Born: 1969
Died: 2006
Lance was a fun loving child full of optimism about his future. Never at a loss for friends and as one of his teacher’s wrote about him – a born leader. I know that he started smoking marijuana in his teen years but never seemed to have the taste for alcohol. It never crossed my mind that he would become heavily addicted and eventually lose his life from this fatal disease. He was a very easy child to raise – never got into trouble and seemed to have a happy childhood. He did have a taste for the drama and was more sensitive than my other children. He grew up fast and never really experienced his teen years. He met his wife-to-be when he was 16 and was married by 20 and had 2 children in his early 20’s but he still managed to finish college and seemed to be on the pathway to a happy, successful life. He was very devoted to his family and his career looked bright.
Lance was very humble and never bragged or even spoke about his accomplishments of which there were many before his life became consumed by addiction. He had a hard time in high school because we moved during this time and he did not feel like he fit in. He did not graduate and later he got his GED and went to a small Community College. He then decided he would apply to NYU Film School even though he was told by his Advisors that it would probably be very hard to get in. He wrote a letter and that along with his grades got him accepted. This was the happiest time of his life. He loved creating and working with others that had the same vision. Lance was a true friend and never judgmental of others. He always saw the best in all people. Lance graduated from NYU Tisch Film School and made a short film while in school which was 9 years before his addiction. The film called, “Time’s Up” is about 2 generations of a family struggling with addiction. In some way, his soul must have known that this would touch his life. He was a high achiever that was successful in all that he touched until addiction to alcohol took over his life and changed everything.
Lance started having marital problems and at the same time he had a job writing for “Showbiz Magazine” in Las Vegas. He would review the shows and during this time, he was given free drinks. I can only guess that he found a way to dull the pain of what was going on in his life. He quickly because addicted and whenever he would try to withdraw, he would have seizures. His life became a vicious circle of him losing everything that was important to him because of drinking and hating himself because of it but continuing to drink to numb the pain. A year before he died, he went into rehab and those that loved him were so grateful that this might mean a recovery. Unfortunately, the sobriety was short lived and he went downhill even faster than before. His liver was giving out and his health was declining. He died in a single vehicle accident after drinking along with taking prescription medication.
Lance’s smile lit up a room and he had the most amazing sense of humor. He could find humor in the littlest of things and he loved holidays and went out his way to make them very special. I miss his fun loving personality and his love of family. I miss his funny stories and his creativity in coming up with inventions, writing songs and script ideas for shows. Always writing his ideas on napkins and little pieces of paper than I would find laying around. I am forever in awe of his creative mind and his love of life. I am so grateful that I got to be his Mother and had him in my life for 36 years. He always said that he was a Mama’s boy and didn’t care who knew it.