Damian was a creator and a musician, but long before he ever held a guitar, he was my beautiful, easy baby.

As a baby, I knew he was my last child, so I held him every chance I got!!!  From the moment he came home, he was a breeze, just happy to be near me. As he grew, he found his voice in the music of Twenty One Pilots and Blink-182.  He loved the grit, the meaning, and the loyalty in Twenty-One Pilot songs. There is a line from his favorite album that says:

“Lean on my pride / I’m a lion.”

That was Damian’s life. He was surrounded by a literal Pride of people who loved him and protected him with fierce loyalty.  I heard the lyrics and told him - he was a lion - and he had a pride.  He could count on any of his pride and we'd be there. 

He had Jay, who stood beside him for nearly a decade as the father Damian truly deserved. They shared a deep bond through music, from the drums to the electric guitar. Watching Damian find his rhythm was one of the greatest joys of my life, and hearing his voice deepen and grow stronger as he stepped into himself was something I will always carry with me.

He had his Aunt Kayla just minutes away, and his Grammy and Gramps close by as well. Every time life shifted, every time something was hard, his Pride showed up—to move the boxes at a moment's notice, to sit beside him, to lift him up. He was never alone.

But it was during those teen years that our bond became unbreakable!  Every morning, I drove him to school, and those drives became our sanctuary. We would blast music and talk about school.  There is a song called "My Blood" by Twenty-One Pilots, and I lived every word of that song for him.

When the world didn’t give him what he needed, I stood beside him. I went with him through every hardship, every SINGLE heartbreak, every dark moment, because I needed him to know I meant it when we sang:

When everyone you thought you knew...Deserts your fight, I'll go with you....You're facin' down a dark hall...I'll grab my light and go with you. I'll go with you. Stay with me, no, you don't need to run. Stay with me, my blood, you don't need to run.  

He was talented. He was sensitive. He was deeply loved.

Damian isn’t running anymore.

He has found the peace he was searching for. He will always be my baby boy.But he is our blood. 

And though the music has changed, he lives on, in every beat of the drum, every lyric we hear, and every memory we carry forward with love. 

In his final moments, Damian was not alone. Jay and I were with him; his mom and the man who stood beside him loved him and showed up for him every day for nearly a decade.

We held him, spoke to him, and told him over and over how deeply he was loved.

He knew we were there.

He knew he was loved.

And that love will never leave him—and it will never leave us.Love, His Mother, who has been by his side for 25 years. 

Damian and I met at work. On its face, just being a coworker doesn't measure up to the personal stories others have shared, but I can also say that he was one of the few people there I really trusted, really felt like he got me. I looked forward to any day where I'd get to see him, talk about life and the things that brought us there. He lit up my day any time he was there.

We had been talking about finding time to hang out outside work. I even was thinking about how he and a high school friend of mine would have gotten along famously and how I wanted to introduce them. He offered to give me guitar lessons when I got my first guitar. I wish I could have had even one.

Damian was a great guy: down to earth, caring, passionate. The kind of guy to make any shitty day a bit more bearable because you knew you had someone right there with you. We may have just been coworkers, but I cried and cried when I heard. I'll think of him every time I pick up my guitar, and I'll keep doing it for him. I'm gonna miss you, dude. 

My condolences to Damian's family. I first met Damian in elementary school and we became friends through our brothers. I am grateful to have had you as a best friend in my early childhood years. I had some of the best childhood memories with you and the impact you had on me never faded. You are a sweet soul and the memories i had with you are unforgettable. This loss feels incredibly hard, and it doesn’t feel real. I wish we could have had more time together. Thank you for being a kindhearted friend to me. ❤️

Love,

 Sequoiah

When I first met Damian I was freshly in highschool. I never had any friends before him and our group. I was 14 when Damian Shawn Xander and Sierra came into my life. It was the first time I was included into a group. Together we all laughed, talked, had fun adventures into old town, and mostly held each other up in such a turbulent time in being a teen.

I remember when my little sister Sarah died Damian went to the funeral with me because I was to scared to go alone. He sat with me in the front row and accepted my process of grief without judgment. Damian made me feel brave and He made a really dark day a really positive one full of memories that I still think about today. He gave me a space to go when my world felt chaotic, he made me laugh on days that I wasn’t sure I could laugh anymore, he brought a village to me when I felt alone in the world and that’s something I will never forget ❤️

I never knew Damian as an adult but I know that his kindness and understanding was something he carried with him through out his life and I know everyone who got to know him as an adult saw that. My deepest condolences and he will be eternally missed❤️