“We’re going to Disneyworld!!!” we yelled to our kids. We had kept it a secret until we brought them home from school. We had completed a crowdfunding drive that enabled us to go to Disneyworld and told our 3 kids just before we left for the airport. They were shocked, screamed with joy, hugged us, and asked every question you could imagine. Then our youngest, Trey, stopped on a dime and asked, “Can we go to Kennywood?”
You see Kennywood was Trey’s favorite place on earth. Sure, we were going to Disney. Sure, we were going in a limo to the airport, sure we were about to eat, sleep, drink, and ride everything mouse. However, Trey wanted to know if Kennywood was part of the deal. THAT’S how much Trey loved Kennywood.
We purchased weekday passes last summer and created memory after memory of riding rides and stuffing our faces with fries and all the goodness that Kennywood has to offer. Trey was growing and was finally able to ride the Racers, Raging River Rapids and many other “big boy” rides. He rode them time and again with a smile that cannot be described in words.
You’ve probably wondered at this point why I keep using the past tense when referring to Trey. Trey was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma cancer on December 24th, 2010. After an almost 4 year head to head war with this insidious disease, Trey completed his battle on November 5th, 2014 (never knowing what cancer was, that he had it, or what his diagnosis was). His impact on the thousands who prayed and came to know of him and our plight was massive (even Donald Trump contributed to his Disney campaign). I want to share one last thing with you.
It was my last conversation with Trey. All of the treatment options were exhausted. “Pain management” was all they could offer at this point. We knew “it” was coming. He was still up and about and not in hospice yet. We had some family in town so my wife and other kids were out with them as I gave Trey a bath. He was weak and in a good deal of pain (which he always handled with a strength that only comes through prayer and divine intervention). As he settled into the water he gently said to me in a whisper, “Let’s talk about Kennywood.” He needed something to give him comfort. He chose to talk about Kennywood. We proceeded to talk about every ride in the park. We talked about each time we visited there. He asked me what my favorite ride was there and I replied, “Any ride I rode with you.” He smiled.
I got him out of the bath and into bed. His last words to me were, “Love you.” Trey died in his sleep that night. It was not unexpected but it was very sudden.
I write this letter to you on the eve or your opening for the season so that you may share it with your wonderful staff. Working at an amusement park cannot be an easy job. The hours are long and the people not always so nice. However, in the midst of the line cutters and helicopter moms who insist that their child is in fact tall enough to ride a given ride, a warrior angel may be in their midst. Each one of your staff had a hand in giving a kid with terminal cancer (and his family) a day of rest, a day of joy, a day of memories (which are all we have of him now) that will last many a lifetime.
Kennywood and all of it’s employees are vital to the lives of so many people. I know it was for Trey and will continue to be for the rest of my family. It will be bitter sweet this summer when we walk into the park for the first time without him, but that will fade as we remember the joy Kennywood brought Trey.
So when your staff is down, tired, and bitter, when they measure their desire to work on their paycheck alone, please remind them that another warrior angel may be the next one in line.
Thank you Kennywood. You have a greater impact on the lives of those who walk through that tunnel than you’d ever know.
I just got done saying. tomorrow is never promised.. love your kids like there is no tomorrow .. kiss them ever day!.. give them what they want .. but still be the mother and the dad. love is so precious.
Thanks Momma. We fight hard for our two other kids every day, really ever since Trey was diagnosed. To love them without overcontrolling them (since we couldn’t control Trey’s disease). We go slow in allowing them to grieve while protecting them from detaching. Love rules the day and the Holy Spirit guides us. Thanks for reading and commenting. May God bless you and yours.
As a worker of the park, I am very honored to know that my team members in Kiddieland have contributed to your sons happiness! There is a reason why I return every season because whether or not we are aware of it, we always contribute to a memory that we are forever a part of. I am sorry for your loss and I’ll be sure to pass this along to my crew!
Thanks Becca. It will always be nice to go past there and simply give it a nod, thanking all of those collectively for helping create a great place for my son (and other kids as well).
