Community Corner
Tears and Rain at Memorial for Bryant Freshman Cameron Fitzpatrick
Hundreds of friends and family stood in the rain for hours to remember the young Plymouth, MA man who died after a severe reaction to a cookie cooked in peanut oil.
It looked like a normal, albeit very rainy, March evening Tuesday at Armstrong skating rink in Plymouth, MA as kids dressed in hockey uniforms and carrying sticks shuffled across the packed parking lot toward the arena.
But across the parking lot hundreds were crowded under tents to remember a former hockey player who spent hundreds of hours at the rink.
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Tuesday evening friends held candles, flowers, and each other as they remembered Cameron Fitzpatrick as a kid with an infectious smile and a big heart. Many wore Plymouth North hockey jackets while others wore Boston Bruins jerseys and hats in memory of the kid who loved the sport.
He had a severe nut allergy and carried an EpiPen with him, but by the time he realized what was happening, it was too late to use it.
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Cameron was 19.
Cameron's mother, Robin Fitzpatrick, and her husband hope Cameron's death brings awareness to severe nut and other allergies, she told NBC channel 10.
"Cameron always said he wanted to save a life on his bucket list. So be your biggest advocate, help save a life even if it's your own," Fitzpatrick said.
The family has set up a fund in Cameron's name to support allergy awareness and provide college scholarships to other kids.
It's something they know Cameron would have wanted.
"He was a stand up guy. He was a standup guy. He went out in style," Fitzpatrick said. "All I can say is, he went out big."
His best friends flew from colleges across the country after hearing the news over the weekend. Jimmy, Brandon, Josh, Alex, and Devin are all freshmen in college. They expressed the shock of losing a loved one so suddenly in phrases.
"It was a wicked heavy hit."
"You just figured someone that has that much going for him. Cam, out of all of us, had the most positive attitude."
He was the truest individual I've ever met."
"It's like a piece of us is gone, we were so close."
"He was driven, the smartest kid in our group. Won awards every year at DECA."
They laughed, remembering stories of fishing and hockey, and that one time at the beach, but wouldn't share many.
"I found out on social networking," Devin said. "I go to school in Florida so I called every single one of these kids three or four times to find out what was happening. It's not even close to what he would have done for me."
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