SCOTT CO., Ky. (LEX 18 — It's been nearly three weeks since a Georgetown couple said goodbye to their 12-year-old son, Russ Bourget, after a UTV accident, and since then, their goal has been to spread a positive message in his honor.
Tiffany and Levi Bourget first adopted Russ when he was two years old. They say he was wise beyond his years and was always smiling and laughing. They describe him as Godly, intentional, energetic, and a kind child who always puts others first.
"The two things I'll remember the most about him is just that he loved God and he loved people," Mrs. Bourget reminisces. "We had no idea what we were getting into. When you've parented three other children, you assume you kind of know what you're doing, but Russ proved us wrong."
"He could read somebody's face and kind of see where they were and he kind of had a way to figure out how to make them smile or make them laugh," Mr. Bourget remembers.
Mrs. Bourget says Russ was always making cards for people, even if there wasn't a special occasion. It was just "thinking of you."
Nearly three weeks ago, on Saturday, July 20, the family traveled to Lake Herrington to spend it with the whole family. They had planned to take a boat ride and do all the fun things you do while with family. However, the day ended up turning into every parent's worst nightmare.
"So we just got a phone call that there was an accident and we needed to get there right away," both of them recall.
Russ had been involved in an accident with a UTV on Kennedy Bridge Road on the border where Garrard-Mercer counties merge.
"I got there and as soon as I got there, I fell on my knees. My face into the ground and I just cried out to God and, you know, I hung onto him a little bit as much as I could, and I just prayed and prayed and that's all I knew to do," Mr. Bourget tearfully recalls.
"I went to the library this week for the first time without him. He loved to read, and just leaving there with only three books, instead of a stack of 15. It hurt a little extra, you just miss him," Mrs. Bourget remembers.
Mr. Bourget explains how everything has gone quieter these days: "You look at the kitchen table and he's not there anymore. You look in the backseat of your car and he's not there anymore."
Several summers ago, Russ began donating to the AMEN House, an organization that feeds the hungry in Scott County. He was constantly donating toys, clothes and even money he would make after completing chores around the house.
Before he died, Russ created a "Life Goals" list with several items listed like, 'learn how to play guitar' and 'turn a bad person into a good person.' He even scribbled a goal to give back to those in need.
"The great parents that we are we didn't know that list existed until after the accident. His room as lots of personality, so we were just walking around and one of the kids noticed on the back of his door a piece of paper hanging up. And that’s how we found his life list," laughs Mr. Bourget at the memory.
Tiffany and Levi have been trying to fulfill that wish since July. Already, AMEN House donations have reached $18,000.
"It's just important to us because we knew it was important to him. And we feel like it's the best way to honor him and his legacy," admits Mrs. Bourget. "Our community has loved us so well through this, and has just been so supportive and it's just so obvious how many good people are just still in the world."
If you would like to donate to AMEN House on behalf of Russ, you can send money to PO Box 211, Georgetown, KY 40324.
