Death
Mattie Stepanek died at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, June 22, 2004, three weeks before his 14th birthday. His funeral was held on June 28, 2004, at Saint Catherine Laboure Roman Catholic Church in Wheaton, Maryland. Nearly 1,350 people attended, including Oprah Winfrey and country singer Billy Gilman. A eulogy was delivered by former President Jimmy Carter, who said
We have known kings and queens, and we've known presidents and prime ministers, but the most extraordinary person whom I have ever known in my life is Mattie Stepanek. His life philosophy was 'Remember to play after every storm!' and his motto was: 'Think Gently, Speak Gently, Live Gently'. He wanted to be remembered as "a poet, a peacemaker, and a philosopher who played".
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Famous quotes containing the word death:
“Life without a friend is death without a witness.”
—Spanish proverb.
“Water, earth, air, fire, and the other parts of this structure of mine are no more instruments of your life than instruments of your death. Why do you fear your last day? It contributes no more to your death than each of the others. The last step does not cause the fatigue, but reveals it. All days travel toward death, the last one reaches it.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
“I’m afraid of needles.
I’m tired of rubber sheets and tubes.
I’m tired of faces that I don’t know
and now I think that death is starting.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)