About Ian Burgett

Early the morning of April 29, 2012, our 18 year old son was in a tragic accident. He was a high school senior with less than a month until graduation. Ian was planning to attend James Madison University in the fall, and then medical school to become an anesthesiologist. All that changed when he made the mistake of getting in a car with a friend who had been drinking.

We did not hear about the accident until many hours after it happened, as we were out of town. Ian’s phone was locked, and he did not have his wallet with him. None of the people present volunteered information about who he was, where his parents were, or how to reach us or his brother, which many of those present knew. By the time we were notified and got to the hospital, Ian had died, and our lives were forever changed.

Ian’s family and close friends knew him as an incredibly kind, caring, thoughtful young man. It was only after his death that we heard from others about the acts of kindness Ian quietly performed, not for recognition but because it was the right thing to do. As a registered organ donor, Ian was able to give the wonderful gift of sight to two people. We have written to those individuals and are hoping to someday have the opportunity to meet them and tell them about the young man that gave them their incredible gift.

Ian was very athletic and extremely talented at whatever he tried. He was always involved in sports; soccer, swimming, sailing, running, and tennis, as well as hanging out with his friends playing basketball, flag football, pool, and video games. He loved music, particularly rap, and his car, a black 1998 Mercedes Benz C230. He owned a woven belt with fish on it, which he wore just about every day, and was particularly fond of a light pink Ralph Lauren button-down shirt, which he wore often. Ian was finishing up training to be a lifeguard for the summer of 2012. It was to be his first real paying job, and he was really looking forward to working.

We miss Ian so much. He had such a bright future ahead of him. We will never have the opportunity to hear about his college adventures, to watch him enter the workforce and grow personally and professionally, nor will we see him get married and raise a family of his own. We are trying very hard to find the positive as a result of this horrible event, because it is senseless to think he was taken from us for no reason.