Ardmore Families Mourn a Joyful Child

On Friday evening at about 7 p.m., under a very dark January evening sky, with bone-chilling winds, the open block that is Linwood Park in Ardmore pulsed with life and remembrance.

A couple of dozen Ardmore neighbors and friends gathered to remember Sean King, 14, a seventh-grader at Welsh Valley Middle School who died earlier that day. He had suffered a stroke earlier in the week.

Sean had Down syndrome, but attended mainstream classes, and throughout his short life evidently attracted quite a fan club.  “My life will be changed forever for having known him,” said one speaker, during a candlelight vigil at the park, organized just hours earlier by Sean’s friends.

It was a fairly typical comment.

“Sean was the life of the party, no matter where we were,” said another neighbor, garnering knowing laughter from the crowd.

“He was more genuine than all of us put together. Sean is a symbol to be grateful for your whole life.”

“The bus, every morning, my ray of sunshine would come to me,” said the mother of one of Sean’s friends, addressing Sean’s mother, Mary Mikus, and his father, Jack King. “There was Sean, with that million-watt ray-of-sunshine smile. I looked forward to that, every morning.

“You never left his presence without feeling a little better.”

Earlier on Friday, at the third annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Afternoon of Service at Lower Merion High School, who crafted a large card, or poster, for him.

“I discovered much to my pleasure and satisfaction that there was a lot to be learned from my grandson, Sean,” said John Mikus, addressing the crowd. “Basically what I did learn was the power of love. The love that he extended to every person that he ever met, influenced that individual.

“I know that it was passed on, otherwise there would not be this group of men and women, boys and girls, paying tribute to Sean. We are all better for having known him, or having been exposed to his consideration and thoughtfulness—and particularly, his love.”

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Sean was laid to rest Tuesday. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Sean King Fund for Inclusive Practices, PNC Bank, 926 Montgomery Ave., Narberth, PA 19072.