April 16, 1994 - August 9, 2003
My dear
nephew, Matthew Lawrence Allen was an extremely intelligent young boy! He loved
to read and early in the summer of 2003 was proud to have read the latest Harry Potter novel, a
gift from me. He was also learning to play the piano. We also had in common our love of computers.....from the moment he
could maneuver a mouse he was hooked! He was to enter grade 4 in the
fall of 2003.
At the beginning of August he
watched intensely as I repaired the CD-Rom drive in his Mom's computer.
Finally he could play some of his games again!
Matthew
was the son of Lorraine and Kent and brother to Emma who has turned out to be a
very strong little girl. My sister Lorraine, and her husband Kent
operate a dairy farm on Keswick Ridge. Last summer Matthew took on the chore of
getting the cows in for the evening milking. Matthew's sister Emma loves to be
out around the barns as well, especially helping Dad with the young cattle and
playing with the many kittens! Thank you Emma for helping Mom and Dad
through this heartbreaking time!
On
Saturday Aug.9th Matthew had an exciting adventure that all too soon turned into
a terrible tragedy. On this day he was allowed to take his bike onto the
extremely busy Keswick Ridge Road all by himself for the very first time.
With a grin on his face he went to Grammie's house to share his good news and to
look for his Mom. He then left to go up the road to his own house.
Matthew
did not make it home but now is our little angel taking care of those left
behind. I think he would be amazed to know that hundreds of people came
out to pay their respects and say good-bye. The York Funeral Home told me it was
one of their largest visitations ever!
The picture below was taken late in July of 2003 by his Aunt Sharon out
at the Mactaquac Park Beaver Pond Walking trail. The picture at the top of the
page was taken by me on the afternoon of Aug. 7th. The family had gathered
together to celebrate early Matthew's Grampie Lawrence's 70th
birthday.
Matthew
will be forever loved and missed
by everyone who came in contact with this
remarkable little boy!
I
know my sister Lorraine, her husband Kent, their daughter Emma and Matthew's
extended family are extremely moved and thankful for the support
given them during this terrible ordeal. The barn chores were all
taken care of by area farmers and the community brought enough food to last for
weeks!
Below
is a collage of pictures put together for his funeral.
Click on the
picture for a full-sized view.