Evan cramer
Submitted by: Nicki Sarett
Born: 1984
Died: 2014
My Tribute: I miss you more than I can say. I want to hug you, to make it alright. I’m so sorry and so lonely. In my heart forever.
Nicholas Capriglione
Submitted by: Lily-his mom
Born: 1990
Died: 2012
My Tribute: Our son Nicholas was born on April 9, 1991, and Died on August 18, 2012 from an acute heroin overdose. Nicholas grew up in a very happy and loving home in suburbia New Jersey. From the time he could walk and talk, we played outside, went to parks, watched movies, ate at the best restaurants, played in the snow, vacationed down the Jersey shore, Disney in Florida, etc…etc…etc…..Life was as perfect for our family as one could ever have imagined. Nicholas was a good student, funny, charismatic, loving, handsome, athletic, and the list could go on forever about who he was. In his junior year his father and I noticed some off behavior and Nicholas became distant. We really thought and hoped it was just hormonal teenage years…..Senior year became worse and we spoke with Nicholas many times. He was insistent there wasn’t anything wrong, not doing drugs, and so forth. We came to find out after graduating High School that he had an addiction to oxycotin and roxycotin, honestly meds we had never even heard of. My husband and I had never touched a drug in our lives and were very ignorant with the world of drugs and drug addiction. Immediately we were scared to death for Nicholas and got him immediate help…During the next few years after High School was a struggle, to get him sober and stay sober. He did graduate hair school and double certified in hair and make-up, he had wanted to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and become a successful barbershop owner. He was highly talented and would easily give you the shirt off his back, he helped anyone he came in contact with and needed help. He had been an angel on earth in our eyes….Nicholas was so ashamed of his addiction and kept it hidden from anyone and everyone, until he realized he needed help. In October of 2011 we drove him 15 hours to Nashville, TN for inpatient rehabilitation, where he spent 3 months in an intensive men’s facility. He was so thrilled to have had the opportunity as he found himself, stayed sober, and was thrilled to have his life back….he was so sad to leave the sober facility but had to move on and decided to stay in Nashville, TN and moved into a sober living community. He really did GREAT, he was on 2 1st place softball teams, became a dairy manager at the Publix, was the host at his sober living community and sponsored 2 boys….Nicholas was clean a year and was set to come home September 3rd, 2012 for good and work with his grandfather. We got the call our son died of an overdose on August 18, 2012, the worst day of our lives…..How do we go on? How do we pick up the pieces….I really don’t know…we take it day by day, we pray, we try to make sense of it and we can’t…we miss and love nicholas so our very core…and I know so many are suffering the way our family is now….the picture I posted is my 21 year old beautiful son Nicholas, and his 12 year old brother who misses him every minute of each day!!!!
Sonya Hampton Wood
Submitted by: Chastity Elliott
Born: 1963
Died: 2013
My Tribute: My beautiful mother who struggled with some sort of addiction her entire adult life. She had about 10 good sober years, or at least without any hardcore drugs. She was diagnosed with Spinal Stenosis and prescribed pain killers which was a gateway back into everything she had worked so hard to get away from. In her final days it was snorting Oxycontin that caused her demise. She was my mother and I love her and miss her more than I could ever describe. Please, if you struggle with addiction know that you are worth fighting for!
Andy Flynn
Submitted by: Caroline Flynn (twin sister)
Born: 1967
Died: 2014
My Tribute: Andy will live in my heart forever. He was a man of much love and kindness. His tender soul was taken over by heroine, it masked his childhood trauma and in many ways kept him alive, but his mask took him. I want to believe there is a heaven for someone as beautiful as he, and I can only pray he is living the life he was denied as a child. May his wonderful soul rejoice in the freedom he so richly deserved.
This pain is overwhelming,, with so many regrets, I hated his addiction but never him. He was so kind and humble. I want him back, I wish him in my arms every day, but I know he is now free and I have to remain focused on that. He wasn’t just a heroine user, he was a proud man, that loved, that gave, that shared, that cared, that fought for his freedom… In man ways I am glad god has intervened and taken his tired wee soul.
I will live in his legacy of success and can only dream t be the man he was, he was forgiving, an amazing father, an amazing brother, friend, partner.
Andy you left an incredible memory to all those that new you…
May your soul be safe, warm and rested….I look forward to seeing you again my darling brother x x x
John “Peter” Clark
Submitted by: Wendy Morrissey
Born: 1977
Died: 2014
My Tribute: Gone to soon but never forgotten. I love you baby brother. I pray you are amongst the most beautiful of angels.
Kyle Edward Mercer
Submitted by: Michael E. Mercer
Born: 1993
Died: 2014
My Tribute: Our son Kyle was a truly loving soul. He lost his brother Ricky to Heroin 8 years ago when he was 12.
We will honor his love and always carry his smile and genuine personality, for the rest of our lives on the face of this Earth. Our prayers go out to all Mom’s and Dad’s, Brother’s, Sister’s, Children and Family and Friends who have lost a wonderful person in their lives because of this terrible disease. Rest in Peace son!
