The Eulogy of Adam Scott Deegan

On January 4, 2011 a woman drove recklessly.

She must have had a lot on her mind.  The road showed no signs of her touching her brakes.

The woman crashed into a car driven by my sister and carried her 10 year old son and 2month old daughter.  They were on their way to drop Adam (her son) off at the babysitter’s house.  She was making biscuits for breakfast.

Adam’s life was taken.

A few days later I left Ohio.

A few days after that I stood in front of a few hundred people and read the following words:

“Thank you all for coming today.  For those of you who do not know me, my name is Tim McAuley; I am younger brother to Melissa Deegan, the wife of Jeff Deegan the mother and father of Adam Scott Deegan the young man who we gather here to honor today.

Adam was strong boy, with grit and determination unmatched.  His competitive spirit shined through in almost everything he did.  If you gave the boy a task, he would find the quickest path to the goal.  He wanted to waste as few steps as possible.

Melissa shared a story recently.

Adam had figured out the perfect system to gain the most points in his class for the reading competition.  Adam explained that the math worked out in his favor to read smaller books, so that’s what he did. Read every little book he could find.  Apparently according Adam, those thicker books didn’t have the points to warrant his time and effort.

If there was a flaw in your logic, or a kink in your system, Adam Deegan would find it, and he had no problem pointing it out to you.

He was intelligent beyond his years.

If you ever had the pleasure of discussing God with Adam, you may have an understanding what I mean.

The way his little mind worked was sheer genius.  Very few people in my lifetime have asked me deeper questions than that little man did just a few weeks ago. He took nothing at face value, so you had come prepared if you were to convince him of anything.

I can’t even explain how impressive it was to see him listen to idea, digest it, and question its validity.  I’ve heard the stories about his discussions with Pastor Stacy that makes my heart grin.  The word depth doesn’t even come close to describing the spirit of this young man.

Adam’s strength was more than intellectual and spiritual.

That boy’s 10 year old body was crazy strong.  He knew how to drive from the hip when he buried his shoulder into you.

If I wasn’t paying attention he could almost lift me off my feet.

More than a few times, a piece of furniture saved me from the days of ridicule that would have followed from getting dropped by a 10 year old.  I came to feel a little sorry for the other little boys that had to face off against #62; most of them didn’t stand a chance.

Christmas night gave me a chance to see Adam in action and truly appreciate what a uniquely intelligent little man he was.

He lured me out to a snowball fight.  Apparently he had thought it through quite a bit.  After about 15 minutes of running around Brett (his younger brother) and I chose different vehicles to use as cover and pin Adam down.

But, every time I popped my head up, I was met with a snowball, and that boy could throw a ball.

I finally broke my cover and rushed him.  I came at him with a snowball in both hands.

When he dropped down to the front of the car he used as cover I quickly discovered he had a stockpile of snowballs.

You see while Brett and I hid and scurried to make and throw each snowball, Adam kept making and stockpiling his own.  He could just think that.

He was a true leader, and a man ahead of the times.

I feel so very fortunate to have spent Christmas of 2010 with Adam Deegan, his brother Brett, and his sisters Chelsie and Danica.  I am in awe of each and every one of them for very different reasons.

Seeing the way Adam loved on his sisters was inspiring.

It has always been easy to see the way that Adam idolized his older sister Chelsie, and very easy to see why he did.  Adam rarely passed by Danica, his 2 month old sister without a kiss, and not a day went by without Adam asking “can I hold her mommy”.  He loved his girls with all that he had.

To his brother Brett, Adam was a staunch defender.

Any time Uncle Timmy messed with one of the Deegan boys, he messed with both Deegan boys.  The brotherly bond between the two was apparent, and unbreakable.  I am forever thankful to have seen it for myself, I am very proud of my little man Adam for so many reasons; I could go on all day long.

But, I am sure as I look out at the many faces here that there is no need to ramble on.  You’ve all been touched so very deeply by Adam Scott Deegan in one way or another I’m sure.  Through different stages of his development, many of you have been there and no doubt he will forever hold a place in your heart.

Adam’s last night was ideal; one of those picture perfect evenings with a father and his son.  The two spent the entire evening watching football and playing video games hours past bedtime.

Late in the evening Adam opened up this bible and read Gensesis 13-15: The story about two brothers fighting over their possessions.

Apparently something about that story struck a few chords with Adam.  And looking back on his life, these verses strike a chord with me now.

Adam read his favorite quote to Jeff, and they made a bookmark in the shape of an arrow to point to the verse, closed the book and went to sleep….I want to read the verse Adam pointed to.”

I still have the bible that I bought Adam for Christmas 2010; the bookmark is right where he left it.  It’s odd how holding it takes me back to that room full of people.

Please send out into the ethers some extra love for Adam’s sisters, brother, mother and father.