Kind, compassionate, caring, funny, charismatic
Gavin was a kind, loving person, fun to be around and always considerate of others. He loved and cared about all people but made extra efforts to reach out to those who had a poor home life or who needed support.
Gavin was a member of the church youth group, the Boy Scouts and 4H club. His father assisted with the Boy Scout troop, going on canoe trips and helping Gavin and others to earn badges. In the evenings, Gavin, his sister Jennifer and his parents watched movies together; Gavin particularly liked Austin Powers and anything with Jim Carey.
Gavin loved all things Kobe Bryant. He got to see Kobe play once when his mom and dad surprised him with tickets to a game. Gavin had an extensive collection of Kobe memorabilia, and of baseball cards, all of which still sit in his room, left untouched since he passed away.
Gavin grew up on a farm and his mother has wonderful memories of snowy days when all his friends would come to the house. They would hook a canoe to a 4 wheeler, which Gavin would drive around, pulling everyone behind him. Afterward, they would all come in and eat her out of house and home. His mom said, “I wore out my dryer trying to dry all their heavy clothes one winter.”
When Gavin started using drugs at 16, he lost interest in almost everything and became a different person, but he never lost his kindness and generosity. His parents sent him to seven different rehabs. They attended a ceremony at one of them and as his mom looked around the room, she recognized six young men wearing Gavin’s shirts; he had given them away because they needed them more.
Gavin’s mom said, “this is a disease, no one wants to be addicted to drugs, you keep loving them no matter what; they didn’t choose this, but you can’t quit it for them.” The Christmas prior to Gavin’s death, he wrote his parents a Christmas card saying he was going to make them proud of him one day. His mom said: “We were always proud of him, we just didn’t want him doing drugs.” ‘He was a wonderful person and we miss him every minute of every day. I know he is with the Lord, but I still want him with me.’
Gavin’s mother, Sophia Cox, provided the information for this narrative.
March 15, 1984-January 23, 2011
Age 26-Lived with addiction 10 years
