![]() "Toby" 21 March 1970-22 January 1998 by Simon & Garfunkel ![]() taken of Stephen I remember thinking that the name I gave him seemed too big for such a little guy and began searching immediately for an appropriate nickname. I was watching a movie that Sunday afternoon at the hospital about a red headed little boy who was terribly misunderstood and always in trouble. His name was Toby. I was immediately drawn to this character and loved the name and just adopted it for our son. He became Toby to all that knew him. He was a happy baby with a really sweet personality, content most of the time. He had beautiful features, which seemed to captivate people. As he grew he became more and more loveable. Having him and his older brother Dan so close together (13 months apart) kept me more than busy. They were a lot like the Kats and Jammer Kids and got into a lot of things. At the age of 2 and 3 they managed to lock their babysitter in their bedroom closet. ![]() He was growing into a fine looking young man. Stephen loved sports and seemed to do very well at them. He and his siblings would regularly engage in everything from tree climbing to playing baseball in the front yard. When Stephen was 8 years old he and his brother were playing baseball. It was getting close to dark when their mother called them in. It was his brother's turn to be up to bat and he wasn’t happy with his mother’s call. He angrily threw the bat into the air. It hit Stephen in the back of the head*. This was the first real trauma to Stephen’s head. It was not to be the last. From this time on Stephen started to change. (*NOTE: Stephen's brother in no way intentionally hit Stephen with the bat, it was totally accidental. I also want to apologize to Stephen's brother for telling about this incident, but I really beleive this was a major turning point in Stephen's attitudes and emotions. I pray he will understand the purpose of telling about this accident.) He began to have fits of rage and violence that were uncontrollable. He started having trouble in school and with some of the kids in the neighborhood. We had some testing done to see if some damage from the blow to the head could be detected. The doctor ruled that out and said nothing could be found to substantiate any damage. The doctor said Stephen was just suffering from a personality disorder and would grow out of it. We have always wondered about that since he had been such a happy go lucky little guy up to the point that he was hit in the head. Even with the rage and violence Stephen dealt with he seemed to have a knack for drawing people to him. He loved to clown around and make people laugh. He was very good at it and it often got him into trouble at school. ![]() A Nice Looking Young Man We also had a large old barn on the property that was empty except for a large pile of straw in the middle. Stephen would take his bicycle up to the 2nd loft in the barn and then ride the bicycle off into the pile of straw. He went swimming with some friends one time at a place called Black Bridge over the river. He dove headfirst off the bridge into the water and got his head stuck in the silt on the bottom. His friends were scarred senseless because al they could see of him was his feet sticking above the water. When he pulled his head put of the silt it was black and covered with the silt. All Stephen did was laugh and told his friends it was a blast. These were some of the most peaceful times we had with Stephen. His rages seemed farther and farther apart and he seemed to be enjoying life for a change. These were the years from 1985-1987. ![]() REMEMBERING STEPHEN-THE MAN & THE FINAL CHAPTER PLEASE TAKE TIME TO VIEW THIS PAGE IT IS HIS SIBLINGS MEMORIES OF STEPHEN. THROUGH A WEB SITE FOR SUICIDE SURVIVORS. THIS IS MY LETTER TO STEPHEN. IT IS A GREAT SITE THAT OFFERS SUPPORT FOR THOSE OF US LEFT BEHIND BY SOMEONE WE LOVE WHO DIED BY SUICIDE. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR THOSE LEFT BEHIND AFTER THE SENSLESS MURDER OF A TWO YEAR OLD BOY. ![]() ![]() My deepest thanks to My Parents Are Survivors for this award. I will be forever grateful for your caring and support. October, 2000 ![]() beautiful Mandella ![]() ![]() Please vote for my site. Simply click on the button above. Thank You.
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