\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kevin Kirk’s eulogy<\/strong><\/p>\n It is truly amazing to feel all of the love in this Church. \u00a0It is this love that we need to focus on and what Kevin was all about.\u00a0 Thank you for joining us to celebrate the life of Kevin Kirk.\u00a0 I guarantee you wherever Kevin is, he is happy and – I am sure – the life of the party.\u00a0 I want to express our profound gratitude and thanks for the outpouring of love and support from our friends, neighbors, Saint Philip Neri Church, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, Ancillae-Assumpta Academy, and Norwood-Fontbonne Academy.\u00a0 Your love and generosity have been absolutely overwhelming and we will never forget what you\u2019ve done for us.<\/p>\n Kevin was a very unique person.\u00a0 He was an unusual combination of strength, courage, kindness, gentleness, compassion and above all he was a lot of fun!\u00a0 He was a pretty good dancer too!\u00a0 He had a tremendous appreciation for life and for the love of others.<\/p>\n This is actually Kevin\u2019s second visit to heaven. His first trip was in June of 2002, almost exactly ten years ago.\u00a0 You see, Kevin was a cancer survivor.\u00a0 He had a brain tumor at the age of 5.\u00a0 The tumor was large and vascular. He was in surgery all day and Kevin told me afterwards that he observed from above that he was sitting up straight in the OR and saw the surgeons working on him.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t understand until later that neurosurgery is typically performed while the patient is in the sitting position.\u00a0 After the surgery, he told me that he was taken to heaven by a Saint whom we had been praying to, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. Kevin exclaimed that heaven was a glorious place and that everyone was very kind.\u00a0 He said that he could see our world and me praying in the waiting room.\u00a0 Kevin was then given a choice; he could stay in heaven or return to us.\u00a0 Thank God he chose the latter.<\/p>\n I experienced multiple miracles first hand during his recovery.\u00a0 At one point, I was wide awake and saw multi-colored lights revolving around the area of his tumor.\u00a0 On another occasion, I smelled the overpowering scent of roses while he slept, but no one in the house used any sort of cologne or perfume.\u00a0 I am convinced these were all signs of divine intervention and healing.<\/p>\n The doctors were hopeful Kevin would learn to walk again, but warned that he would never run or play sports.\u00a0 He came home in a wheelchair and we used to walk around with him with a strap around his waist to keep him from falling – which he did more times than I can count.\u00a0 He struggled, but he never ever<\/em> gave up.\u00a0 Despite having to work twice as hard as his peers, Kevin, driven and determined, exceeded everyone\u2019s expectations.\u00a0 Kevin competed effectively at lacrosse, baseball, football, crew and swimming.\u00a0 I was told by one of his physicians that he had never seen a child with so much muscle spasticity accomplish so much.\u00a0 Kevin received the John J. \u201cJack\u201d Plunkett H\u201992 Scholar-Athlete-Citizen Scholarship Award at Chestnut Hill Academy.\u00a0 Kevin was proof of the power of the human spirit and will.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve learned in life to be grateful for what I have as opposed to what I do not.\u00a0 I\u2019m so grateful for the time Kevin spent with us, and even more grateful for the extra ten years that we had with him.<\/p>\n Kevin had died once before and he was not afraid of death in the least.\u00a0 He was fearless on the field and off.\u00a0 Kevin viewed life as an opportunity rather than something to be feared.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t afraid to show his feelings or to smile at someone in passing, even if they didn\u2019t smile back.\u00a0 True strength and courage is the willingness to love, regardless of whether it\u2019s reciprocal.<\/p>\n Kevin always made time to be with someone who needed help.\u00a0 On multiple occasions, when friends or classmates experienced a loss, their peers didn\u2019t know what to do and invariably avoided the situation.\u00a0 Kevin knew what to do; he walked up to them and comforted them.\u00a0 He told them that they didn\u2019t have to talk and that he was there to be with them and to help them.\u00a0 Kevin was driven to do the right thing and was not controlled by fear.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t afraid to confront someone who was out of line or someone who was bullying another – he never backed down from a fight.\u00a0 Kevin always had the strength to be his own person and didn\u2019t feel the need to belong to a specific group or clique to fit in with those around him.\u00a0 He was secure in who he was.<\/p>\n In his final gesture of generosity, Kevin became a Gift of Life Donor.\u00a0 Kevin will live on in physical form in others who will benefit from his organs, eyes, and tissues.<\/p>\n I am so grateful that we had Kevin for as long as we did.\u00a0 Words alone cannot describe how proud I am of what he was able to overcome and the person he came to be.\u00a0 I will miss him with every fiber of my being.\u00a0 Kevin was my hero and it was an absolute honor to be his father.\u00a0 I will love him through eternity.\u00a0 God bless you all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cTragedy is like strong acid — it dissolves away all but the very gold of truth\u201d. D.H. Lawrence \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kevin Kirk’s eulogy \u00a0“Continuing Kevin’s Symphony” It is truly amazing to feel all of the love in this Church. \u00a0It is …<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kevinhope.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/kevin-240x300.png\" "\\"Kevin\\"")
\u00a0“Continuing Kevin’s Symphony”<\/strong><\/p>\n