"IN GOD'S HANDS"
MEMORIAL PAGES

~REMEMBERING WITH LOVE~
 

 

 

~BRAM STERLING DAVIS~
 
 

 
 

 
 

 

~BORN TO EARTH~
JULY 8, 1976

~BORN TO HEAVEN~
DECEMBER 8, 1999

BELOVED SON OF:
SHERALEE TONNESSEN EBERT

BELOVED BROTHER OF:
ROBERT VOLK & HUNTER LOOK

BELOVED FATHER OF:
JULIANNA MARIA 

BELOVED GRANDSON OF:
JOAN TONNESSEN

BELOVED NEPHEW OF:
NATHAN, BRENT & NICOLE TONNESSEN
 
 

 
 

MY SON BRAM WAS BORN DEAF.  HE WAS KILLED 
WHEN A SEMI TRUCK MADE AN ILLEGAL U-TURN 
IN FRONT OF HIS CAR.  AT THE TIME OF HIS 
DEATH BRAM WAS AWAITING THE BIRTH OF 
HIS DAUGHTER, JULIANNA MARIA, BORN ON 
JANUARY 28, 2000.
 

THIS PICTURE IS BRAM'S YOUNGEST BROTHER,
HUNTER SIGNING "I LOVE YOU"

 JULIANNA  MARIA SIGNING 
"I LOVE YOU" 

GRANDMA SHERALEE & JULIANNA MARIA
 
 

 
 

~BRAM'S PHOTO GALLERY~
 

BRAM'S BABY PICTURE

BRAM AS A TODDLER

BRAM WAS THE FIRST CHILD IN THE COUNTRY 
TO HAVE A GUIDEDOG FOR THE DEAF 
 
 

 
 

BRAM AND I AT THE ATLANTA AIRPORT.
WE WERE ON OUR WAY TO RECEIVE THE 
COCHLEAR IMPLANT

~CROSSROADS~

I've got nothing on my mind 
nothing to remember
nothing to forget
And I've nothing to regret
But I'm all tied up on the inside
No one knows quite what I've got
And I know that on the outside
What I use to be ~ I'm not
Anymore

You know I've heard about people like me
But I never made the connection
They walk one road to set them free
And find they've gone the wrong direction
But there's no need for turning back
'cause all roads lead to where I stand
And I believe I'll walk them all
No matter what I may have planned

Can you remember who I was
Can you still feel it
Can you find my pain
Can you heal it
Then lay your hands upon me now
And cast this darkness from my soul
You alone can light my way
You alone can make me whole
Once again

We've walked both sides of every street
Through all kinds of windy weather
But that was never our defeat
As long as we could walk together
So there's no need for turning back
'cause all roads lead to where we stand
And I believe we'll walk them all
No matter what we may have planned

RECUPERATING AFTER COCHLEAR IMPLANT
BRAM WAS ONE OF THE FIRST GROUP OF 
CHILDREN TO RECEIVE THE IMPLANT.  FDA 
STUDY BEFORE THEY WERE RELEASED TO 
THE PUBLIC.
 

 
 

~OUR LAST FAMILY VACATION~

The family before the slopes ~ Aunt Niki's Hover Craft Station
 

The family on the slopes ~ skiing at Snowshoe Mountain
 

The family after the slopes ~ relaxing after a long day
 
 

 
 

~BRAM'S ROAD MARKER~

December 11, 1999

Bram Sterling Davis’s Eulogy: 
By Sheralee Tonnessen Look (Mother)
Born July 8, 1976:Died December 8, 1999

Dear Family and Friends,

It is with a heavy heart I stand before you today.  I am comforted and held up by the great souls in this room.  Thank you for coming into Bram’s and our family’s lives in our hour of need.  On Wednesday evening after finishing wrapping Christmas gifts, for Bram and his family, the phone rang at 8:52.  It was the neuro surgeon at Lee Memorial asking me to please hurry to the emergency room that Bram was in an accident.  I asked him if he was going to die and he said, "Yes".  The very phone call every parent dreads.  And, yes, it is the most dreadful.  I am eternally grateful they kept him alive long enough for us to say goodbye.  We collectively found the courage to be with Bram when he passed and he was surrounded by those who loved him most.  He never suffered; life was over for him in an instant.  He died a happy man and had everything he ever wanted out of life; his family, Anna and his child.

