"It's all been snuffed, but we're going to make a difference."
That's what Dan Curtis told me. He and his wife Julie are grieving the loss of their 30-year-old son Adam Curtis, who was killed in a crash last month while riding his motorcycle.
"He was an amazing soul," said Julie Curtis. "I miss him terribly."
Curtis used his passion for crafting and creativity to become a skilled tile worker after dropping out of college.
"He made a name with other tile companies," said Dan Curtis. "I'd run into a couple of them since Adam's passing that just said your kid was the future."
After Adam died, his parents went to Adam's home. His girlfriend, Katelyn, gave his mother a tile Lotus flower that Adam was making for her.
"He knows that [I] love flowers," she said. "The Lotus is significant for growing in the muck, growing in the darkness. Blooming and growing, and that's what our Adam was doing."
That tile is now the logo for Adam Curtis Hands & Heart, a new nonprofit started by Curtis' family. The goal is to help people who want a skilled trade job, just like Adam had a passion for.
"It could be huge," said Kathy Fuller, Adam's aunt. "It's going to take the whole community to put forth the ideas, show us the needs and to help support financially."
WATCH: Parents launch 'Adam Curtis Hands & Heart' in memory of son killed in Lancaster crash
Here's how to donate:
- Venmo: @AdamCurtisHandsAndHeart
- Zelle: @AdamCurtisHandsAndHeart.org
- Checks can be mailed to: Adam Curtis Hands & Heart, P.O. Box 1101, Buffalo, NY 14240
The Lotus tile is unfinished, and that's how Adam's parents want to leave it, knowing that there's unfinished work of giving back in his memory.
