made math the funnest class I ever took at the Arts Academy. He was in my RISK group in 7th grade. One day we were going to see a play at kingsbury hall with our class. Most of the kids didn’t show up, but in our group there were 7 who did. Roan and I were two of them. Since there were only a few kids, Mrs Revenaugh piled us into her car, I was lucky and scored the passenger seat. I looked back and Roan was sitting in the middle of the seat surrounded by 5 other girls. He pretended to hate it but we all had so much fun and he really enjoyed it! We stopped at coffee garden and all got hot cocoa! It was the best field trip at the arts Academy and Roan was the one who made it so fun and funny. The Arts Academy is a family and Roan was so friendly and funny that everyone who went there connected with him. He will forever be missed and loved by all members of this community. He made the Salt Lake Arts Academy what it is today and no one will ever forget him. We love you Roan. 

Roan was one of my first friends at Salt Lake Arts Academy. He always made me feel so safe and so welcome. Whenever anyone needed someone he never failed to be there for them. I’m not one for social situations but he always made sure I felt included. He had such a great sense of humor and could make everyone around him laugh for hours. He was so creative and so smart. He had such a genuinely kind heart and wanted to do good for this world. When we took our trip to the Tetons in 8th grade he was always the one making everyone happy. I’m going to miss you Roan thank you for everything you’ve done for our slarts family. 

Michelle and family,

Our hearts are broken for you. Though we didn't know Roan well, we got a sense of how exceptional he was during our brief interactions. When we would see him in the neighborhood he was always so friendly and polite -- I'm sure as parents you were so proud of him. Please know, we are here for you. And you're in our thoughts of and prayers. 

The Marsco Family (Teresa, Stefan, and Lila)

Roan and I met last summer and quickly became close friends. Many of my best memories from then were when I was spending time with him.  Ill miss him and his persistent achieving attitude.  I hope that he rests peacefully.

I met Roan at YTU in 2017, and I can speak for everyone who met him that year in Green Company, he made our group Special. I remember we used to fight over who got a seat on the couch in our room, and any time I stole Roan's seat he'd pick me up and lift me off the couch with his incredible strength, even though he wasn't much bigger than me. I remember laughing with him and sharing personal moments that I look back on now, wishing that I had the chance to spend more time with him. I remember Roan being a passionate actor in our play that year, which now to me seems all too realistic and scary. He was a fantastic friend and a fantastic toothpick-thrower. I saw Roan on a public bus a couple months back and remember smiling at him and asking him how school was, I wish now that I could have said more to him than a few tidbits of small talk and a smile, I'll miss you Roan.

Our hearts are so heavy with the loss of this bright human. Roan and Lucius met at age 2 at the JCC preschool and were fast friends. Though we have lost touch through the years, Roan’s sweet face will always be in my memory. Much love to you, Michelle.

At slarts Roan and I we're constantly with one another. In 5th grade we had every single class together and we did nearly everything with each other. And we remained great friends up until 8th grade when i left on a sabbatical trip to france. During that year we would talk a couple times a month, but when i got back we only hung out for a brief period and we stopped talking when highschool started. Later into freshman year he snapped me asking me what i was doing and we hung out and had a good time. We reconnected. Since then we've been periodically catching up with each other. I am so glad I knew Roan. And it makes me really sad to see him go. I'll miss him a lot.

I remember Roan to be very nice and incredibly funny, he would always make me laugh. He was someone I could always rely on to make the bad days good and the good days better.

Roan and I met last spring at the park by our houses. We didn’t hang out that often at first but he became one of my best friends and I miss him so much. He gave me some of the best experiences of my life and it’s gonna be harder now without him. I love you man. I hope you found your way to somewhere peaceful

Roan and I became friends in middle school at the Salt Lake Arts Academy. We didn't know before we met there that we had actually lived only a block or two away from each other. Roan and I became closer and better friends towards the middle of seventh grade when my sister and I started taking the bus home. The three of us and my friend Anna all took the same bus and rode it every day. In the summer time we made it a habit of meeting up and just biking around Sugar House all afternoon. Those days we spent just hanging out talking about nothing in particular were some of the happiest of my time at Slarts. I remember you would always tease me about wearing a helmet and try and scare me by biking into me. At the time it was irritating but I look back on it now with a feeling of laughter and joy. I regret so much losing contact with you once we went to different schools. You always made me laugh and I loved that about you. You were honestly one in a million. I'll miss you so much and I hope you can rest easy now. 

Roan will always be in my heart. I have so many memories of him. I am so sad to hear of his passing and will be forever grateful I was able to be in his life. I will never forget walking into Michelle's house for a family gathering or holiday party and little Roan would sneak up and shoot uncle Chris, Papa , Missy and Dylan with Nerf bullets and run, next thing you know there are Nerf bullets everywhere and Roan and Dylan running all over the house. Roan was such a prankster and loved to tease everyone. He was a great travel buddy and I have always been amazed at how smart and witty he was. Roan loved to tease his Papa and his mom. I have so many memories it's hard to pick my favorite, I have to say snorkeling in St Thomas, Roan showed me so many things in the ocean and then asked if he could hold on too my shoulder for a minute and dunked me in the ocean. I will never forget how many fishing trips he took with the guys even though he had sea sickness every time. I will miss you Roan. Sending my love to all of you

Roan spent a lot of time at our house hanging out with my son Ryan. He always had a smile for me and Ryan called him “his little nephew.” They were close and I know Ryan is going to miss his friend so much. Love and peace to Roan’s family, we will miss the light of his smile.

