By Hannah W. Wever

Published: April 3, 2008

To the Editor:
We are responding to the article written about our son, Stephen Caleb Smith. My husband and I were appalled to look at the page beside his obituary and see an article explaining our child’s death and who was at fault.
I immediately called the Virginia State Police (Wednesday) and the Orange County Review also on the same day. They have yet to respond to my family. While we feel certain things are newsworthy, we hardly feel the tragic death of someone’s loved one is particularly one of those times.
The State Police officer stood in our house on that tragic day and kept asking us if there was anything he could do. Our only request was that he contact my (mother), grandmother and grandfather, who are elderly, to make sure they were okay. We never dreamed we would have to say, “Please respect our family.” We felt that was a statement that did not need to be verbalized as he was watching our family suffer. We never dreamed this would happen. In defense of the officer who came to our home, it was not he who put this information in the paper.
Our other problems were, not only did the article list our son’s name, it also listed the very road we live on. We felt as though we were a spectacle in the eyes of the people of Orange County.
For those of you who know our family and have suffered with us over this past week, we are a strong Christian family with a strong belief in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As Caleb’s mother and father, we will forever have the image of the resuscitation efforts on our son engraved in our memory. We will also forever have to live with the guilt of the death of our son.
However, we are not the only ones who will have to live with this guilt. The poor lady who hit Caleb also has to live with this. I can’t possibly imagine how she feels or what she is going through in her own grief. Our families do not blame each other for what happened.
It was best said to us this way, “It was God’s timing. From the day Caleb took his first breath, he was appointed a time to die, and no matter how you think you could change anything about that time, it would not have been possible. For God’s timing is perfect and He knows best.” Our Caleb is in heaven with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The best way we could honor him is to make sure every moment of every day we are ready should the Lord call us home.
As Caleb’s family and on behalf of the driver’s family, we covet your prayers and ask that you continue to lift us all up. You will have no idea what a difference your prayers have made.
Bless and peace to you all.
Gary, Pam, Kim and Hannah Smith