We love and honor your memories, each and every moment of each and every day! God Bless.
Michele Yeo Venezia
Submitted by: Tiffany Roy
Born: 1985
Died: 2014
My Tribute: This is the story of my Michele. In life, there are two types of relationships. Some relationships are a result of an active choice, you seek that person out and choose to spend your time with them because you enjoy them. These are friendships. Then there are those relationships that life chooses for you. You were destined by forces unknown to live life together. This is family. Michele was my family. I remember Michele in my life as far back as my memories go. She was a combination of the oldest child in her family of 4 (the family of my father’s best friend) and the youngest child in mine (I had 2 younger sisters-we were born 82,83,84 and Michele came in January of 85). She was an outgoing brat. Always around, always picking a fight, refusing to be ignored. We once fought so much in the car on the Fourth of July on our way home from a fireworks display that we made her mother cry. Her mother CRIED we bickered so much. Like sisters. We grew up in middle class families. Our dad’s liked to fish, so we fished together. We all played softball. It was a wonderful childhood and I loved Michele long before I ever had a choice in the matter. She was family.
With age, Michele grew more and more beautiful. It was impossible not to be aware of her presence, her smile would light up any room. She had a loud, booming laugh. I think this will be the thing I remember most vividly about her, her laugh. With high school came boys and parties. She was just a fun person to be around, and as we aged, we stopped bickering and became more like real sisters. We stood shoulder to shoulder in fist fights, friends of hers became friends of mine. I went on to college and Michele and my two sisters stayed in high school. Life progressed and the party eventually stopped, but not for Michele. She was young and beautiful, and her party continued on until it was clear her party was a problem. And her problem continued on until it was clear she was no longer my Michele.
Sometimes I would see the side of her that most resembled my Michele. These glimpses of my old Michele became fewer and father between. The rest of the time she was someone unfamiliar, wasn’t funny, seemed aloof. It got so I spent most of our time trying to figure out if she was high or not, she didn’t seem interested in me, always distracted. It was these glimpses of my old Michele that kept me coming around, hoping things would get better, hoping I could reach her. She married a wonderful man who loved her, they had a daughter. I thought this would be the change she needed, surely the strength of a mother’s love would be stronger than this drug. But even that wasn’t enough. I watched her family struggle, I watched her husband and his family struggle and I struggled myself. I struggled not to enable her, I struggled to make her see. So many loved ones fought so hard for so long. We wanted to believe she could be trusted, she wanted to be better. My old Michele was slipping away, and I was desperate to have her back. This new Michele used my love for my old Michele against me. She would tell me she didn’t want to be like that anymore, and she would mean it. But she would always go back and I resigned myself to the fact that she was gone long before today. But this did not lessen the pain of her loss, and it did not stop the rush of memories of my old Michele and our happy times.
In contemplating other devastating losses I have encountered, I have come to put these losses in two categories. On one hand, I have experienced losses that I mourn mostly for myself. These might be grandparents or loved ones who have lived long and fruitful lives, living to a ripe old age. These people have celebrated many birthdays and weddings and milestones. I am sad as a result of my selfish need to have that person in my life because I’ll miss them, and my life will not be the same without them. In looking at long, full lives, it’s hard to feel sad. Then there are times when I mourn for the lost. These are young lives cut short, those with so much life to live and experience. Here I mourn what could have been, what should have been and the unfairness of that tragedy. Today I find myself in a new state of grief, in a class all her own. For her young, beautiful daughter who I pray will remember her mother, and so many loving family and friends for whom 29 years were simply not enough, I am sad because I’ll miss her and I am sad for all she’s missing, my Michele.
Jeff Cullen
Submitted by: Gary Cullen
Born: 1981
Died: 2008
My Tribute: Jeff died from an overdose after a long struggle with substance abuse. He died from a disease and will always be remembered for the loving person he really was.
Andrew Moe
Submitted by: Frances Herbert
Born: 1983
Died: 2012
My Tribute: My little brother was a wonderful, kind man who would have given someone the shirt off his back. He had struggled with drugs since he was in middle school. Our childhood was filled with abuse, neglect and drug use. He first started on marijuana and alcohol then on to meth. He was in and out of rehab centers and jail for the last 12 years of his life. He overdosed alone on October 16th 2012 after being clean for a few weeks. He was working at a church and attending his NA meetings, trying to find hope. He was left alone for the weekend and was supposed to be hanging out with his sponsors. He only met his only nephew once.
Andrew Todd Moe would have been 25 years old today.
Now all the pain and struggles are gone, hopefully your life in the everafter his filled with strength and peace.
Bergen Dyer Fernwalt
Submitted by: Bonnie Scott
Born: 1983
Died: 2012
My Tribute: Bergen lost his fight with addiction at the age of 29. He was the funniest, sweetest pain in the butt I ever knew. I will miss my only child every day of my life. “Tell me a story about Daddy” are common words in my house now. I love you, Bergen. Mom
