Beautiful Boy.....

Henry Louis Granju

1991-2010

Yesterday, I wrote a full post about someone I do not know.

Katie Allison Granju.

I then decided not to "hit" publish.

It just didn't seem like my news to share.

I am not a Mother.

I don't read the parenting books that Ms. Granju has authored.

But, I do read her blog.

I love her zany way of conveying life with a career and kids.

I love the fact that lives in Knoxville!

I love the fact she lives in a 100 year old Victorian home.

I love her dog.

I really, really, really love her honesty.

And, so today I write about her.

Along with thousands of others.

Because it is my story to share.

And yours.

If you read BlogHer, Babble, or even The New York Times

or a host of other sites that feature the writings of Katie, then you know.

You know that her beautiful boy has died.

Henry was a great kid who went astray.

And then he met up with bad people who did

a horrific thing to him.

They beat him so terribly that for the last month,

Katie and her family have sat by his bedside.

Waiting.

Waiting for him to recover.

And then Tuesday morning as I mucked stalls,

I heard the news on the radio.

Henry Louis Granju

had died.

And I cried, as I worked.

Raw is the only way I can describe the words

that Katie uses to fill her pages.

And it is my story because I am a

Human Being

who cares.

The following is a list combined by Knoxville blogger

Shane Rhyne.

A list of all the blogs that have paid tribute to

Henry.

Oh, how I wish Henry could have known how much love

the world had for him.

500Jerk – The Mess! It’s Back!

ABC: Life from the Start of the Alphabet – Prayers for a hurting family

Adventures in Juggling – Heartbreak

Always Running – Sadness from another mommy blogger

And Triplets Make Six – Call to Action

Angelawd – Control is an illusion

Anocial – A family’s pain shared gives social media the power to change lives

Apt. 11D – Losing a son

Austin Holistic Parenting on a Dime – Thinking about Henry and Katie

Avonturen Vanuit ons Hoekje Van de Wereld – Memorial Day (Dutch language site)

Barefoot Lovey’s Blog – Sadness…

Bearing Blog – Sad story

Bearing Blog – Update to my post about Katie Granju and her son Henry

Big Kid – Mom blogger Katie Allison Granju loses teen son

Big Life; Small Space – Sundries

Blog de DanceDivam – No justice for Henry

Blog de DanceDivam – Open entreaty to Knox County Sheriff’s Office

BlogHer – RIP, Henry Louis Granju

Boongablogger – Death and blogging

Brian’s Blog – My heart breaks!

A Broken Compass – Minimal Monday on a Tuesday

Cleaning Up the Clutter – Forget the cleaning, spend time with your kids today

Collie’s Corner – In which I talk about my kids

Cookin’ Like Crazy! – A sad day

Crib Chronicles – Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird

D.I.Y. – The good, the bad, and the downright ugly…

DadWagon – A death in the blogging community

The Daily Grind of a Work at Home Mom – On controlling our kids

Daily Pulse – Henry Louis Granju, 1991-2010

Daughter of Opinion – The things that happen to other people

Did I Read the Fine Print? – Henry Granju

Did I Read the Fine Print? – More on Henry Granju

Domestic Psychology – Sunsets

The Elmo Wallpaper – For Katie Granju

Halfway to Normal – Let’s be frank

Ham Towne – Everyone deserves justice

The Happiest Mom – Going on living after a child has died

Happymommyblog – A loss…

Her Bad Mother – Things that go bump in the light of day

HipMama – Henry Louis Granju 1991-2010

Hippie Cool Chick – The brick through the window

Hit Coffee – Saddest posts this week

Hit Coffee – Avenging Henry

Homestead Geek – The overwhelming suffering of others

Hormone-Colored Days – I laughed, I cried, I thought, then I cried some more

I Am Socially Awkward – Henry Granju

I Buy Cheap Toilet Paper – Day two. Not about me.

