Living Life to the 'Fullerest'

Greg Fuller couldn't wait for Easter next month.

The 23-year-old was set to wear an Easter Bunny suit the week before the holiday and entertain children at Franklin Square Hospital Center, where he worked as a transporter.

“He was looking so forward to being there with the kids,” said Anthony Fuller, Greg’s father. “He enjoyed life so much and was always more than willing to do something for kids.”

Greg Fuller won’t get that opportunity. The Middle River man died last Friday in a along Honeygo Boulevard in Perry Hall.

Friends and family gathered at Bruzdzinski Funeral Home on Wednesday for  Fuller’s memorial service before moving on to Holly Hill Memorial Gardens, where he was laid to rest.

Those who knew the fun-loving young man said he enjoyed scuba diving, water skiing, hiking and spending quality times with loved ones.

Anthony Fuller said it wasn’t unusual to arrive home and find Greg and up to 15 others playing board games after a weekly outing for wings.

“They were always joking, having fun and enjoying life,” Fuller said. “Greg could always find a way to put a smile on someone’s face.”

Pawel Dybala was one of those friends.

Dybala grew up with Greg Fuller and went to Kenwood High School with him. Dybala said he is still coming to grips with the loss of his friend.

“We always had an expression to live life to the ‘fullerest’ because that’s how much Greg enjoyed life,” Dybala said.

Angela Foehrkolb said it was that zest for life that made her fall in love with Fuller, her boyfriend of more than three years. Whether it was jumping in freezing waters for a polar bear plunge or stopping along the road to take a picture of something that caught his attention, Fuller always enjoyed life, Foehrkolb said.

Foehrkolb, 22, dreamed of one day marrying Fuller.

“He always knew how to put a smile on my face,” said Foehrkolb, a mechanical engineering student at West Virginia University. “He brought out the best in everybody. It’s just unreal. He should still be here.”

Fuller was enjoying life as usual on St. Patrick’s Day when he, along with Dybala and another friend, Jonathan Henry, spent the evening together at Della Rose’s at The Avenue in White Marsh.

Friends said Fuller was the designated driver that night and was taking Henry—who was drinking—home in Perry Hall when the fatal accident occurred.

However, police investigators have said that Henry was driving Fuller's 2004 Audi TT Coupe when it crashed into a light pole at around 1:30 a.m. on Friday, said Det. Cathy Batton, a Baltimore County police spokeswoman.

Fuller, 23, was ejected from the car and pronounced dead at the scene. Henry, also 23, of the 9200 block of Georgia Bell Drive in Perry Hall, suffered a head injury and was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Henry was charged with three alcohol-related traffic offenses, police said. Investigators suspect excessive speed was also a factor in the accident, Batton said. Baltimore County police are still investigating the accident and could not discuss details about why they believe Henry was the driver.

But friends of Henry—and even Fuller's father and girlfriend—have that police investigators are mistaken. They said Fuller was driving and Henry was the passenger.

Henry, who does not remember what happened, suffered two broken clavicles and seven broken ribs. However, he said those injuries are nothing compared to the pain in his heart over losing his friend.

“Greg just had a way of taking a day that could have been the worst ever and making it better,” Henry said. “All of my broken bones are just physical injuries. They will heal. The pain of losing Greg will be with me forever.”

The outpouring of support for Fuller’s family has been evident all week. Several dozen people flocked to the scene of the accident on Sunday night for a candlelight vigil and more than 120 people packed a conference room at Franklin Square for co-workers to mourn Fuller’s death.

Those who knew Fuller said it is important to them that people know more about him other than just how he died.

Catherine Love is one of those people.

Love went to high school with Fuller before going on to college and settling in East Stroudsburg, PA. However, Love made sure to return to home each December so she could get together with him and other friends for an annual gathering to build a gingerbread house. She also stressed no alcohol was ever involved and Fuller never needed it to have a good time.

“Greg was an awesome person,” Love said. “ He was extremely funny, well liked, he was never too good for anyone and he could always make you cry with laughter in your worst mood. He was never into drugs or serious partying, and while he goofed off a lot, [he] buckled down when needed …

“Something happened in that car. What? We may never know, or maybe we will. But I know deep down inside that Greg would have been sober, and if Greg was sober, Greg was driving, and if Greg was driving, something unexpected happened.”