Valentine’s Day

Sean Valentine was a young man who knew how to love.

He loved his family, his friends, art, the Christian Youth Center and the Lord.

On Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008, Sean complained of a severe headache. He told his mom, Kelly, and they went to the Morris Hospital Emergency Room. Sean was admitted and diagnosed with pneumonia.

A bacterial infection in his blood stream followed, and he was placed in a medical-induced coma for continued treatment.

“Sean agreed when we told him the doctors wanted to put him in the coma,” Kelly said. “I asked him if he was OK with the Lord, and he said he was.”

Two days later, as he was coming out of the coma, a blood clot dislodged, and Sean died instantly.

“I prayed to God, if he wanted him, at least let him wake up before he took him,” Kelly said. “He sat up, raised his hands and passed. He wouldn’t have raised his hands like that for angels. I believe Jesus, Himself, came to get Sean.”

Sean would have been 21 this June 21 — his golden birthday.

To celebrate his life and his passions, Sean’s aunt, Vicki Valentine, and family friends, Courtney and Shelley Cole, have partnered to hold the first SeanFest.

They will use the event to help raise money for a scholarship in Sean’s name at Morris Community High School, from where he graduated in 2007. Half of the monies raised at Seanfest will go to fund the scholarship.

The remaining half of the funds will be donated in his honor to the Christian Youth Center. These funds will help the CYC with anything they need, including a new café area, which will host a mural of Sean’s artwork, named the Scean (pronounced like the word “scene.”)

SeanFest will begin Saturday, June 19, with registration for the bean bag tournament at 1 p.m. The tournament begins at 2 p.m. A pig roast and live band starts at 4 p.m.

While the event is being held outside at Red Cent on Liberty Street, the event is open to all ages. Different color wrist bands will be used to identify those under 21.

“We initially donated $3,000 to be used for six, $500 scholarships, but this way we will be able to keep the scholarship going,” Kelly said. “His sister keeps his Facebook page going, and Courtney keeps him alive with his friends. This gives everyone a chance to come together, tell stories, remember him and celebrate his life and his love for the Lord.”

Sean showed his talent for art in about fifth grade — a talent the family has attributed to his father’s genes.

“In fifth grade, we took notice of his talent,” Kelly said. “He liked to draw caricatures of people, and he was even creating his own people.”

After Sean passed, they found random doodles and serious artwork all over the house. Some have became tattoos on his friends, arms and feet.

His love of art is one of the most common memories people have of him after high school. The Sean M. Valentine Scholarship is for those students who share the same love of art, regardless of whether or not they intend to major in it.

“A person doesn’t have to make a career out of art, who knows if Sean would have,” reads the brief about the scholarship. “But if art shows you a more honest, pure side of yourself then that’s a beautiful thing.”

In addition, Kelly wants to help keep the CYC alive because she feels the service it provided Sean should be available in Morris to help other young people.

In February 2008, Sean came to know the Lord in a deeper sense, which his mother credits the CYC with providing.

“CYC is where he became in love with Jesus,” she said. “It’s what gives us our peace, knowing he was good with God.”

Sean continues to tell of his journey to God as a video plays on YouTube. He talks about his relationship with God, and how a friend inviting him to CYC changed his life.

“They were reading Romans 12 that night,” Sean said in the video. “That scripture really spoke to me and redirected my life.”

“Since that moment, I smiled without the things I thought I needed. I became happy. My life has direction, hope, meaning. I have something to live for,” he continued.

Kelly hopes that by continuing to support CYC, more children will come to know Jesus, as did Sean.

“I don’t want any parent to go through the loss we did without knowing their kid is good with God,” she said.