Funding Rykelan's Farewell and Family Support

We're raising funds to cover funeral expenses for our dear sweet boy, Rykelan Brown.

Rykelan was an amazing little boy whose life was stolen from him just a few days after his 4th birthday.

I don't want to tell you about his death, though. What happened to him was horrible, and the person we believe is responsible is being thoroughly investigated and will hopefully be charged very soon.

Instead of focusing on his death, I want to tell you about his too-short, beautiful, bright life.

Rykelan came to live with us shortly after his first birthday. We fell in love with him immediately - everyone who ever met him did. He had an infectious smile and the most beautiful bright blue eyes you ever saw. It was the honor and privilege of a lifetime to be his foster parents for the past three years. He only left our care two months before this happened to him, and that is an agony that's hard to articulate. But I know we filled his life with so much love, and he forever changed us with his love in return.

He was a bright, creative child. Dinosaurs and cars were his favorite toys. The way he said "stegosaurus" was beyond cute. He often told me there were dinosaurs outside his windows, and we'd pretend to scare them away.

He loved to color and play with Plah-Doh, though mostly that meant him telling me what to make/color rather than doing it himself. He loved quality time and snuggles. We watched the Cars movies together snuggled up on the couch more times that I could possibly count. He also had the sharpest little elbows. Every toddler parent knows the unique pain of your kid digging their elbow into your side as they adjust.

Nearly every morning he had a banana, which he adorably mis-pronounced as "ban-na." We have so many pictures (from every age!) of him eating yogurt and getting it all over his sweet face. He never did grow out of smearing yogurt all over the table.

We're just getting started with planning for his funeral - I'll share details and dates as I have them. I have no idea what it'll cost beyond a basic google of "typical costs" at this point, but will update our goal once we select a funeral home and get specific numbers.

Rykelan officially passed yesterday (May 29, 2024) and was able to donate both his heart and his kidneys to other children. We eagerly await updates about how those other babies recover.

Please keep our boy in your hearts. He will forever be in ours.

Hug your loved ones extra hard for us.

How funds will be used: