He is in God's house now...but, I will love him and miss him
beyond all understanding for all of my days here on Earth.
Visit www.zech.faithweb.com
We're sorry, but the browser you appear to be using will not correctly display the tribute to Zechariah Micheal Kruse.
We recommend viewing with the current free versions of Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer.
If you would like to continue to the full version of this tribute in this session, please click here.
For more help please see our community pages.
He lived his life like there was no tomorrow. He lived every day to the fullest and didn't worry about tomorrow. If there was a thrill to be had, he was there.
Those of you who knew Zech know that he liked to make people laugh and had a knack for doing so. If there was a joke to be played, he was there. If you dared him to do something, more than likely he would do it. If there was a stunt to be done, he was your man.
He touched more lives in his short 16 years than many do in 90 years.
He is survived by his daughter, Arielle; mother, Melinda; father, Mike; sister, Nicki; grandfather, Curtis; grandmother, Joyce; four uncles, Curtis, Kevin, Bill and Mark; two aunts, Cindy and Laura, two nephews, one niece, several cousins and second cousins and many, many friends.
**Zech takes his first boat ride at about 2 weeks old on Geist Reservoir
**At 9 weeks Zech moves from his bassinet to his crib in his own room.
**Zech takes his first plane trip on a private plan to Muncie for dinner.
**At 6 months he is 25 inches long, weighs 13 3/4 pounds, sits up on his own, crawls and is pulling himself up and 'cruising the furniture.'
**Zech wraps up 1991 with cutting his two front upper teeth and saying 'Mum Mum.'
**He starts 1992 by dancing to music, playing peek-a-boo and cutter his lower front teeth
**In February he received his first hair cut (I still have the hair to this day) and takes his first step.
**Zech’s first spring is spent playing outside and dressing and undressing himself
Zechariah Michael Kruse is born!
Thursday, May 17, 1991 8:38 AM
7 pounds, 7 1/2 ounces, 20 inches long
Dark brown wavy hair and bluish gray eyes
There isn't a child who was more loved or more wanted. He was the center of my world; the love of my life. He was the most precious thing to me on this Earth.
**At One Year Zech weighs in at 21 ½ pounds and is 21 ½ inches long
**Zech had the 3 day measles on his first birthday—but he still enjoyed himself
**May was also his first trip of many to the Indianapolis Zoo
**In June Zech experienced his first encounter with the beach at Cataract Lake
**July was another first for him—his first trip to Kings Island
**”NOT” was the big word for the month of August for Zech
**And “NO, NO, NO” was the word for October of that year
**March was packed with seeing Seaseme Street Live and peddling his big wheel
**Cinder (the dog we had until May 2005) entered our life in March also
**Zech starts the year out at 25 pounds and 34.5 inches long/tall
**He had his first trip to the dentist for a cleaning in June
**July brought his first visit to Med Check when he put Play Doe up his nose
**That is also the summer he met Matt—his first friend that he made and still had contact with him
**Fall of that year was full of singing and making up his own silly songs
**As fall turned into winter we had the “What’s that?” and the “What’s going on?” stage
**That same winter was also the “Don’t look at it!” any time he got hurt—this lasted for several years
**Christmas of that year Zech would open a present and want to play with each toy before he would open another present
**Zech starts his third year out weighing in at 30.6 pounds and 37 ¾ inches tall
**He is able to cut with scissors
**June was Zech first vacation on a houseboat in Tennessee
**Zech started pre-school in August. He cried the first few days but then wanted me to leave
**The fall and winter were yet again filled with ear infections
**January Zech had tubes but in both ears (that fell out in a matter of weeks) and had his adnoids removed
**February started a long tradition of Zech going to his Aunt Cindy’s to spend the night. He loved staying with her even has he got into his teen years.
**April brought his first time to the circus
**At four years old Zech weighes 34.9 pounds and is 42 ½ inches tall
**Zech is wanting to go to Aunt Cindy’s weekly
**Christmas that year my dad played Santa and when Santa walked in Zech said, “That’s not Santa, it’s grandpa.”
**The spring of 1996 Zech played t-ball for the first time—talk about fun
**Work in progress...check back.
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
Don't think I do not feel--because you see no tears
A river rages deep inside--of grief, and loss and fears
Just because I do not cry now--don't think my heart is not broken
I keep inside the misery--of words not to be spoken
Sometimes I smile or crack a joke--so you won't see the pain
Or notice how my hands will shake--or how I've gone insane
Each time I think of him--my heart is ripped apart
The loss I feel is mine alone--you will not see my thunder
Brenda Penpent
I wish my child hadn't died. I wish I had him back.
I wish you wouldn't be afraid to speak my child's name. My child lived and was very important to me. I need to hear that he was important to you also.
If I cry and get emotional when you talk about my child I wish you knew that it isn't because you have hurt me. My child's death is the cause of my tears.
You have talked about my child, and you have allowed me to share my grief. I thank you for both. I wish you wouldn't "kill" my child again by removing his pictures, artwork, or other remembrances from your home.
Being a bereaved parent is not contagious, so I wish you wouldn't shy away from me. I need you now more than ever. I need diversions, so I do want to hear about you; but, I also want you to hear about me.
I might be sad and I might cry, but I wish you would let me talk about my child, my favorite topic of the day.
