A week ago, I lost a friend of mine from my "wonder years." I first met Drew in 7th or 8th grade through lacrosse. Along with Bill Bradfield, Drew and I were teammates all 4 years in high school. He was a fantastic lacrosse player and a great captain. I had seen Drew from time to time through the years following high school and college. I recently last saw him at the service when my father passed. Drew put a real nice posting on his facebook wall about my father, which I will never forget. We were going to get together soon. Drew had started playing lacrosse again, and we talked about me bringing my sons over to watch a game.
Drew was the oldest of 5 children. My mother and his mother were the co-presidents of the lacrosse boosters in high school. It was amazing to see the men that his brothers became, and of course the young ladies that his two little sisters became. The Bauer family are very close, and that was obviously noticed in this sad time.
Last night, the services were held for Drew. There were hundreds of people. I saw people that we graduated with that I hadn't seen in over 10 years. I saw coaches and teachersI hadn't see in 15 years. The turnout was amazing. During the service, his brother Sam spoke about him. It was very funny (as I expected) and also very touching. Everyone was really proud of Sam.
But this was just the beginning of the night. After the services, it was Drew Bauer night in West Chester. Every bar and restaurant had friends and family members from the service there. I first went to Barnabys with a good high school friend of mine Bill Bradfield. Billy and I were really close in high school, but had lost touch over the years. It was so great just to sit down with him for 45 minutes, have a few beers, and catch up. As I stated earlier, the two of us and Drew were teammates all 4 years. We made varsity as sophomores, and that was a real special achievement for the 3 of us back then.
Billy and I then headed over to the Iron Hill, to meet up with Suzanne Brown, Anne Debenney, Anne's sister, and Anne's mom. We caught up for about 30 minutes or so.
Finally, I made my way over to the Side Bar, where the Bauer family was. I got to hang out with Nate and Sam, Courtney and Chris, John Hohneberg, Rip Saling, Brian DeVauno....just to name a few. It was such a celebration as opposed to a mourning. I think everyone could agree that is how Drew wanted it. The night was a real tribute to how many people Drew touched.....not just by how many attended the service, but by how many people were out all night talking about him. He was an amazing guy.
Finally, this was a post Drew had put on facebook about 10 days before he passed. It speaks volumes
That last one really got me. That is great advice.
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I have some pics here. Some were mine originally, others I hi-jacked off of facebook. I also took some facebook comments on here left by different people.
Finally, this was a post Drew put on facebook on 05/29, a few days after my father passed away.
Drew, I can only say this.....I will miss you, and you will be forever missed as well!
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