I’m a formal cast member of Disney World. I experience this daily and being out in the heat all day and helping people who have nothing better to do than complain you see the greatest smiles you’ll ever see on a child and it all worth it. I left the parks almost 15 years ago but remember some of these angels i met and it still brings a smile to my face to see how happy they and their families were.
Hey Jason, thanks for doing what you do in spreading the Disney Magic Dust to a world of kids from all places and situations. Don’t kid yourself, Trey loved loved loved Disney as well. We were able to go there twice (once as his “Wish” and the other through a “fundanything” campaign 2 years later). You sweat so they can smile, and be impacted for a lifetime.
This is an amazing story – thank you so much for sharing. I am so sorry for your loss and I will keep your family in my prayers. He sounds like he was an amazing child.
Thanks Melissa. I appreciate your prayers as well. We are and will be fine and embrace every day and every memory, just like we did back then. Thanks!
Just Wow. All I can say. Thank you for sharing this story. I frequented Kennywood when I lived there for college, awesome place! My heart both breaks and is happy as a brain tumor survivor myself I hope to have that comfort if it were my time. Thank you to the staff & community of Kennywood and thank you to this father for sharing such a moment. My heart truly goes out to you.
My friends sweet lil boy Andrew lived Disney World.. He went there to visit his beloved Lego land and parks.. His last visit there he fell into a coma the last day of his visited and was transported home to Ga, where he died surrounded by loved ones .. Two days before he turned 5.. He had brain cancer, yet lived full of joy. You never know if your entertaining Angels unaware..
I am crying and blessed to be a better father and never take my children’s lives for granted . I have five children I am homered to have herd about trey well we him IN HEAVEN I hope there is a rollercoaster there I’d like to ride one with him God bless I am literally in tears
Lovely tribute. Thanks for sharing.
I live out of town and make it a point to come back to Kennywood every year because, like your son, it is my version of the “happiest place on Earth.”
As a former employee, I certainly know the long days that take their toll on the young workers. Thank you for this heart warming letter. I hope that it will touch many hearts and that your heart will always find comfort in the joys of a carefree day in an amusement park. Your sons passion for life will certainly live on through your words.
Very touching…
Thank you for sharing this. I am a former Team Member of Kennywood Park. I began my time there in Kiddieland. I loved being a part of the Kennywood experience and watching the excitement in the children’s faces as they rode the rides. I did not know Trey, but I definitely can connect with his love and enthusiasm for Kennywood Park. While it has been over 20 years since I have worked at Kennywood Park, it is still nice to see that the hard work of the Team Members who work in Kiddie Land is still appreciated. I offer you my heartfelt condolences and send healing and comforting thoughts and prayers to you and your family! Thank you for sharing.
Would be nice if his name could be somewhere in the park….near his favorite pIace….i sure will be thinking of him the next time I walk through the tunnel.
Thanks Kim – I couldn’t begin to imagine where that would be. Perhaps the Jack Rabbit. Of course it’s not necessary but your sentiment is very much appreciated.
That little “Warrior Angel” and his love for Kennywood, make me want to take my precious Great-Grandchildren there.
What a wonderful story! I just lost my mom is December from cancer and she loved kennywood as well! We went every year together this will be the first time I have to walk in the park without her! But I believe she will be with me in some way! As trey will be with you! God bless you and your family!
This is a wonderful and touching story. So many thoughts, blessings and prayers to your family, and especially your son Trey. My son will start his first day ever tomorrow working at Kennywood, I hope Trey is with him every step of the way.
Thanks Kristen. I know it can’t be an easy job but you just have to keep the thoughts of kids like Trey being potentially in your midst as often as possible. What a great lesson for your son as he has the opportunity to work for more than a paycheck.
What a beautiful and touching story. It brought tears to my eyes. When I drop my daughter off tomorrow with her boyfriend i will think of Trey and say a prayer for him. What a beautiful little boy. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family. May he RIP and may you all find comfort knowing the wonderful life you all gave him.
The tears of folks like you comfort us more than you would ever know. Thanks.
I cant imagine the pain that you and your family have endured. You have my deepest sympathy. Im sure your warrior angel is watching over you each and every day.
