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| FILE - This Aug. 3, 2013 file photo, Christine Swidorsky carries her son and the couple's best man, Logan Stevenson, 2, down the aisle to her husband-to-be Sean Stevenson during the wedding ceremony in Jeannette, Pa. Christine Swidorsky Stevenson says on her Facebook page that Logan died in her arms at 8:18 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, 2013, at their home in Jeannette, about 25 miles east of Pittsburgh. Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. The Stevensons abandoned an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son had two to three weeks to live. The couple wanted Logan to see them marry and to be part of family photos. |
JEANETTE, Pa.
(AP) -- In his short life, the 2-year-old Pennsylvania boy who died
days after he served as best man at his parents' wedding touched the
hearts of many people.
The Rev. Jan Zotter told a funeral audience Saturday that Logan Stevenson's life "had an impact over the whole world."
About
75 family and friends attended the service at the Mason-Gelder Funeral
Home in Jeannette, about 25 miles east of Pittsburgh, The Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review (http://bit.ly/13rrFcH ) reported.
Christine
and Sean Stevenson had planned to marry next year but moved the
ceremony to Aug. 3 so their son could participate after the couple
learned he had weeks to live.
The child, who
died Monday night in his mother's arms, had leukemia and other medical
complications, including a mass on his remaining kidney.
"He
was a fighter," said Seth Antoniak, who was with Logan and the couple
as they exchanged vows. "He was 2 and had everything thrown at him."
Some
people attending the service left notes with pictures of Logan on
poster boards bearing such headings as "Sweet Baby," "We Miss You
Already" and "The Best Man."
"Even though it
was heartbreaking to let you go, Heaven is very lucky to have you," said
a note from Logan's grandparents, Debbie and Larry Stevenson.
Zotter
said that when a child dies, everyone asks why. But such questions are
"mysteries of God that we can't fathom," he said. He assured the boy's
relatives and friends that they will one day understand the reason, when
they are reunited with him.
"Logan is with God, the Father," Zotter said. "I bet he's playing baseball. I bet he's seeing the horses there."
