Brent Bowden

My dearest Brent, I am having a very tough day without you!!! It's my birthday and it just doesn't seem right that you are not here to celebrate with me. You always tried to make my birthday special and I want you to know that it meant more to me then you will ever realize. I could not have asked for a better son~you were always so very special our angel on earth.
I am having a hard time trying to get through any of the holidays without you. I know that you are here with me in spirit and I can feel you are staying close to me. Thank you for sending me signs cause I really needed that.
I love you with all my heart Brent and miss you every second of the day.

Mom
XOXOXO

Birthdays Remembered  
Remembering your birthdays Brent / Mom♥♥ I've been sitting here thinking of all your birthdays my precious son Brent. I remember looking so forward to it every year because you just loved birthdays. Always the day started with the flag. Every birthday in our family I hung that HAPPY BIRTHDAY flag in the foyer so everyone would know it was somebodies special day. I don't think I ever forgot. I will hang it again on the 12th and I hope you can see it from heaven. I didn't realize your 18th birthday would be your last here!! Last year we went canoeing on the Autrain river with you, Billy, Tiffany and me. What a blast we had. Billy (Croccadile Dundy) caught that turtle. Then when we went to take pictures afterwards Bill put the turtle up by my face and it latched on to it. Tiffany was laughing so hard at my screaming she forgot to get a picture of it. Tom the turtle left a big hicky on my cheek and everytime you looked at me on the ride home you busted out laughing, I don't think I ever saw you laugh that hard. I couldn't get mad because I got such a kick out of your giggles that I felt it was worth the pain. Later that night Dad ,Grandma Jean and I took you out to dinner and to the Casino for your first experience at gambling. You had such a great time. I think you won $25 at the end of the night and you were so excited. Oh God Brent I wish I knew that would be your last birthday with me. That was also the day you got your first cell phone from us the LG you wanted so badly. It was such a special day we spent together and I am so so glad you spent it with us instead of with your friends like most 18 year olds would do but you always put family first and you know how much that meant to me. I love you so so much and my heart is so broke without you here. Your 17th birthday we went to the Vagabond for the weekend with Aunt Wendy, Kaitlyn, Elizabeth , Billy and I. I am so thankful for the beautiful pictures we took of you fishing on the dock. We had so much fun that weekend also. No matter what we did you were always making us laugh and we always had a great time together. I hold these memories so dear to my heart and I will never forget any of them as long as I live. Uncle had that party for your 16th birthday at his cabin with your friends and the 4-wheelers. I know it was really special to you that Uncle did that for you. It was hard not being with you because that was the only birthday you had without me so Grandma and I took a ride up there in the afternoon to bring your presents because I couldn't stand not seeing you. You did have a blast 4-wheeling and God only knows what else you guys did without me there to make sure it was nothing dangerous. For your 15th birthday we canoed the Autrain for the first time. Remember how you & Aunt Wendy thought it was so funny because Bill, Elizabeth and I couldn't get our canoe going straight and we kept going back & forth side to side across the river . About half way down you, Aunt Wendy & Kailyn tipped the canoe over and your lunch was floating down the river. Kaitlyn thought she was drowning so you scooped her up even though she was only in waist high water. She still says you saved her life. For your 13th birthday you saved for 1 year because you wanted to take a trip to Florida to see Aunt Shelly. You worked so hard cutting grass, shoveling, babysitting, dogsitting, paper route and any other thing you could think of. You paid for your own ticket, bought new clothes, camera, luggage. You brought $500.00 spending money with you all earned by yourself. It was amazing. You were a goal setter and you always met your goals. I was so so proud of you. The only thing I paid for was the escort at the airports because I insisted you have one because you had never travelled alone before and I was scared to death to let you go but on the same hand I trusted you enough. That was your only birthday that I didn't spend at least some time with you, it was really hard but at the same time I was thrilled for you to be able to have that experience at such a young age. You had a wonderful time at Busch Gardens and all the other places you went. It was a trip of a lifetime literally. Several of your birthdays were spent camping at Camp 7 and I know you always loved camping. We always brought extra kids along like Whitney and Frankie or Simon. All the fishing we did, late nights around the campfire, biking, playing board games, somores, puggy pies, and just having fun. Your birthdays were always around Fair time and Dad & Uncle would be busy getting ready for the Demo Derby. You were always there to lend a hand getting the cars ready. And how you loved the Fair. Your plan was to be in the Demo yourself this year because you were finally old enough to do it yourself. I wish so badly that you were here to do it but that isn't ever going to happen and that just tears me up inside. We thought about taking our annual trip to Autrain this year but there is no way I can do it without you here to be with us. I don't know if I will ever canoe again. All the things that were so much fun before just don't feel right without my precious Brent to enjoy them with us. THANK YOU BRENT for all my memories. I am so sorry that things ended up the way they did and I just wish I could change that. Until we met again I will think of you always and love you endlessly. Mom XOXOXOXOX

