MARBLEHEAD, Mass. — Marblehead High School Senior Owen Coyne is being remembered by his parents as a hero, and someone who touched the lives of all who knew him.
Coyne died last week after suffering a brain hemorrhage and being hospitalized for several days.
“I don’t think this had to be the end of his story,” Angela Paradise, Owen’s mom, said. “It’s hard as a parent to wrap my head around where we were just two and a half weeks ago and the future that we had then versus where we are today and how that future is no longer,” Angela said.
Owen was a three-sport athlete, co-captain of his football team, an honors student with a 4.0 GPA, but more than that, Angela said he was a loving son, a brother to three younger siblings, and a friend.
“Owen was just the son who never gave us trouble, never came home late, cared for everybody,” Angela said.
Last month, Owen played his first football game of his senior season.
“He scored the first touchdown of this season, we were thrilled, made a bunch of tackles,” Angela said.
A week later, Angela said he started experiencing headaches and throwing up. Doctors initially thought it could have been a delayed concussion. But when Owen’s symptoms didn’t improve, they went back to the ER, and were transferred to a hospital in Boston when they discovered a brain bleed.
After several days of receiving treatment, Owen did not survive.
“One of the things that I said to him as we were saying goodbye is I wish I could have done more to prevent this or to fight harder for him,” Angela said.
In the days that followed, Owen’s parents learned their son’s larger-than-life legacy stretched even further than they imagined. First, as an organ donor, Owen’s organs went on to support five patients in need.
“We are very proud. He’s a hero,” Angela said.
Brian Coyne, Owen’s dad, said the doctor noted Owen’s heart was, “about two and a half times stronger than the typical one that he would see.”
It was even more proof that their son was stronghearted to his core.
“Owen, he really was the strongest person I knew, you know, not just in physical strength but in his character and his moral compass,” Angela said.
That fact is something his parents came to know more as friends and even strangers shared how Owen touched their lives.
“We’re learning things about Owen that we didn’t know, and we’re very proud of him, even before hearing more incredible stories that we weren’t aware of,” Brian said.
Brian and Angela hope to keep hearing and sharing stories of their son’s life as they work to find the strength to keep going.
“I want his story told. I want people to know all of the great things that he did in his 17 years on this planet,” Angela said.
Angela and Brian said some of their friends created a GoFundMe to start a scholarship in Owen’s honor. You can find more information here.
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