I Most Definitely Control the Spice – Today there is a shadow of sadness

Instapundit – Some people want to know how to help

Instapundit – Justice for Henry

Jagadiah – Tweeting real life and nonsense

Jelazakazone – Profound and mundane

Just Enjoy Him – RIP, H

Just Enjoy Him – Bad days; still counting blessings

Kabobs & Apple Pie – You wouldn’t understand

KnoxViews – Sad news

KnoxViews – With a little help from her friends

Laundry for Six – Lazy linky Friday

Les Jones – Henry Granju and Johnia Berry

Life…by Laura Lou – Guilt, and judgment

Life in Every Limb – One Way to Help

Life in Every Limb – A mother’s plea for justice

A Little Bit Random – Mamapundit

Living My Social Work – Where you never ever want to go

Lo and Behold – What’s on my mind?

Love That Max – The circles of parent hell

The Lynnster Zone – In lieu of flowers for Henry

The Lynnster Zone – First the good part

The Lynnster Zone – In which I ask, “How is beating someone with a tire iron not a criminal and arrest-worthy act?”

MamaJake – Goodbye Henry Granju

Mami Dearest – RIP Henry Granju

Many Good Things – Random Wednesday – now with more awesome!

Marie-Eve in Montreal – 18 (and a whole life to go)

MartiniMade – No words, really.

Melospiza – Technically June 1 is summer don’t even argue

The Memphis Blog – Justice for Henry

Middle-Aged Diva – When dreams die young

Miss Zoot – Nothing More That I Can Say

The Modernity Ward – Some mama’s baby

Mom2Mom – Mamapundit’s son dies of drug overdose

Momformation – He was beautiful

Mommy Needs Coffee! – Heartbreaking news

The More, the Messier – Parenting Illusions

The Mother of All Parenting Blogs – A night when I long to be with other mothers

Mothering Outside the Lines – A life ending deal

Mothering Outside the Lines – Talking to (little) kids about drugs and other hard stuff

Motherlode – Updates

Ms. Booty Homemaker Explains It All to You – Weeping from the universal mother place at another mama’s unimaginable loss

Musings from the Big Pink – Hoarders for the last time I promise

Musings Musings Musings – Weekly round-up

My Crazy Mommy Life – I just read a story of a woman who lost her son to drugs

My Crazy Mommy Life – Henry Louis Granju

No Silence Here – A Tragic Loss and the Power of Words

No Silence Here – Folks react to Henry’s story, death

No Silence Here – Helping Katie and her family

No Silence Here – Police investigating Henry Granju’s death

No Silence Here – Funding Henry’s legacy

No Silence Here – An outpouring of support continues

No Silence Here – Henry’s story on NYT blog, ‘Motherlode’

No Silence Here – Henry’s death: reaction, support continues

No Silence Here – Mother: find Henry’s killer(s)

No Silence Here – Some sound advice for the Granju family

No Silence Here – Henry’s mother expresses frustration

No Silence Here – More reaction to Henry’s death pours in

No Silence Here – You think they’re blogging about Henry?

No Silence Here – Twittering a mother’s nightmare

No Silence Here – Just posted on Knoxnews.com

No Silence Here – Blogs react: 100+ linked to Henry’s story

No Silence Here – A Song for Henry

Noodlefood – A tragic death

Not Raising Brats – Preparing for the worst

Observations on Faith – Henry Granju

Organically Inclined – Lend a hand – rest in peace Henry Granju

Parent Hacks – When things go wrong

Pattie’s Pop Culture Paradise – Support a local blogger

Prairie Road – In memory of Henry Louis Granju (1991-2010)

Robin’s Blue Skies – The saddest news of all

A Room of Mama’s Own – In memory of Henry Louis Granju

She Talks – A cautionary tale with a very sad ending

ShePosts – Attachment parenting expert + blogger loses son to drugs

Single Dad Blog – A dose of reality

Speak to Power – Henry’s Legacy

Speak to Power – The Henry Louis Granju Memorial Scholarship Fund

Speak to Power – Katie Allison Granju has a request

Spittin’ Grits – RIP, Henry Louis Granju

St. James Episcopal – The Weekend

Stability for Our Time – Overlap

Stability for Our Time – How to get away with murder in Knox County

Standing in the Shadows – Today: love, sadness

Strangelittlemama – About a boy

Strollerderby – Blogger’s son dies while recovering from overdose and assault

The Sunsphere Is Not a Wigshop – A tragic loss for one of our neighbors

Superpixel Subscripts – Not even qualified to comprehend the sorrow

Sustainable Mothering – Goodbye Henry Granju

Theatrical Milestones – Cautious Optimism

Thinking Out Loud – Losing Henry

This Woman’s Work – Love to the Granju family

This Woman’s Work – Kids will be kids

This Woman’s Work – Celebrating Henry

The Ties That Bind – The things that go bump in the night just get scarier when you are a parent

