John McKay

On Thursday, December 17, 2009, my friend John McKay passed away. He had been battling cancer since 7th grade, and the cancer finally won. John McKay was a very special friend. He united not only his ward and stake, but a whole community. Let me tell you of a little service project our school did....

For the past few weeks, my school has done a service project to raise money for Primary Children's Hospital in John McKay's name. Throughout the weeks, we had activites to donate items or money. We had a movie night and watched "Elf," donated Play-Doh, had an Improvables night, had a pinewood derby and donated Hot Wheels cars, and donated cold hard cash.

{Melissa and me at the pinewood derby}

One of the best parts was the kick off assembly. John McKay was able to attend the assembly and accept a homemade quilt and a book from my school. At the end of the assembly, everyone stood up and gave a round of applause for John McKay. It was awesome. We ended up rasing over $8,000 dollars for Primary Children's Hospital. It was pretty amazing.

One reason I think John McKay stayed so long on this earth was to be an example. He was such an amazing example of courage, valiance, strength, perseverance, service, kindness, and love. It was a good reminder for me this year of what Christmas is really about. It showed to me how one person can unite a community and make the world a better place. Yesterday I was able to attend John McKay's funeral. It was a very nice service and he will be greatly missed. I'm so grateful I could know John McKay and be his friend. His influence will last forever in the hearts of many. We love you John McKay!