John William McKenzie Brady – Mack, the best boy ever.

Those of you who have been following on Facebook and elsewhere, and we are overwhelmed with the love and support we have received, know that our beautiful boy is gone. We are doing as well as can be expected, with expressions of love and support coming from around the globe. (Thank you to whomever posted the note on the Agade listserv.) Even my old undergraduate advisor Gary Rendsburg called this evening. I am too weary to post anything new right now, but here are the announcements that I posted on Facebook yesterday morning and then the full statement from our college, including the reference to our hope of developing a soccer scholarship in memory of Mack.

Thank you again for all the love and affection shown by these wonderful communities of faith, study, sport, and academy.

Words cannot begin to express the deep, wrenching sorrow that our family feels at the sudden and unexpected death of our boy. He contracted what they think is a blood infection on Sunday and by last night had returned to God. He was a special treasure, a true blessing sent from God. Mack was passionate about soccer and his dream was to be the starting keeper for the US National team. He had wonderful friends at school, at church, and on his team The SC Celtics. He has the best sister one could imagine. There are not words that can comfort or theology that can accommodate such loss. Thank you all, however, for your prayers and support of our family in this time. It wasn’t what God said to Job that mattered, it was that he spoke. We wait to hear his voice. Arrangements will be announced at some point.”May light perpetual shine upon him who puts his trust in the Lord.”

1/2/2013

John William McKenzie Brady, known affectionately as Mack, the eight-year-old son of Schreyer Honors College Dean Christian M. M. Brady and his wife, Elizabeth, died on Monday, December 31, 2012, at Hershey Medical Center.

Dean Brady shared the news of Mack’s sudden passing with the Honors College staff, Penn State colleagues and friends with the following message on Tuesday morning, New Year’s Day:

Words cannot begin to express the deep, wrenching sorrow that our family feels at the sudden and unexpected death of our boy. He contracted a blood infection on Sunday and by last night had returned to God. He was a special treasure, a true blessing sent from God.

Mack was passionate about soccer and his dream was to be the starting keeper for the US National team. He had wonderful friends at school, at church, and on his team The SC Celtics. He has the best sister one could imagine.

There are not words that can comfort or theology that can accommodate such loss. Thank you all, however, for your prayers and support of our family in this time. It wasn’t what God said to Job that mattered, it was that he spoke. We wait to hear his voice.

“May light perpetual shine upon him who puts his trust in the Lord.”

In addition to his parents, Mack is survived by his sister, maternal and paternal grandparents, a paternal great-grandmother, eight aunts and uncles, and nine cousins.

Mack was a third-grade student at Park Forest Elementary School. In addition to playing soccer, he attended St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in State College.

The Bradys ask that memorial gifts be directed to a scholarship being established in Mack’s honor to benefit a member of Penn State’s men’s soccer team. In announcing the scholarship, Dean Brady said that through such an annual award to a player his son “will, in some sense, ‘be on the field’ that he had hoped to play on someday.”

Memorial gifts may be made online at http://givenow.psu.edu or by sending a check, payable to Penn State with “In memory of Mack Brady” in the memo line, to: Penn State University, One Old Main, University Park, PA 16802.

Funeral arrangements include a viewing at the Koch Funeral Home, 2401 S. Atherton St., in State College on Thursday, January 3, 2013, from 5 to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 208 W. Foster Ave. and Fraser Street, State College, on Friday, January 4, 2013, at 10 a.m. with the Rev. Larry J. Hoffer officiating.

From the Schreyer Honors College Site.