SQUIRE RYAN BECKETT

August 2001 – December 2014

Ryan Michael Beckett was born in August 2001 in Concord, North Carolina. He was the younger of two children. When Ryan was in first grade, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome[1]. This made it very difficult for him to interact with other people and not always be accepted socially. However, Ryan was very smart. He excelled at math and spelling. If there was a subject Ryan was interested in, he learned all he could about it and could tell you anything about it even if you did not want to know. These subjects included trains, cars, race cars, Minecraft, and the history of wars. Ryan also participated in the Special Olympics through his school.

At the age of 10, Ryan joined Squires Circle 5132 where his brother, Justin, was also a member. In his last year, he was elected the bursar. He also was very supportive of his brother who held the positions of Chief Squire and State Chief Squire. Ryan was also passionate about supporting people with intellectual and physical disabilities. He volunteered alongside Knights to collect money for LAMB through the Tootsie Roll program.

In December 2014, Ryan became very sick and eventually was admitted to the hospital after suffering a stroke and becoming unresponsive. On December 30, 2014, after fighting for his life at the Levine Children's hospital for two weeks, Ryan passed away from complications of bacterial meningitis that attacked his body and brain.

[1] Asperger’s Syndrome is a developmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.

Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Beckett.