Raymond Bernard was my best friend. He died in a house fire at 1205 North 19th in St. Joseph, when he was in third grade. The fire had started from a space heater around 3:15 AM, and the house went up in flames. They couldn't get Raymond out of his second floor bedroom to save his life. His father had been badly burned in trying to rescue Raymond. Thankfully, the other six family members were spared.
I think about Raymond often and what a blessing he was to my life. He was a good friend from the start--though I was slow to accept him as a friend and tried to avoid him. But I walked past his house one day, and he came out to say "Hi," with a bunch of adorable puppies trailing behind him and that won me over. After that, we were nearly inseparable.
He had a rare caring and protective nature for one so young. He would stick up for me if the other kids teased me, and he'd always wrangle to get us both extras at lunch. We would play in my backyard for hours after school and on the weekends and take long walks. And we would drive our Big Wheels down a steep hill beside my house.
A year later, I moved several blocks away and didn't see Raymond as much. And then one night, I woke up and saw him sitting at the foot of the bed, watching me. I didn't know why he was there, but I got a good feeling from him, a deep sense of comfort, and so I returned to a peaceful sleep. The next day I learned that he'd died in a fire the night before. I'll always believe that he visited me to let me know that he was okay, and I'm thankful for that.
Still, I miss Raymond.
I never attended his funeral or burial. I don't remember specific dates. I'll try to research it and update his obituary. He had several family members in St. Joseph, MO. If you know anything about Raymond or his family, I'd love to hear from you.
I think about Raymond often and what a blessing he was to my life. He was a good friend from the start--though I was slow to accept him as a friend and tried to avoid him. But I walked past his house one day, and he came out to say "Hi," with a bunch of adorable puppies trailing behind him and that won me over. After that, we were nearly inseparable.
He had a rare caring and protective nature for one so young. He would stick up for me if the other kids teased me, and he'd always wrangle to get us both extras at lunch. We would play in my backyard for hours after school and on the weekends and take long walks. And we would drive our Big Wheels down a steep hill beside my house.
A year later, I moved several blocks away and didn't see Raymond as much. And then one night, I woke up and saw him sitting at the foot of the bed, watching me. I didn't know why he was there, but I got a good feeling from him, a deep sense of comfort, and so I returned to a peaceful sleep. The next day I learned that he'd died in a fire the night before. I'll always believe that he visited me to let me know that he was okay, and I'm thankful for that.
Still, I miss Raymond.
I never attended his funeral or burial. I don't remember specific dates. I'll try to research it and update his obituary. He had several family members in St. Joseph, MO. If you know anything about Raymond or his family, I'd love to hear from you.
Raymond Bernard was my best friend. He died in a house fire at 1205 North 19th in St. Joseph, when he was in third grade. The fire had started from a space heater around 3:15 AM, and the house went up in flames. They couldn't get Raymond out of his second floor bedroom to save his life. His father had been badly burned in trying to rescue Raymond. Thankfully, the other six family members were spared.
I think about Raymond often and what a blessing he was to my life. He was a good friend from the start--though I was slow to accept him as a friend and tried to avoid him. But I walked past his house one day, and he came out to say "Hi," with a bunch of adorable puppies trailing behind him and that won me over. After that, we were nearly inseparable.
He had a rare caring and protective nature for one so young. He would stick up for me if the other kids teased me, and he'd always wrangle to get us both extras at lunch. We would play in my backyard for hours after school and on the weekends and take long walks. And we would drive our Big Wheels down a steep hill beside my house.
A year later, I moved several blocks away and didn't see Raymond as much. And then one night, I woke up and saw him sitting at the foot of the bed, watching me. I didn't know why he was there, but I got a good feeling from him, a deep sense of comfort, and so I returned to a peaceful sleep. The next day I learned that he'd died in a fire the night before. I'll always believe that he visited me to let me know that he was okay, and I'm thankful for that.
Still, I miss Raymond.
I never attended his funeral or burial. I don't remember specific dates. I'll try to research it and update his obituary. He had several family members in St. Joseph, MO. If you know anything about Raymond or his family, I'd love to hear from you.
I think about Raymond often and what a blessing he was to my life. He was a good friend from the start--though I was slow to accept him as a friend and tried to avoid him. But I walked past his house one day, and he came out to say "Hi," with a bunch of adorable puppies trailing behind him and that won me over. After that, we were nearly inseparable.
He had a rare caring and protective nature for one so young. He would stick up for me if the other kids teased me, and he'd always wrangle to get us both extras at lunch. We would play in my backyard for hours after school and on the weekends and take long walks. And we would drive our Big Wheels down a steep hill beside my house.
A year later, I moved several blocks away and didn't see Raymond as much. And then one night, I woke up and saw him sitting at the foot of the bed, watching me. I didn't know why he was there, but I got a good feeling from him, a deep sense of comfort, and so I returned to a peaceful sleep. The next day I learned that he'd died in a fire the night before. I'll always believe that he visited me to let me know that he was okay, and I'm thankful for that.
Still, I miss Raymond.
I never attended his funeral or burial. I don't remember specific dates. I'll try to research it and update his obituary. He had several family members in St. Joseph, MO. If you know anything about Raymond or his family, I'd love to hear from you.
