Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Casey Edward Labbe


My step-nephew. He was 21. He loved my daughter...I remember vividly, when my stepfather died (Casey's pepere (grandfather), Casey let Hannah, at 13 months old, crawl all over him. He let her bounce on his belly and played with her. He was 16 at the time. How many 16 year olds do that?


He was heart-broken when his Pepere died. Casey had spent many weekends with Pepere and Meemee (as he called my mom, his step-grandmother). He loved being there; he loved his family. He had a troubled life, going back and forth from his mother's home in AZ back to ME with his dad.

I remember one Christmas (1995, I'm thinking), where Casey so wanted a CD player, but wasn't getting one (due to his step-mom (at the time) not wanting him to have one because he wasn't "responsible" enough"). I went out and bought him one, along with a few CD's. He was THRILLED. I remember my mom sent me pictures of him opening this gift...he was just AWED. His expression was fantastic!

He was such a great kid. His life was cut short. I am thankful that he did not suffer. The reports state that both he and his best friend (they were 4 days apart), who was driving, were killed instantly; neither suffered a prolonged agony. Casey was going into the Marine Corps in a few weeks. A tradition in the Labbe family. Following in dad's and Pepere's footsteps. Because both served, and Casey wanted to make his Pepere proud. Casey's going to be cremated and buried with his Pepere.

When I think of Casey up in Heaven (for I know he's there), I think of this song:



Lyrics:

I Can Only Imagine lyrics

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side

I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

[Chorus:]
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine

[Chorus]

I can only imagine [x2]

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever, forever worship you

Casey - we'll miss you here...but we'll see you THERE.

Casey's Accident


Casey's Obituary

10 comments:

rennratt said...

I am so sorry for you loss.

I am, however, glad that neither child suffered.

Your family is in my thoughts and prayers.

Anonymous said...

You are in my prayers. What a beautiful tribute you wrote. Thank you for sharing a small bit of the life of this young man who seemed to have the entire future in front of him.

Bobkat said...

Oh Linda. I am so sorry. I know exactly how a sudden loss like this feels and I offer my heartfelt sympathy. It is so hard to make sense of a tragic accident like this one and the one involving my niece. I can tell you though that the loss gets easier to bear.

He sounds like he was a wonderful person and I am sure he will be badly missed. Hugs to you from across the ocean.

Unique Designs from Zazzle said...

poignant

my deepest sympathies for your loss of a special person

berrypatch said...

Linda,
What a wonderful tribute to your step-nephew. I love that song - it gets to me every single time I hear it but it's absolutely so true for anyone who gets to heaven before we do.

~Lisa

Heather said...

That was a wonderful tribute. I am so sorry for your sudden loss. We'll keep you and your family in our thoughts and prayers.

Bobkat said...

Just popping by to let you know that you and your family remain in my thoughts.

Nestor Family said...

Prayers to you and family...

I just happened upon your blog today after clicking your name from Carmi's blog (writtenInc.) I saw that you are a fellow scrapbooker and stamper and then read the post about your step-nephew. I just could not NOT leave a comment and let you know that God will be of comfort. He's always there.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Linda, my dear..Just kind of catching up with you and want to say I am soooo very sorry about your nephew---well, step nephew...So painful to lose someone that suddenly and so very very young....My heart goes out to you.

Your comment today was so very sweet. I love your daughter saying a "Wish Flower", that is so incredibly dear and I think she is right.

Unknown said...

Well, I know you have No idea who I am. But I was a friend of Casey's when he lived here in AZ. You might have even heard of me, Mourissa. Well I worked with him at Del Taco for the couple of months he worked there. And I would like to tell you how sorry I am to hear about any of this. Since he moved back to maine, we kind of lost touch. But I still messaged him and stuff. Anyways, I have some pictures of him and all of us when we went to the grand canyon and just alot of random ones. Heck, I even have one of him wearing one of my Bras. =0) If you want me to scan them and send them to you, or anyone else in the family, I will be more than happy to. Once again, Im sorry.

Mourissa, Mesa, AZ