ROANOKE, Va. – On Monday, hundreds gathered to say goodbye to Cam Thepisimuong, a William Byrd High School student who spent his last years battling cancer.
Cam led a courageous life, inspiring almost everyone who met him, even as he faced treatment.
A friend of Cam said, “That’s the type of person Cam was, if there was a will, there was a way.”
“He helped me get out of my comfort zone and really pushed me to be more confident in myself.”
Another friend said, “I was always worried about him and his leg and I asked Cam, I said, ‘Cam are you going to be okay?’ He looked at me and said, ‘I’m with my friends and God, I’ll be okay.’” He added, “I just know I really loved Cam and he was really there for me.”
Inside William Byrd High School, loved ones filled the seats, many wearing his favorite color, purple, in his honor.
WT Thompson, youth pastor and friend to Cam, said, “Today we’re here because we loved Cam and because his life mattered. We come together with heavy hearts but thankful hearts, carrying grief that’s real, memories that are full and a faith that is still holding us all together.”
Cam was diagnosed with stage four bone cancer at 16, but never let that define him.
Evan Noell, principal of William Byrd High School, said, “Camden was the embodiment of selflessness and determination. Even during the most difficult parts of his treatment, his first instinct was to ask his nurses and doctors how they were doing.”
The service ended with a terrier tunnel, friends and family lining the hallways as Cam was carried out.
As this community says goodbye, they also promise to carry on the love Cam showed every day.
Principal Evan Noell added, “The impact he had on thousands will continue to impact us on a daily basis. It’s our responsibility to carry on that purpose.”