Tiny Cat Pants – Lightning Bugs

Tiny Cat Pants – Things become strange in the case of Henry Granju

Turbulent Black Tea – Knoxville mother and parent begs other parents read her story

Turbulent Black Tea – Teen drug use: breaking the comfort zone of stereotyping

Unfit Mother – Compassion

Unfit Mother – Personal

Unfit Mother – A call to arms

Unfit Mother – Henry Louis Granju

What If? – It can’t happen here

Wijbeencorrysreizen – En dan staat de aarde even stil… (Dutch language site)

Zwinglius Redivivus – This makes me so sad – and mad

What I ask of you today is to visit Katie's blog,

Mama Pundit

mamapundit

Read through her past few weeks of entries.

She sat with him for over a month,

every day.

And she is eight months pregnant with her fifth child.

A daughter, named Georgia.

Who will never know her big brother, Henry.

You do not need to leave a sweet comment for me today.

I will know you stopped by.

But, in your busy life please take a moment

to leave one for Katie and her family.

Because, we are Human Beings who care.

mercy, me.

GRANJU, HENRY LOUIS - age 18, passed away Monday, May 31 at the University of Tennessee Medical Center after having spent more than a month courageously fighting for his life. Henry was born October 7, 1991 at St. Mary's Hospital, and he grew up in Knoxville surrounded by a large circle of loving family and friends. He was one of the members of the founding class at Episcopal School of Knoxville, where he spent eight happy years as a student, and he earned his high school diploma in November, 2009. He was a gifted musician and writer with an incredibly clever sense of humor. He brought joy to his friends and family with his creative jokes and the natural compassion he held for others. Henry felt the world deeply and never stopped showing us the world in a different light through his incredible heart. He especially loved his dog, Fiat, and he spent many happy times with his extended family in Bell Buckle, TN, which he considered his second home. Henry was very close to his younger siblings, Jane Granju, Elliot Granju and Charlotte Hickman. He also treasured his role as oldest cousin to Eleanor, McLean and Nancy Catherine Tant, Jones, Anna, Helen and Nicholas Allison, Gray, Jack, Ward and Leo Anderson, and Louis and Will Granju. He is survived by his parents, Chris Granju and Katie Allison Granju, and his stepparents, Jon Hickman and Melissa Granju, all of Knoxville. His surviving grandparents and great grandparents are Susan Anderson Allison, Jane Allison, Nancy Orr Anderson, and Jean Pierre and Barbara Granju. Surviving aunts and uncles are Ray and Betsy Tant, Robert and Nicole Allison, and Nicolas and Karen Granju. Receiving of friends will begin at 10am on Saturday, June 5 at St. Johns Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Knoxville, with memorial services immediately following at St. Johns, beginning at 11:30 am. There will be a casual open house at 2:15 pm following the service at the home of Jon Hickman and Katie Allison Granju. The family asks that mourners avoid wearing black, and that everyone bring fresh cut or picked flowers to the service for children to lay at the altar. In lieu of funeral arrangements, and in honor of Henry's brave battle against the disease of addiction, the family requests that donations be made to a permanent endowed fund being established to assist families in paying for needed drug and alcohol treatment for their children. Donations may be sent to: The Henry Louis Granju Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o Administrator: James Anderson Morgan Stanley Smith Barney 2000 Meridian Blvd. Suite 290 Franklin, TN 37067. May God's loving light envelope our precious, beloved boy, the light and love of our lives - our beautiful Henry.

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Pictures of Henry Granju courtesy of mampundit
Blog list courtesy of Shane Rhyne
Obit-Knox News Sentinal