I want everyone here to know that Bram taught me how to be a good Mom.  He taught me patience and tolerance and unconditional love.  I believe he was a prince among souls and his job here on earth was finished and it was time for him to go.  We do not know the hour of our death, for if we did we would live life much differently.  We would release our anger and forgive everyone for everything.  We are fragile fallible beings with much to learn about loving one another.  Mostly we are frightened.  Bram was one of those rare souls who wasn’t frightened.  He loved openly and freely.  He judged no one and accepted people just for themselves.  And that’s all he wanted from others, acceptance.  He is loved beyond measure by all his family.  He was special not because of his deafness, but because he was who he was. 

We will be showing a life review pictorial essay of Bram set to music he can now hear.  I had some trouble choosing pictures so just about all of them are in the video and it is about 40 minutes long.  If anyone needs to get up and stretch or has to leave, please feel free to do so.  We will bury him right after the video here at the cemetery. 

In closing, I want to tell you how Bram addressed me on the phone each and every time he called.  He would say, "Hello Mom, I love you, this is son Bram".  And he ended every call with, "Tell my brothers I love them", and I always did.  And I would like to thank him publicly now for being my Number One Son and to tell him one last time "Sweet Dreams".

~BRAM'S GRAVE SITE~
 
 

 
 

GRANDMA SHERALEE & JULIANNA MARIA

 
 

 
 

~YOU MADE ME WHO I AM~

 I held you close and stroked your head and sang
"Today my prince did come" when you were born.

I soon found out you never heard those words,
because you were brought to me deaf.

I never thought this was a loss, 
because to me you were perfect
in every way and being deaf 
was just part of who you were.

 We laughed and learned your sign language and 
It was special.

We discovered life together, 
yours in the hearing world
and me in the world of the Deaf.

And odd as it may seem, it was all so natural for us.

You were always just you, but you made me who I am.

You made me see the world  in a new way.

You made me learn.

You made me think.

You made me love.

You made me Mommy.

~FOREVER YOUR MOTHER~
~SHERALEE~
 
 

 
 

UNCLE BRENT, OLD MOTHER
(BRAM'S PET NAME FOR MY MOM),
JULIANNA, MOM, UNCLE NATHAN, ROBBIE & HUNTER 

~CHRISTMAS 2000~

PICTURES OF MY GRANDDAUGHTER
~JULIANNA MARIA~

THESE PICTURES ARE VERY SPECIAL TO ME
AS THE TREE THAT JULIANNA IS SITTING
BY AND TOUCHING WAS HER DADDY BRAM'S
TREE BEFORE HE COULD AFFORD A REAL ONE.

THIS IS A VERY SPECIAL BEAR
IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY YOU WILL SEE
THAT HE IS SIGNING
"I LOVE YOU"
 
 

 
 

~I'M FREE~
~AUTHOR UNKNOWN~

Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free;
I'm following the path God laid for me.
I took The hand when I heard the call;
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work or play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way;
I found that place at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.

A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss;
Ah yes, these things, I too, will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow;
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life's been full, I savored much;
Good friends, good times, a loved one's touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief;
Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me;
God wanted me now, and set me free.
 
 

 
 

 
 

PLEASE VISIT
"IN GOD'S HANDS"

~REMEMBERING WITH LOVE~
  ~BRAM STERLING DAVIS - ANNIVERSARY PAGE~

 ~ON THE WINGS OF ANGELS~
~A TRIBUTE TO BRAM~

~REMEMBERING CALENDAR~
~REMEMBERING ~ JULY~
~REMEMBERING ~ DECEMBER~
 
 

 
 

~IN THE ARMS OF AN ANGEL~
~Sarah Mclaughlin~

Spending all your time waiting, 
For that second chance
For a break that would make it okay
There's always one reason to feel not good enough
And it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction, oh beautiful release
Memory seeps from my veins
Let me be empty, and weightless and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight
In the arms of an angel, fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage, 
Of your silent reverie
Your in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort there
So tired of the straight line,
And everywhere you turn
There's vultures and thieves at your back
And the storm keeps on twisting, 
You keep on building the lie
That you make up for all that you lack
It don't make no difference, 
Escaping one last time
It's easier to believe in this sweet madness oh
This glorious sadness that brings me to my knees
In the arms of an angel, fly away from here
From this cold hotel room,
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort there
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
 
 

 
 

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD A MEMORIAL PAGE FOR
YOUR LOVED ONE THE BUTTON BELOW WILL TAKE 
YOU TO THE MEMORIAL PAGE INDEX

 

IF YOU WISH TO CONTACT BRAM'S MOTHER,
SHERALEE, PLEASE USE THIS E-MAIL BUTTON

~MARC DUNCAN & WHENDY MINNICK~

~BRAM STERKING DAVIS ANN PAGE~

~REMEMBERING WITH LOVE~ PAGE INDEX