From My Fox Philly

NEWTOWN SQUARE – On Saturday, March 14, family and friends of 13-year old Cayman Naib gathered together at Haverford College for a memorial service to honor his life.

At the memorial service Cayman’s father, Farid Naib, emphasized the wonderful life that Cayman lived and talked about some of the many memories that he cherishes of Cayman. He stated, “Cayman was an out of the box thinker and extremely bright… I take comfort that Cayman lived his life to the fullest and I know he loved us deeply.”

The clip is now trending on Youtube because of the important details surrounding Cayman’s death.

In addition to remembering Cayman, Farid also spoke out about suicide prevention and the importance of talking to kids about suicide: “suicide is the worst possible choice… If you do find yourself considering it, talk to someone”. He also assured children that the hardships that may seem unbeatable now will be things that are not even remembered in 10 years.

Cayman, an 8th grade student at Shipley School, went missing for four days and was eventually found dead on March 8. Police discovered Cayman’s snow-covered body by the 3400 block of St. David’s Road late Sunday morning. Authorities confirmed the cause of death to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.

At the service, the family requested that those attending wear bright colored clothes to honor the “vibrant spirit of Cayman.” Those who were present commented that it was a beautiful memorial in which Cayman’s presence was surely felt by all.

In a statement that the Naib family released shortly following the finding of their son, they reiterated their “profound gratitude and appreciation for all the thousands of friends, family, community, law enforcement, local, county, and federal, search and rescue, fire departments, the school communities – especially Shipley and Episcopal Academy – and even perfect strangers who came out to volunteer, supported them with prayers and good wishes, and have loved them through this heartbreaking ordeal.”

The Naib family has received tremendous amounts of love and support from their friends, family and community on their Facebook page, at the memorial service, and in countless other ways. The family created the Facebook page “Celebrating Cayman” as a place for all to share their own memories and special thoughts of Cayman during this time of grief. On the Facebook page, the video of Farid Naib’s speech at the memorial service has already received over 11,000 views in just two days of its posting and is continuously being flooded by comments of warm thoughts and good wishes from the community.

The family asks that donations for Cayman be made to Main Line Animal Rescue, Box 89, Chester Springs, PA 19425.

If you or anyone you know is considering thoughts of suicide please seek help from friends and family or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

IMAGE: Cayman Naib pictured during happier times.

For more on this story and video go to: http://www.myfoxphilly.com/story/28551577/to-remember-cayman-naib
See also related story published March 10 2015 “Medical examiner: Cayman Naib died of self-inflicted gunshot wound” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/medical-examiner-cayman-naib-died-of-self-inflicted-gunshot-wound/