ENDICOTT — For me, Dec. 14, 2011, will never be forgotten.

Kayne Alexander Erickson, a 17-year-old senior at UEHS, lost his life in an evening car crash on Bornt Hill Road in Owego.

Kayne was one of the most important people in my life. He helped me with my homework, he tutored me in math, and he showed me how important God is. Being my cousin, we didn’t always get along, and we often fought like brother and sister.

But when it came down to it, I knew he always had my back. We would see each other in the halls and he’d give me a quick smile or wave, just to let me know that he cared.

Anywhere Kayne was, his smile lit up the entire room. At family gatherings, Kayne and I would jokingly yell and fight for things, such as the olives at the dinner table or over the seat we wanted on the couch.

Kayne would drive me home from school on occasion, and we often had the chance to reflect on life, or the days ahead. Kayne had big plans for life, telling many people that he wanted to go to college to be a youth pastor.

Recently, Kayne’s faith became very important to him, and when his transformation toward his faith happened, I saw a change in him for the better. One day I was on Facebook, the popular social networking site, and saw a status from him mentioning God. I wondered where this came from, and then suddenly Kayne was very much involved with the Nazarene Church of Endicott. I believe it was his best friend, Dave Eddings who brought him to the church and showed him what God could do for him. I also know that Kayne brought one other friend, Kyle Garren to church and therefore toward God.  

Before, my family, including Kayne, wasn’t really involved with church. My family never attended or belonged to a church and Kayne’s family rarely went. When Kayne went to the Nazerene Church in Endicott, I believed he realized that faith was important. Even though he tried to tell me how important God was, I never really felt the need to attend a church, or even pray.

Now, not attending church with him is something I regret, because Kayne tried to get me closer to God, and I never had the motivation while he was alive. For Kayne, I’m going to try to become closer to God.

During his life he tried to touch the lives of as many people as he could, and judging by the 1,100 person viewing he definitely accomplished that. Now that he’s gone, Kayne would want us to touch a life and to tell that person to touch a life, and onward until everyone knew exactly the kind of person Kayne thought we should all be.

In the past week, I have been very thankful for the people of U-E and to many of those who came to support my family at the viewing, the funeral and the luncheon afterward. Seeing the signs in and around school, and often being asked how I was doing everyday helped me to deal with the tragedy that struck my family.

I often teared up when walking around the halls of UEHS, seeing the “Rest in Peace” signs and seeing how many people Kayne affected.