School mates honor Brenden Foster
Death is no light matter at any age, but the boy, who had been battling leukemia, had no time for self-pity.
"It happens. It's natural," he said. "I had a great time. And until my time comes, I'm going to keep having a great time."
Brenden just had one dying wish: feed the homeless.
"They're probably starving, so give'em a chance," he said, "food and water."
Brenden died last December. He would've graduated from sixth grade this month. And his classmates at Martha Lake Elementary School in Lynnwood wanted to make sure his message would live on.
To honor the selfless boy, the school engraved Brenden's name and a special message on a memorial brink that will stay at the school for good.
"He's being remembered, and all of his friends and family still love him,' said a classmate.
To mother Wendy Foster, the memorial couldn't be more appropriate.
"Brenden loved education. He loved this school," she said. "And if he can help any one of his friends in there remember to follow their dreams, then I know he's looking down on us with a huge smile."
Wendy always knew she had a special son. And on Tuesday, she saw that others thought so, too.
"It's absolutely amazing that they would go out of their way to make presentation like this," she said.
Brenden's last wish takes on life of its own
Brenden Foster was a boy of few words. But when he spoke, hundreds listened.
Touched by a young boy with an old soul, kind hearts answered Brenden's urgings to feed the homeless and took part in KOMO's Stuff the Truck food drive in Brenden's honor last November.
The beloved boy also inspired a cancer patient in Snohomish to give to the needy.
Youth minister Bruce Karr was close to canceling the Christmas party he hosts each year for hundreds of homeless children, and for good reason.
"Nobody knew if I'd still be alive," he said.
But when he heard about Brenden's story, he regained his strength.
"I'll never forget that how I thought I was tough compassionate and he made me look so wimpy," said Karr.
And there are other stories. Brenden's last wish took on a life of its own.
Volunteers from Emerald City Lights Bike Ride passed out some 200 sandwiches to the homeless in Seattle on Brenden's behalf.
A TV station in Los Angeles held a food drive. School kids in Ohio collected cans. People in Pensacola, Florida gathered goods.
The B-Man, as his family called him, had one more wish before going: sprinkle wildflower seeds to save the bees. He had heard bees were in trouble.
Someone answered B-Man's wish. A retired pilot asked his pilot and flight attendant friends to sprinkle wild flowers around the world, from Bali to Brazil, on Brenden's behalf.
When asked what made him sad, Brenden said, "When someone gives up."
Brenden Foster never gave up. Even as he clung to his last hours of life, Brenden kept giving.
"Follow your dreams. Don't let anything stop you," he said.
For previous stories on Brenden Foster, click here.
