Justin Barbier has passed away. You recently read about him in this section of our newsletter. We had the great privilege of getting to speak to him and of sharing a friendship and love for baseball. His LSU Tigers were everything to him. Caddy For A Cure was his friend, and he was ours.
We are so devastated we cannot find words to say. Rather, please read his Mother Julie's touching eulogy given for our dear friend Justin Barbier:
I've had happy days in my life and I've had sad. Many of these centered on Justin. He made me a MOMMA, my first born. He made me a better person. He pushed me to the limits on those headstrong days that took him 2 hours to do 20 minutes of homework, or as he sat at the table refusing to swallow his food to SHOW me I couldn't make him eat that, or the nightly.....just one more story momma, pleeassse! He melted my heart with his soulful eyes, endearing smile and delightful laughter.
He made me PROUD by coming home from school in First grade saddened by a little girl that children laughed at. "She needs shoes without holes in them Momma, and a coat" he said. "I'm her friend and I want her to have more friends, she's so nice!" He was COMPASSION.
He made me COURAGEOUS when at the age of 16, he was told he had a life threatening illness by doctors, one that could keep him from reaching the age of 18. He chose not to believe them. He made me a BELIEVER.
He made he and I "NORMAL" when he moved in with Caleb and Cory while attending Nicholl's State and he lived his life as a normal college student should! Life was great, We WERE Normal. Thank you guys, I love You!
He made me UNEASY, when he took a trip to the beaches of Florida with April and the gang, and had a blast. It was the first time he ventured out without his momma to remind him he had medical issues he had to think about while he partied it up. We shared his medical secret with his best friends, who rose to the occasion in keeping him safe and normal while they had a blast, the pictures prove it! I'm so thankful to all of you!
He made me HUMBLE when he fought courageously through his Bone Marrow Transplants and he would lovingly say "I'm so glad my sister doesn't have to go through this... As the slide show reminds us, he loved Brittany. He wished for her presence in Minnesota with him often and she sat out a semester in January of 08 to be there with us. What a Blessing!
He made me NERVOUS, as his hips had collapsed and he wished to head to Oregon for three weeks for an FA meeting and to visit with friends living there. He came home renewed, energized and satisfied that even in his limited state, he was self sufficient, that he, an adult, had accomplished this. He lived a life's dream traveling also to California and kayaking and enjoying friends, although at the time he was worried about Kristen. He made me smile, Kristen made him smile! He loved her!
He made me GRATEFUL, when he shared with me that his friends thought I was an awesome momma...and he agreed! I'm so thankful for all his friends! You are my Blessings and I love you all!
He made me SMILE when he always thought of others before himself. He told me often "momma, I'll be okay"
He made me LOVE, when he shamelessly hugged and told all he held dear "bye, I love you!" and I heard that often!
He made me SAD when doctors and nurses had to fight to find the right vein or perform a painful procedure and Justin would just shrug, smile and say "it's okay, I'm used to it" with that devilishly handsome smile he had.
He made me WISE, when he understood his dad wanted to be with us in Minnesota but had to painfully be thousands of miles away working to ensure that Justin received the best care he deserved. He looked forward to dad's visits and cherished our family being together again. Talks of sports, LSU and music instead of IV's, pills, and blood work brought memories of home.....and there was never a happier guy than Justin when the plane landed in Houma with loving family awaiting our arrival! As the plane descended, Justin looked out at the green landscape below and began to laugh. I looked out and we were amazed by the sight of thousands and thousands of what we call down in South Louisiana "crawfish holes!" Three hours earlier, our plane had taken off on a snowy runway in Minnesota and now we see something we normally take for granted as our first glimpse of Louisiana. A plain old crawfish hole bringing laughter to the two of us reminded us we were HOME, thanks to dad's employers furnishing a private jet. We were wiser to the saying "there's no place like home!"
He made me LAUGH when he needed to be weighed every Monday morning by the nurse to ensure he regained the weight lost in transplant. I found a pile of rocks in his room and he admitted that he would have them in his pocket and add one weekly to keep the nurse satisfied that he was gaining....even though he still looked thin. That made me laugh and then it made me angry!
I'm sure there are many, many more lessons "my boy" has taught me, but my mind isn't in a place to recall them at this moment....I'm sure they're all good ones.
JB is my payback, my investment, my pride, my heart, I've learned lessons of life and living. I only pray and hope that I can say "he WAS something like me and I do know I loved my payback"...He was a hugh BLESSING in a small body. The many, many moments of life he crammed into 26 years is astounding!
So let's NOT cry because Justin's gone, let's SMILE because we KNEW Justin.