Remembering brett fitch

"When the world says, "Give up," Hope whispers, 'Try it one more time."

~ Unknown

One more time.

That's what he'd always say.

"Just one more time, mom," he'd say, whether he was doing a trick on his skateboard, playing Guitar Hero or practicing moves in tae kwon do.

"He'd say that every practice," Karen Ballentine, his tae kwon do instructor said.  "He gave 100% of himself to everything he did."

He'd get his friends in on it, too.  There was always on more time, he'd say.

He didn't know it, but sooner that time would be up.

For 20-year-old Brett Fitch, that time was Christmas Eve 2007.

The road was icy, the truck lost control, Brett lost his life.

Although his family and his friends no longer have him here, a part of him remains in everyone who knew him.

One more time.

Brett may be gone, but the hope, faith, strength, determination, persistence, drive and love that he embodied day in and day out will last forever in the hearts and thoughts of all those who knew him.  Those characteristics burn deeper in those carrying on after his loss.

Brett Fitch left a legacy for which he will always be remembered, and although he is no longer with us, his dreams remains alive and well.

It's not embellishing to say everyone loved him.  He was like Ferris Bueller or Marty McFly, making more friends than he could ever keep.  All the girls wanted, all the guys wanted to be him.

And friendship meant a lot to him.

Instead of saying goodbye when talking on the phone, he'd always finish the conversation with something like "Hey, hey, I love you, man."

Bobby Cisco, a close friend of Brett's, said those conversations started taking place about six months before he died.

Not a day goes by that his family and friends don't think about him.  His loss leaves a hole in the hearts of many, but the memories remain as does his dream.

A passionate and talented skateboarder, Brett spent a lot of his time in Helena at the skate park when he lived there.  It wasn't long after moving to Glendive as a sophomore in high school that he created a movement to create a skate park in town.

That movement, now called the Brett Fitch Foundation, is now closer than ever to making that dream a reality.

The group consists of mostly of Brett's closest friends and family.  Often they reminisce about times Brett would make them laugh.

He was a screamer," Bobby said.  "An upper, not a downer.  If someone had a bad day, he'd put them in a better mood."

Bobby said if someone felt down around him, he'd sometimes interrupt their conversation and let out a very distinctive high-pitched scream.

He knew how to have fun, how to make people laugh and he knew how to get others around him to have fun.

"He always had a smile," Emily Fitterman said.  "And he always made me smile."

If someone was down, he wouldn't just cheer them up, he'd also go out of his way to help them out it they needed something.

"Brett literally gave me the shirt off his back once," Jesse Hancock, Bobby's brother and close friend of Brett's, said.

Brett was also very involved, enthusiastic and energetic.  He was a leader in everything he did.  In tae kwon do, he set an example and inspired others just as he did on the skateboard.

"He was on another level," Bobby said.  "And he was a competitor.  Everything was a challenge to him."

Brett never wanted to lose, whether it was poker, skating or Guitar Hero.

"He inspired others," Bobby said.

Brett was a leader at home, too.  His mother, Brenda, was often at work.  As one of the oldest, Brett was a role model and practically a father figure to his little brother and sisters, Wesley and Alexandrea.

Before he passed, his identical twin brother, Justin, moved from Helena to Glendive as well.  Justin remains in town.  He shares many of the same interests as Brett and, not surprisingly, many of the same friends.

Being the identical twin, however, seeing him around is sometimes nostalgic for those who miss Brett, despite personal relationship s they may have with Justin.  For Brett and Justin grandfather, Bill, he considers it a blessing.

"I'm glad that there is a carbon copy out there," he said.  "A reminder."

Justin said Brett constantly appears in his dreams and is on his mind before he goes to bed and every morning before he wakes up.  As hard as it can be, he said it's good to talk about him.

"Sometimes we'd look at each other, just stare at each other, and we'd lose it.  Wouldn't be able to stop laughing.  It'd start hurting and we still couldn't stop," he said.  "I don't know what that was even about most the time."

"kids I'd never seen before would come up to me and say 'Hey, you're Brett's mom," she said.  "The still do."

At his funeral, there were too many to count.  Hundreds.

For many, there was no place to sit.

He had many friend and made more of an impact than he could've realized by being himself, by being a true friend and, for many, showing the way.

Brett lived like everybody should: to the fullest.  He gave everything as much energy as he could muster.  He tried, and he excelled.  And he did it all with no fear of being himself.  He did it all by believing in himself.

He is an example of how to live and how to keep on living.  He is a model of excellence as friends, as a competitor, as a person.