Make a Donation to Help the Family of
Michael Boyce, Jr.
Michael Boyce, Jr.
An eight year old South Bend boy has passed away due to a short illness and the grieving has
affected more than just his family and those around this bright young kid. Street Kids Softball
player Joe Horvath's son, Riley, was very close to him.
"Its a tough thing for anyone to deal with but how do you explain it to a child, your own son,
that his best friend will no longer be able to play with him?" Horvath stated. "He is doing okay
right now but I'm sure we will have to deal with it at some time. But he does understand what
happened and is very sad. He was very close to Michael."
affected more than just his family and those around this bright young kid. Street Kids Softball
player Joe Horvath's son, Riley, was very close to him.
"Its a tough thing for anyone to deal with but how do you explain it to a child, your own son,
that his best friend will no longer be able to play with him?" Horvath stated. "He is doing okay
right now but I'm sure we will have to deal with it at some time. But he does understand what
happened and is very sad. He was very close to Michael."
Michael died last Thursday after he was taken off life support at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.
The funeral will be at noon Friday at the Pentecostal Cathedral Church of God in Christ, 1025 Western Ave., South Bend.,
with visitation from 11 a.m. to noon. Alford’s Mortuary is handling arrangements.
The son of Kendra Henderson, of South Bend, and Michael Boyce Sr., of Atlanta, Ga., who had been ill less than two
weeks, “will be deeply missed,” said McKinley principal Deb Martin.
“He was a great young man,” Martin said. “He was well liked, sweet and athletic.”
She said Michael’s second-grade classmates in teacher Deb Bobalik’s class were badly shaken by the news and a crisis
team was at the school earlier this week.
“That class is very family oriented,” Martin said. “They are close-knit and it was very hard on the kids.”
Cheryl Jackson, of South Bend, a family relative, said Michael fell ill on the weekend of March 27 and 28. He was initially
taken to Memorial Hospital, then transferred to Riley.
“Doctors there said he went about 25 minutes without oxygen to his brain,” Jackson said. “They said about 10 percent of his
brain was functioning.”
Another cousin, Erik Jenkins, of South Bend, said Michael loved basketball, school and music.
“And he thought Michael Jackson was the greatest,” Jenkins said. “He knew every song and dance.”
His mother, Kendra Henderson, has two younger children, a sister, Madison, who is a kindergartner at McKinley, and a
brother, Makai, 4.
Jackson said the family has no insurance. To help with medical and funeral costs, they plan to raise money by selling T-shirts
with Michael’s photo and a Bible verse, as well as preparing and selling meals.
Additionally, the Michael Boyce Jr. Fund has been established at Teachers Credit Union. Anyone wishing to donate may do
so at any TCU location. For those who follow Street Kids Softball and wish to make a donation to help cover medical and
funeral costs, you can send a payment through Paypal (you can use your credit card as well through Paypal) and SKS will
make sure you donation is given to the Fund set up at TCU. The SKS paypal account is linked directly to TCU and the
funds can easily be transferred to the Boyce Fund.
Its always sad when someone passes away suddenly, but when its a child, it just doesn't seem fair, and often demands us to
question why the world works this way. But I continue to look to God for His strength and comfort and pray that He will
keep his love on this family as they deal with this terrible time. We also pass our condolences to Riley Horvath and all the
other friends of Michaels who are suffering in this hour.
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The funeral will be at noon Friday at the Pentecostal Cathedral Church of God in Christ, 1025 Western Ave., South Bend.,
with visitation from 11 a.m. to noon. Alford’s Mortuary is handling arrangements.
The son of Kendra Henderson, of South Bend, and Michael Boyce Sr., of Atlanta, Ga., who had been ill less than two
weeks, “will be deeply missed,” said McKinley principal Deb Martin.
“He was a great young man,” Martin said. “He was well liked, sweet and athletic.”
She said Michael’s second-grade classmates in teacher Deb Bobalik’s class were badly shaken by the news and a crisis
team was at the school earlier this week.
“That class is very family oriented,” Martin said. “They are close-knit and it was very hard on the kids.”
Cheryl Jackson, of South Bend, a family relative, said Michael fell ill on the weekend of March 27 and 28. He was initially
taken to Memorial Hospital, then transferred to Riley.
“Doctors there said he went about 25 minutes without oxygen to his brain,” Jackson said. “They said about 10 percent of his
brain was functioning.”
Another cousin, Erik Jenkins, of South Bend, said Michael loved basketball, school and music.
“And he thought Michael Jackson was the greatest,” Jenkins said. “He knew every song and dance.”
His mother, Kendra Henderson, has two younger children, a sister, Madison, who is a kindergartner at McKinley, and a
brother, Makai, 4.
Jackson said the family has no insurance. To help with medical and funeral costs, they plan to raise money by selling T-shirts
with Michael’s photo and a Bible verse, as well as preparing and selling meals.
Additionally, the Michael Boyce Jr. Fund has been established at Teachers Credit Union. Anyone wishing to donate may do
so at any TCU location. For those who follow Street Kids Softball and wish to make a donation to help cover medical and
funeral costs, you can send a payment through Paypal (you can use your credit card as well through Paypal) and SKS will
make sure you donation is given to the Fund set up at TCU. The SKS paypal account is linked directly to TCU and the
funds can easily be transferred to the Boyce Fund.
Its always sad when someone passes away suddenly, but when its a child, it just doesn't seem fair, and often demands us to
question why the world works this way. But I continue to look to God for His strength and comfort and pray that He will
keep his love on this family as they deal with this terrible time. We also pass our condolences to Riley Horvath and all the
other friends of Michaels who are suffering in this hour.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Portions of this story were courtesy of Kirby Sprouls, South Bend Tribune. Street Kids Care/Street Kids Softball is the copywritten property of TJ Jorgensen, all rights reserved. 2010. |