As a former Kennywood team member, I would like to offer my prayers for your family and Trey, and condolences of a beautiful life ended too soon. Some of the best times of my life have been spent working at Kennywood and taking my children to Kennywood as guests. I am saddened to come across team members that are just there for a paycheck. Yes, some guests are trying, but I will never forget a young girl that pointed out that I was the “fun one” who extended their ride on the Kangaroo the year before. That touched my heart in a way I’ll never forget. Every great experience working there made the several not-so-great ones disappear. I have made lifelong friends from Kennywood–both former co-workers and guests. I just want to say that, although the team members that made Kennywood such a wonderful place to Trey may not know his name–they would remember his happy face, and he will forever be in their fond memories of being a part of Kennywood’s reputation of a great family amusement park!
What a touching tribute to and from your son. I also worked at Kennywood. I called it my Kennywood “scholarship”! We worked 13 hours a day 7 days a week from May till July 4th! On our first day off we would take busloads of employees to Ceader Point! I made friends for a lifetime and $1.35 an hour to boot! We learned a work ethic and compassion, two valuable traits i carry to this day. I went into education and now am retired but always did it because of kids like Trey!
I just lost my mother to lung cancer on April 22, 2015. The day of her funeral, I was looking through old photo albums and seen pics of all of us at numerous parks when I was a kid, from Disney World to ones like KennyWood. The park employees are every part in a memory that’s created for a family. Thank you to all of the employees that make it possible.
This is awesome.
as a Union Carpenter, I spent a few moths there for winter repair. I replaced large sections of the Racer and Thunderbolt as well as built parts of the haunted mansion.
My heart deeply goes out 2 ur family
I am so sorry for your loss. I may not know your family but they will be in my prayers tonight. Your story has really touched my heart.
Beautiful! prayers for your family.
This is a really touching story thoughts and prayers for your family im a carnival worker year after year i travel around setting up fairs and working the rides i deal with the heat and rude ppl but i keep a smile on my face i look at it this way if kids leave the ride that im operateing with a smile i did my job right
I am a GM at a Waterpark owned by the same group that owns Kennywood. There are indeed times our staff of 500 are hot, tired and to be quite honest beat up trying to meet and exceed guest expectations. I thank you for sharing your very touching story with us. Looking back at all the days that we thought were so difficult pale in comparison to the challenges many are faced in life. I hope that our park and our staff have at sometime impacted someone’s life as positively as Kennywood and its staff has in Trey’s. It is my intention to continually share your story with our staff and incorporate it into our training. I know personally your letter will have a huge and positive affect on me. Your story will be posted in my office going forward to insure I never forget the importance Kennywood was to Trey and your entire family and to do everything possible to positively impact all of our guest in the spirit of your son.
Thank you so much Paul! I’m going to go out on a limb and ask if Phil is your son. If so I know him from volleyball as I coached against him and even with him (at a couple of camps). If not, my apologies. I am honored to know that our story will be used by you to train and bless others. Thank you!
While I have 6 children 4 of which are boys, no Phil. Thank you again for sharing your story!
My mom always shared stories of when she was a little girl and would ride the streetcar with her grandfather down to Kennywood every Sunday. She told stories of going to the park on Polish Day, Irish and Italian Days sitting in the Picnic Grove and eating their lunch together. I got to spend my youth going to Kennywood for School Days and with friends and family. I remember seeing the big swimming pool, Noah’s Arc, riding the bumper cars the The Whip and spending time in the penny arcade..plus those Potato Patch fries. I was there the day the Ghost Ship burned down and always stayed late into the night to see the park under the lights. Mom is long gone now and, I had to move out of Pittsburgh..but Kennywood is a place that lives in our hearts and always bring me back home……!!!!! I hope your little guy rides forever in Heaven and is at peace..!
Thanks David. I cannot imagine how and what the amusement park situation is in heaven but it’s always comforting to imagine him having a great time.
There are many times in my adult life when I have self-medicated my life traumas with childhood memories of Kennywood. There is something about that place that makes one feel heaven on earth is not only possible, but real.
Great point Amy, time stands still there and gives us the momentary belief that we are that young again.