Roan and I were great friends throughout most of middle school. We would play magic the gathering every lunch. He was way better than me and would usually beat me. He never failed to make me laugh. We hung out once on the 4th of July and we snuck onto a golf course and threw firecrackers and smoke bombs at each other. By the end the golf course had brightly colored smoke everywhere. Another memory I have is when he showed me Overwatch and I immediately bought it for 60$ the next day. Next sleepover at my house, we pulled an all-nighter and played it from 7:00 pm until 7:00 am. We watched the sunrise together. I regret ever losing contact with Roan and I wish we never stopped being friends. Rest easy Roan.

Roan was the silliest dude i have ever met.  He definitely changed my life for the better. I will never forget meeting him at spa and him being one of the first friends i ever made. He was so kind and accepting and was such a true person. He always knew how to have fun. I will always be thankful for the memories. 


Our son Eli and Roan share many mutual friends.  Roan is a year younger than Eli. Eli told us he met Roan last year at Highland. Roan sat by Eli and their group of friends.  Eli told me how smart Roan was. 

A few weeks ago my husband and I walked into the Sugarhouse Rubios to grab something to eat while we waited for Eli. The restaurant was virtually empty. A very nice young man took our order.  I remember joking around with him because my husband kept changing his mind. Roan did not roll his eyes at my husband's wishy-washy-ness. Instead, he was very patient, kind and suggested some options. A few minutes later, Eli walked in and walked over to our table. He did not see Roan. As he sat there, he told us that Roan just texted him. Eli told us his friend was working at the counter and immediately popped up and went and visited with him. I remember thinking, "what a thoughtful kid." As we left, we all walked over to the counter and visited with Roan. I only wish I had paid more attention to that moment. 

When Eli received the news this week that Roan had past he said, "Mom, I saw Roan at school on Monday and gave him a hug." 

We want you to know that Roan touched many lives. Eli did not know him as well as others. Nevertheless, Roan impacted Eli's life and Eli definitely considered Roan a friend. We are all very sorry for your loss. 

Roan was a friend, and one of my first crushes. It was mutual. Outside school, we hung out at his house with friends, went to the Salt Lake Arts Festival, and to the park. Roan could be a joker. I remember having a good laugh when he dumped a huge bottle of water on me at the Salt Lake Arts Festival. Under the jokes, he was kind and accepting. The back brace I was stuck wearing for a year of middle school was seemingly invisible to Roan. He was my friend, and I will miss him so much. 

I didn't know Roan very well, but he was always nice, and really funny. I had science with him in eighth grade and he would always be making everyone, including the teacher, laugh. We used to call him "Ern Mcclern" as a nickname. He was a good kid.

I sat next to Roan in math for a while and I remember that whenever I sat at a table with him, I got dramatically less work done. Sometimes he would doodle on the top of my paper. He was one of the best people to joke with.

one time when roan and i were hanging out we decided to walk to the park. on that walk i got stung by a bee. (right underneath my toe, too) I started panicking and roan just told me to sit down, he took off my sandle and pulled the stinger out of my toe. I started crying and i was trying to hide my face and wipe my tears away really quickly. But he told me it’s okay to cry when something hurts. 

Michelle,
I am so heartbroken for you and for your family. Thinking of you and your beautiful, intelligent, sensitive Roan. The photo was taken 1/1/14. Roan spent about an hour reading to Audrey and was so patient and kind with her. I am  so sorry for your loss. 

Cherie talked a bit about this day already. We were standing on a wall waving at cars passing by. After a while we stopped and sat down and talked. A few minutes passed by and a woman walked up to us and asked us if we were the kids waving at the cars.  I stood up and said yes and she passed me this card. I remember she walked away and i turned back to my friends sitting down and read the card aloud. Each persons face lit up and we all  smiled together knowing that we made someone else smile too. 

When I first met Roan I was so taken by how smart he was for such a young little man. I loved his laugh and big smile. We will definately have a big hole missing when we have family get togethers. 


Roan and I participated in "Trips for Kids" each Friday after school. He had a blast and I really enjoyed the outdoors with him. We participated in these bike rides during his 5th and 6th grades. His wicked sense of humor and perspective on life made me laugh... always.

My heart hurt the day we heard the news. It still hurts.

There is a park with a big wall across the street from my house. We used to go climb up on it and wave to the cars driving past us. We would only go up at a certain time of the day I called memory weather, because it’s the time when I felt the best memories were made. In the middle of the sunset, while it was warm and windy and perfect. One day, when he and a few of our other friends came over, we decided to go to the wall. We were waving for a while and then sat down and just talked. We saw someone walking over to us. Apparently, one of the people driving past, saw us, and pulled over. She said that our positivity made her day, and gave us a little card that said “pay it forward” and said that we should give it to anyone who we saw spreading joy the way we were. 

It’s impossible to express the grief I feel and cannot imagine yours. I love Roan like a son and you as my sister.  He will live in our hearts forever. He will always be remembered for his sense of adventure, his big bright eyes and beautiful smile. I know he was meant for big things in this world. May we all live our passion in his honor.

OBITUARY

Roan William McClain

October 26, 2002 – January 30, 2019

Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary

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