When we talk about the greatest love stories, lifetime loves and true, unbreakable, unconditional love…we most often talk about romantic love and the unique passion that comes with it. But there are other loves of a lifetime; loves that are breathtaking and devastating loves, so intense that they can physically stun your organs to lose them. Loves that fill every corner of our mind, soul, and heart.
We want to tell you a love story like that. It is truly one of the greatest love stories of our lifetime. The unyielding, devastatingly gorgeous truth of what it was like to love and be loved by our son, Ollie. Ollie was the third of four children born to our family. The absolute little middle. If we could describe him in only one word, it would be happiness. He was joyful, smart, funny, inclusive, generous, kind and dedicated.
His friends universally describe him as supportive, thoughtful, and that he always made sure others were included. He had the unique ability to make people, children and adults alike, feel seen and appreciated, and he was the very first to celebrate others or to show up and help them. From the beginning, he had a heart bigger than most adults cultivate in an entire lifetime; he was gentle and fun. Ollie’s teachers often tell us that they placed him next to kids with extra needs, who needed someone to include and advocate for them, and his peers tell us that he always made sure that nobody was left out, and that he was the first to offer encouragement and kindness.
Ollie loved animals, especially dogs and chickens, and he spent many sunny days stopping to compliment dog owners everywhere. He loved playing video games with his friends and brothers, and he was a beautiful, growing piano player. He loved to memorize songs and race himself to speed play. He loved poop emojis and dad jokes. He loved chess and soccer and talked about being a grand chess master, a YouTuber, and a firefighter. But his true childhood dream was to be a daddy one day.
Ollie was quick to hug, and at 10-years-old, he still held his momma’s hand.
Ollie enjoyed riding his bike with his family and was in a helmet and on wheels since he was small; he was a cautious rider who knew bike safety. Despite all of this, he lost his life while simply crossing the street on his bike. On a beautiful summer day, a week before he started the fifth grade, Ollie left his friend’s home to come home for dinner, and was hit by a driver only two blocks from home. To our absolute devastation, Oliver’s injuries were horrific and significant and while we have no doubt that he fought to stay with us, his body was destroyed. He died the next day, in our arms.
We have spent every day since missing him, and doing everything we can to keep the beautiful joy and light he brought into this world here with us. We miss him with a deepness words cannot convey. Oliver only ever put love, goodness, and joy into this world; his life mattered. The driver was texting nearly non-stop for the half-hour leading up to Ollie’s death, and was convicted of Careless Driving Resulting in Death and plead guilty to Tampering with Physical Evidence. These are traffic misdemeanors in Colorado, and despite being sentenced to the maximum penalty, the result is a one-year jail sentence. We hope to change this law, as texting and driving is reckless and a preventable crime.
Oliver’s entire life was a love story that he dedicated to the people who were lucky enough to have gotten the privilege of knowing him.
We feel that we honor Ollie’s life and light by doing our part to make sure that our communities do better and to make a changes that keep what happened to Oliver from happening to other children. It’s our hope that in reading about Ollie, you will recognize pieces of your own stories; of people who mean everything to you the way that Ollie did to us, and that you will feel inspired to help us protect their lives by building safer communities. Communities where children can ride their bikes to their friend’s house and make it back home alive.
The Stratton’s