I know you think of and pray for me often. I also know that my child's death pains you, too. I wish you would let me know those things through a phone call, a card, note, or a real big hug.
I wish you wouldn't expect my grief to be over in a short period of time. I wish you could understand that my grief will never be over. I will suffer the death of my child until the day I die. Grief is a life long process.
I am working very hard in my recovery, but I wish you could understand that I will never fully recover. I will always miss my child, and I will always grieve that he is dead.
I wish you wouldn't expect me "not to think about it" or to "be happy". Neither will happen for a very long time, so don't frustrate yourself. I don't want to have a "pity party", but I do wish you would let me grieve. I must hurt before I can heal.
I wish you understood how my life has shattered. I know it is miserable for you to be around me when I'm feeling miserable. Please be as patient with me as I am with you.
When I say "I'm doing okay", I wish you could understand that I don't "feel" okay and that I struggle daily.
I wish you knew that all of the grief reactions I'm having are very normal. Depression, anger, hopelessness and overwhelming sadness are all to be expected. So please excuse me when I'm quiet and withdrawn or irritable and cranky.
Your advice to "take one day at a time" is excellent advice. However, a day is too much and too fast for me right now. I wish you could understand that I'm doing good to handle an hour at a time.
Please excuse me if I seem rude, certainly not my intent. sometimes the world around me goes too fast and I need to get off. When I walk away, I wish you would let me find a quiet place to spend time alone.
I wish you understood that grief changes people. When my child died, a big part of me died with him. I am not the same person I was before my child died, and I will never be that person again.
I wish very much that you could understand my loss and grief, my silence and my tears, my void and my pain. BUT...I pray daily that you will never understand.
ACF
My First Christmas in Heaven
I see the countess Christmas trees around the world below
With tiny lights, like Heaven’s stars, reflecting on the snow
The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away the tears
For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year
I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear
But the sounds of music can’t compare with the choir up here
I have no words to tell you, the joy their voices bring
For it is beyond description, to hear the angels sing
I know how much you miss me; I see the pain inside your heart
But I am not so far away, we really aren’t apart
So be happy for me, dear ones, you know I hold you dear
And be glad I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year
I sent you each a special gift, from my heavenly home above
I sent you each a memory of my undying love
After all, love is a gift more precious than pure gold
It was always most important in the stories Jesus told
Please love and keep each other, as my Father said to do
For I can’t count the blessings or love He has for each of you
So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away the tears
Remember, I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year
Author Unknown
Zech,
Although I loved you and took care of you as if you were my own, you were never really mine to begin with; you were only on loan to me. You were placed in my care for a short amount of time and it was a privilege and a joy----I only wish it had been longer.
I was so proud of you. I was proud of the father you were becoming. I was proud of the changes you were making in your life. I was so proud of the way you were taking ownership and being pro-active in your future. I was proud of your plans to go to college and open your own restaurant. I was proud of the way you had grown and matured in the past three months. A mother could not be more proud of her son as I was of you.
Thank you for being you. Thank you for bringing out the child in me. Thank you for sharing your sense of humor with me and all you came into contact with. Thank you for my granddaughter. Thank you for helping me to look at life a little differently. Thank you for sharing your hopes and dreams with me. Thank you for being the best son a mother could have.
I will miss you beyond all understanding. I will miss the talks we had late into the nights. I will miss seeing you raise your daughter. I will miss your baggy pants, your messy room and the sound of your music. I will miss seeing you walk down the stairs half asleep and hearing the water run at 3 AM as you take a shower. I will miss seeing your smile and hearing your laugh. I will miss hearing you say you aren't hungry and yet starving when fast food is mentioned. I will miss seeing you come home in your caddy. I will miss your soft, kind heart and your teasing ways. I will miss your silly stunts and your friendly manner. I will miss touching your hair and smelling your aftershave. I will miss hearing you say, "I love you, too" as I head off to bed every night. I will miss you....
The memories I have of you will be with me always. Even though the void you left in my life is huge, I would not give back the time we shared together. It doesn't seem fair that after all the trials we have been through this past year that you would be taken from me so soon. You were just starting a new chapter in your life, and it seemed to have such a promising ending. I don't understand why you were taken from me so soon; I only know that God wanted you back. And although I shed many tears, I know you are in a place far better than me. I can only imagine what it must be like to see Jesus in all His glory. What a glorious time you must be having on the streets of gold reunited with your grandpa and grandma.
I look forward to the day we will be joined together again, but until that time, I will miss and love you every day of my life.
Love,
Mom
It’s Been A Year…
It’s been a year since
I’ve heard your laugh or your voice.
It’s been a year since
I’ve seen the sparkle in your eyes or the grin on your face
It’s been a year since
I’ve felt your embrace or touched your hair
It’s been a year since
I’ve heard your music or stepped into your messy room
It’s been a year since
I’ve smelled your cologne or felt the roughness of your beard
It’s been a year since
I’ve experience your soft, kind heart or your silly pranks
It’s been a year since
I’ve seen your baggy pants or you driving off in your caddy
It’s been a year since
I’ve heard about your hopes or your dreams
It’ been a year since
I’ve enjoyed your sense of humor or teasing ways
It’s been a year since
I’ve kissed your cheek or wished you well
It’s been a year since
I’ve felt whole or heard you say "I love you, too"