The victim of a fatal collision near Tilbury is being remembered for all the smiles he put on people’s faces in his short life.
Sebastian Belliveau passed away on January 20, leaving behind his parents and two younger siblings.
Eight of his closest friends; Madison Cook, Jackson Cook, Tyler Parkhouse, Caydyn Willis, Blake Fast, Kruz Panjer, Maddyx Beaulieu, and Cameron Arnel have taken it upon themselves to help his family any way possible.
“We’ve been to Seb’s house hanging out with his [family], we didn’t want them to be alone through this,” said Parkhouse.
It took a couple of days, but the friends say they were able to get his parents to smile again. Beaulieu explained this would have been the first thing Belliveau would have done if he was around.
“Whenever you were feeling upset or anything, he would do his best to give you a smile. He always had two thumbs up,” he added.
They all mentioned it would be tough to find Belliveau without a smile on his face.
“It didn’t matter what he was doing and that would brighten up a lot of people’s days,” said Willis.
Shortly after Belliveau’s death, the group was able to collect some money to give to his family to help with his funeral costs. That’s when they had the idea to start a GoFundMe page. In less than a week, the fundraiser had raised around $25,000.
“We thought we’d maybe get to $5,000 or $10,000 but I never thought we’d get anywhere near $25,000,” said Madison Cook.
She explained the family plans to use the funds to cover his funeral expenses. Everything left over will go towards a bowling scholarship since it was one of Belliveau’s favourite things to do.
In fact, the friends all plan to get a tattoo in honour of Belliveau. Each will say ‘Mr. 300’ since he recently bowled a perfect game.
A separate fundraiser will also be happening at Chatham Bowlerama on February 8, 2025, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The Cook’s will be also planting a tree in Northside Park as a separate memorial for Belliveau.