SWEET MEMORIES OF BRENT  
 From the moment Brent was born, he captivated our hearts. Brent had a beautiful smile and big beautiful brown eyes - and those eyelashes! He was quiet and shy, kind and loving, and always respectful - the kind of kid that gets overlooked. He was never cocky or mean, demanding or needed to be the center of attention. He was hardworking and dependable with a great sense of humor and mature beyond his age. He was all the things we should aspire to be. He was always doing something for somebody. Brent amazed me in that he never said no when asked to do something - and believe me, we were always asking him to do something. It was never "I don't want to" or "make Bill do it" - well, okay - I'm sure he must have said that at least once! Brent understood that Terri and Brian couldn't give him material things and at a young age, he started doing odd jobs and saving for things he wanted. Although Terri couldn't give her boys material things, she gave them 200% of herself and always made things special. Brent understood this, and had a deep appreciation and love for Terri. With encouragement from Brenda and Ray King, the boys became involved with wrestling at a young age and wrestling became a big part of their lives. The following was written by Coach Terry Duval for a wrestling banquet in 2005: "One of my favorite awards to give out each year is called the "Little I" award. It is symbolic of Esky wrestling. The award usually doesn't go to the most gifted wrestler, or the most talented wrestler, or even the most valuable wrestler. Instead it is awarded to the wrestler that puts his team first and himself an unselfish last. It is awarded to a wrestler that we could move to different weight classes with no objection. A wrestler who fought for the team score by not allowing himself to get pinned, even though other wrestlers were more experienced and talented. It is awarded to a wrestler that has shown perserverance, a never give up attitude, character when the going got tough, the will to win, and courage in the face of adversity. This year the award goes to a young man who fought in every match and practiced each night with toughness and a desire to improve. A coachable kid who respected his coaches, listened to the coaching, and got better with each match. It is with honor that I present this award to Brent Bowden, only a 9th grader, and the youngest recipient of this award since I've been coaching at Esky. Congratulations Brent! Coach Duval" We've cried a million tears over the past few days and I know we'll cry a million more, but we've also shared a lot of laughs telling Brent stories. We have so many great memories of Brent. The fun times with the cousins at Halloween and trick or treating, Brent dressed up as Mimi from the Drew Carey show - and winning first prize, camping and canoeing with his mom and Aunt Wendy - the great outdoors women that they are, Grandma Jean's right hand man and IT person teaching her how to use her computer and cellphone - did I mention that Brent had the patience of a saint!, the time at Players de Noc with his Aunt Carolyn, spending his paycheck on a doll for his beloved niece, Emma and spending hours putting together a kitchen set for her that came in 2,487 pieces, campaigning for his Aunt Nancy, building a rock garden with his mom, the Tundra Lodge, the eve of destruction races, spending the weekend with his Dad and Bill at his Auntie Butts, his Terri imitation, being a nurse for his Grandpa Gerald, all the fun times in Nahma with Uncle and his buddies, being a midwife for Aunt Angie - I have to say that is one of my favorite Brent stories, his first hicky - Tonya!, pulling pranks with his Aunt Shelly (and more than a few with Uncle) - Grandma Jean was one of his favorite targets - like programming all her "favorite" hangouts into her cell phone - Bonamers Bar, the Harbor Light, Wheats, the Stardust. It's hard to fathom that at such a young age he could be so many things to so many people. Brent had so much heart and brought so much joy to our family. I know I'm a better person for having known Brent. We've been touched by an angel. Thank you Lord for blessing us with Brent, and thank you Terri and Brian for sharing him with us. Love Aunt Nancy

Brent was always very mature for his age. He worked so hard and always set goals for himself. At a very young age Brent started working odd jobs. doing all sorts of things from babysitting, lawn care, paper route, painting houses, and anything else he could do to make money.
By the age of 15 he began working a real job at a local Burger Place. He went to school, worked his job and still managed to participate in Football and Wrestling.
Brent was always getting phone calls from friends and family wanting to hire him to do things for them.
He saved and bought his first car a year before getting his license. Brent drove that car for a year then bought another car.
The fall of 2007 he bought his prized possession a Grand Prix that he was extremely proud of. By the age of 18, he had bought and paid for 3 cars by himself. He made us so proud that he was such a go getter.
Everyone knew they could depend on Brent when they needed something and he was always there for everybody no matter what.
I don't think Brent realized how much he meant to so many people. He had a heart of gold and the potential to do anything he set his heart to.

One of Brent's best assets was his wonderful sense of humor. He was always telling jokes and pulling pranks on his family and friends.
On a hot August night in 2006 Brent, his cousin Whitney and friend Alex decided to pull a prank on his Grandma Jean~she was always one of his favorite targets.
Off they went to Walmart and bought 500 plastic forks. They then went to Grandma Jean's and "Forked" her. As quietly as they could, they stuck all the forks in her lawn. The next morning Grandma Jean looked out her window and seen all the forks sticking up in her yard and she realized right away who must have done that to her. She proceeded to pick them up and never mentioned a thing to the kids. They couldn't figure out why she didn't say anything.
A few months later we all went to Grandma's house for Christmas. After dinner we all gather in the living room to open presents. It is really crazy because we have a very large family.
Grandma handed Brent Whitney and Alex a beautifully wrapped gift with a big bow on top. All eyes were upon them as they opened their special gifts. The look on their faces was priceless as they noticed the boxes were filled with plastic forks. It was so funny. Guess Grandma got the last laugh that time. They were the ones "Forked".