In appreciation of "our village"

When you lose a child, at any age and whatever the cause, it changes the rest of your life. Each day you wake up wishing it weren’t true, wanting to cry and scream when you realize it is true and then you resolve to finding your new normal in this day, just like every other day since their death. We, like most, were not prepared to make arrangements on his lasts, like you get to when you’re preparing for their firsts.

We will never know what his children will look like, how successful his career would have been, and we will never again share the fun and memorable times we’ve had with him, and that hurts a lot.

What has gotten us through this difficult time has absolutely been the communities we live in. We have been supported by hundreds of calls and letters, offers of meals, and multiple hugs and silent nods. Sure, you have your closest friends and family that you expect to help pick up the pieces, but we never expected to have this level of support in death, as we did in Brandon’s life. The phrase “it takes a village to raise a child” couldn’t be more true, even now. Our communities who have helped us through 23 years of raising our son will also be the same folks who help us lay him to rest and move on with our life. And we can’t thank our village enough.

Thank you to the hundreds in this community that we haven’t been able to personally thank for the cards, calls, meals, laughter, shoulders and memories you’ve shared, through the loss of our boy Brandon William Buche. We will never be able to thank you enough or repay you! 

Blessed to live and love

in the Coulee,

Brian & Kelly Buche