The National Addiction Memorial honors the loved ones we’ve lost.

Taken to soon from a heroin overdose 

When Bret was 13, he had a biking accident that severed his spleen in half. He was in intensive care for over a week after the surgery to save him. He was given diladid for the next year due to the pain and a recurring infection later determined to be MRSA. We later found out he developed an addiction to the opioid pain medications. He battled in silence and eventually turned to heroin. He entered rehab in March of 2015. May 19, 2015 he completed his court ordered rehab and came home. He overdosed on May 28, 2015. He left behind a mom, dad, brother, sister, and a niece and nephew. He was the sweetest boy and always was looking after everyone he came into contact with. The night he passed away, he gave me a big hug and said, "I love you, Mom." So thankful for the 20 years I had with him but so, so angry the drugs sucked the life out of him.

She struggled for about 5-6 years and finally went to rehab in CA. Was doing awesome, almost a year sober and then her so called husband whom she was sperated from bought a pill and he either slipped it to her or she took it. It was laced with fentanyl. Either way she didn't stand a chance to live. He was with her when she died.

Tommy’s addiction started with pain pills. When he couldn’t get them anymore he started snorting heroine. He fought hard and did stop using. He went to school and got his CDL to drive tractor trailers. He was doing so good. He and his girlfriend went out to dinner to celebrate his new job. They wound up drinking alcohol and got very drunk. They must have decided to buy cocaine. They were both found dead in their bedroom. It was not cocaine, it was 100 percent fentanyl. They knew about fentanyl and would never have used it. Whoever sold that to them didn’t care that it would kill them. My heart is broken.

My son, Kevin, was our second child and first boy. He grew up in a middle class family with his sister and two younger brothers. He loved the outdoors. He went camping, fishing, and hiking everyday, weather permitting, with his dad and siblings. Kevin excelled at ice hockey! His struggle with addiction started in his late 20’s and he died shortly after his 30th birthday. We are still working everyday to continue on after losing him.

Jonathan lost his mom to breast cancer when he was 11 and always felt like he had a hole in his heart. Jonathan’s smile could light up the room when he came in. He loved hanging out with his brother and nieces. He never thought that his problem was bad enough for treatment. He bounced from one drug to another until heroin finally took his life at 18.

He lived each day to the fullest and wasn't afraid to tell anyone how much he loved me. Waking up in the middle of the night just to tell me one more time that he loved me. That is one thing that I miss the most. He was so proud to be having our son.  I never thought Jay would only have 5 wks as a father before the day we lost jay. That day changed my whole life. 

Stephen was a kind and loving man, his addiction started in his early 20s and he was sober for a long time, but then he decided to do a bag and that one bag killed him. I miss everything about him, his voice, his jokes, and seeing him with his son. But most of all I miss his nightly text “I love you mom, goodnight talk to you tomorrow."

She was a very beautiful and special young lady who touched hearts of many that crossed her path. She was a very loving sister and daughter and not to mention a great aunt "rainy" to her nieces and nephews. She struggled with addiction to opiates and in the end she just couldn't handle life's struggles anymore and it ended up breaking her. It not only ended up breaking her in the end and she became a child of God that day, but it also hurt the ones she left behind. She is a beautiful soul that is hard to describe. She had a heart of gold and loved hard with all her heart. She is one of many who are unfortunate in the end but know she's also many who are looking down on us who suffer from addiction and she's my guardian angel as well as for many other family and friends. R.I.P. our beautiful angel, "rainy". It's not goodbye it's, "I'll see you later."

Christopher was a handsome man, very caring, very quiet, a man of few words. He was an amazing father to his 19 month old twins. Chris loved the beach and he loved to fish. Growing up he loved sports and he was the starting pitcher for his high school baseball team. I miss his smile, I miss hearing him make his cup of coffee in the kitchen, I miss him bumming my cigarettes even though he had his own. I just miss him so much I can’t even look at his pictures. I find a little bit of comfort knowing that he is with his brother. He fought so hard but in the end the demons won!!!

Joseph was handsome and caring with an infectious smile. Everyone loved him who met him. He had so much love, especially for his family. He loved everyone and never judged. I miss his smile, taking the remote control from me, and bumming my cigarettes. Joseph struggled for years. We did everything we could for him but unfortunately god had other plans for him. In the end the demons won. I miss him so much....

Cody was 27. He was handsome and charismatic. He had a huge presence and everyone loved him. Cody was a born leader and collected hundreds of friends in his short life all who miss him terribly.
He was in recovery from opiates for over 4 years when he was diagnosed with kidney stones and Percocet was prescribed. He was a union painter and was able to keep his addiction hidden for quite some time. Once the addiction began to spin out of control he lost his job and nearly lost his marriage. He tried for the last 10 months of his life to break free but because insurance covered treatment is insufficient, he would quickly relapse. Unfortunately, his last relapse resulted in his death at a sober living home. We miss him so much but we desire to see treatment improve and will continue to fight for others in Cody’s name.

Our daughter was a beautiful person inside and out who was funny and had a great sense of humor. We have so many memories of things she did that still make us laugh to this day.

She was a fish out of water and loved to swim. She loved going on vacations with her family. She loved animals and loved dressing up our dogs in costumes at Halloween. She loved Justin Bieber and saw him 3 times in concert. She was excited that she had tickets to see him a 4th time. She passed 2 months before that concert was to take place.

She was a recent highschool graduate and a talented young lady who sang and performed solos in her church and school Varsity choir. She had the voice of an angel and was also a talented trumpet player.

Our daughter didn't suffer from a long term addiction but lost her life after mixing multiple drugs while out with her best friend one evening. The combination of cocaine, benzodiazepines and a strong prescription opioid painkiller ended her young life almost instantly. My last chat message with her was that she was to move back home with us the following weekend. She never made it back home.

We will never be the same again without her but know that we will all be reunited again with her soon someday. Like most of her family she became a bible believing Christian at a young age and her friends would say she was never afraid to voice her beliefs around them.

Ronny was kind, funny, and talented.
And we miss him deeply.

Matthew was caring, funny and could light up a room with his smile. He suffered with depression from his bipolar and started turning to drugs to self medicate!
Matthew loved to watch sports as well as play them. He always loved to make his friends laugh! We miss our son and brother so much!

Blake was my firstborn. He always had a big heart and would help out with the elderly family members. He absolutely loved his nephew, Benton. He would come over and spend quality time with him a lot. Blake always made me laugh. He was very thoughtful, and he always made me proud to call him my son.