BE LIKE CARTER

WELCOME - BRIAN STONE

Hello, and welcome. Thank you all so much for being here.

For those of you who don't know, I'm Brian Stone, Carter's Dad. As you can imagine -- and as many of you are experiencing -- the past two weeks have been difficult in ways that words like "grief" and "sadness" don't quite capture. To have your son pass away suddenly at 15 years old is a devastating lesson about the impermanence and fragile nature of all of our lives. It's also an urgent reminder to all of us to focus on what's important, and not get constantly distracted with the mundane and petty aspects of life.

Sam Harris, the author of "Waking Up", sums this up well when he says that "Death makes a mockery of almost everything else we spend our lives doing, because the truth is none of us know how much time we have in this life. And taking that fact to heart brings a kind of moral and emotional clarity to the present."

Since Carter passed, we've been experiencing the immense impact of this moral and emotional clarity... Not only within ourselves as we grieve his death, but in the incredible love and support of our family, our friends, and this unbelievably generous community. Danielle and I have been talking a lot about the importance of gratitude as we begin what will inevitably be a long healing process. Before you hear more about who Carter was as a son, a brother, and a friend, we want every one of you to know how thankful --how grateful -- we are for you. Not only for your love and support today while we heal, but also for the role each of you played in shaping his childhood -- and contributing to the man he was becoming.

The one ask I'd make of each of you is to use Carter's life - and his passing - as a reminder to embrace the emotional clarity of this moment -- this visceral understanding of the preciousness of life -- and use it to make the world a little better. Focus on love, strengthening your relationships and lifting each other up.

To say it another way, I'd ask that we all honor his life -- to try as hard as we can to Be Like Carter.

Work hard. Be true. Be humble. and most importantly, be kind. Thank you.

BOY CHILD - DANIELLE STONE

People are always asking me what it’s like to have teenagers. They don’t just ask the question, they present it with a facial expression that implies they already know the answer. You can see them bracing themselves for the inevitable horror stories. But I LOVE it when I get this question because it gives me the opportunity to brag about how incredible they are.

I tell them about how every time Carter throws something away and sees the trash is full he simply takes it out. I tell them that his little sister Morgan will climb all
over him, steal his water and knock the hat off his head and instead of yelling at her he’ll wrestle with her and make her laugh. I tell them that even at 15 he’ll come
into the kitchen and give me a hug and say thank you (for making him dinner, buying him a new phone case, nothing was too small).

Looking back on it now, I should have always known Carter was destined for something greater. Hindsight is 20/20 and many things have become really clear in the last couple of weeks. His quiet nature now looks more like peacefulness. His cool and mellow vibe could better be defined as contentedness. His patience was beyond that of a deeply evolved adult. The selfless acts he showed friends and family every day were so clearly angelic. He was truly enlightened. I should have known he was an old soul when I discovered at a very young age how much he hated Disneyland. What 7 year old boy hates Disneyland?

I’m sure you all know Carter was a major gamer. I see all of these beautiful traits of his as levels in the game of life. Accomplishments we all strive for. I tell myself that he beat the game of life early because he crushed all of his levels in record time. I don’t know exactly what he won because I’m only allowed to talk to him in my heart now. But I know we all won because we got to have him in our life. His legacy will leave a lasting impression on our entire community. In his quiet humble way he is servicing us all while stepping out of the spotlight. And I know I’ll be with him again when I beat all of my levels and am worthy to join him wherever he is.

A word from Morgan (the youngest)…

Hi, I am Morgan Adele Stone and I am eight years old. I am Carter’s youngest sister. Or should I say was carter’s younger sister. If you knew Carter, you’re a lucky person because he was charming and sweet.

By the way, I’m here to tell you how much I loved Carter. He was my brother, my only brother. When I was little, I would always fight with him to try to grab his hat, and he would always not actually hurt me. And I knew any other teen would fight back. But he didn't, he would just laugh. Another story is when we traveled to Mexico.

The beach was right by the Villa. I was at the Villa and Carter was making me mac & cheese and I decided to go to the beach with my mom while the mac & cheese was being made. While I was at the beach, I forgot that the mac & cheese was being made. Then I saw Carter walking to the beach with my mac & cheese, and I was so thankful for him.  He always took care of me. That story makes me happy.