A week ago, I traveled to the Atlanta area to help a friend and his family say goodbye to their oldest son/brother. As I previously wrote here, Tyler Copley was the 19 year old son of college friend’s Todd and Connie. Tyler’s Caring Bridge site guestbook is here and I have heard he’s gotten more than 330,000 hits on this site over the years. I can well believe that given the posts and the response at his funeral. Today, the Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper published the third article in a series about the Tyler Copley story here and the three articles have been beautifully written by Bill Sanders and photographed by Pouya Dianat. The Copley’s have welcomed them into their lives like family.
Tyler’s message to all who knew him and those that followed his story online was also how he lived his life:
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Enjoy every precious moment on this earth, spend time with family and friends
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Never, ever give up no matter what you face, even in the face of a brutal disease,
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Have faith in God
One of the Pastors’s made a comment that really caught my attention. He said Tyler has shed his broken earth suit and now wears a new suit that he can spend all time in. He also said that Christians have the ability to both mourn the passing of a beloved family member or friend while also happily remembering their life and spirit. I couldn’t agree more. Tyler spent 7 years confronted with the big “C” and served as an inspiration to countless thousands.
He lived life and he loved life and he’s missed but will continue to serve as an inspiration to me and many more around the world.