Kirk & Jenny Hess buried their son Russell today. Kirk is the oldest son of Kyle and Karen Hess. He is one year older than Adam and is a new Bishop in the Santa Margarita Stake. When Kirk was nine years old, his father died in a scuba diving accident at Catalina Island. I was hired by Williams Insulation Company to replace Kyle and that is what brought us to our Lake Forest home. Kyle was also my brother John's brother in law as they both married sisters. Kirk's mother was pregnant with her fifth child when Kyle died, and raised her five children by herself, never remarrying.
Kirk married a great young woman and they had five children, a daughter and four sons. Russell was his third son and would have been 5 years old this month. The entire Hess family had gathered in Utah for one of those rare occasions when they were all together. They stayed at a family cabin and had a wonderful Christmas. They then went to Provo and stayed with a relative for New Years and went sleigh riding on New Years Day. Kirk and Russell came down the hill on a sled and at the end of the run Kirk had to steer the sled off the run to avoid hitting another child. The sled hit a tree and even though Kirk tried to protect Russell, he slipped out of Kirks hands and his head hit the tree, causing severe brain damage. Priesthood blessings were performed and he was rushed to the hospital, but did not regain conciousness. They buried him in his Power Rangers costume.
There is a song I listen to on the radio. It is about a man who lived to be a hundred and he was asked what advice he would give people about how to live their lives. His answer: "Don't Blink". By this he meant that life passes by so quickly that we shouldn't even blink because we will miss something important. After hearing about today's events with the Hess family, I think it is also a warning to not blink when it comes to protecting our children. They are so very precious and we have to do all that we can to keep them out of harm's way. Nancy and I pray for each of our children and our grandchildren on a daily basis. We pray that they will be safe and have joy in their lives and that they will make proper decisions. I remember a statement that I heard years ago. The message was that sending our children off to school or play without a daily prayer is like sending them out into a blizzard without a coat.
I pray that no one in our family has to experience what the Hess family did today. Give your children two extra hugs today. One for you and one for Nancy and I.
7 years ago
1 comment:
We didn't hear about this soon enough to figure out that the funeral was Monday. We finally got hold of Pat after the funeral and went over to Karen Hess's in the late afternoon. It was good to see Dusty, her cute little boy, Tyler, Pat and her fiance, John Houston. The family is sad, but as is the case with good families, they have had an enormous outpouring of love and help and are seeing miracles in the middle of their grief. They are on the prayer roll. It will be hard to get through the day to day stuff without their little one.
Post a Comment