Braeden Sconce, a 19-year-old Callaway County man severely injured in a Feb. 4 car crash, died Tuesday at a St. Louis hospital.
His family is now planning a visitation 4-8 p.m. Friday at The Crossing church, 3615 Southland Drive in Columbia. Another visitation will be 2-4 p.m. at South Callaway High School, followed by a celebration of life at 4 p.m., Principal Heather Helsel said.
Sconce was the son of Shelly and Wes Sconce. He also leaves behind a sister, Mackenzie, 22, and brother, Caleb, 20.
Braeden graduated from South Callaway High School in 2017 and was captain of the football team. He accepted the Callaway Cup in September 2016, won in a football rivalry between the South Callaway Bulldogs and the North Callaway Thunderbirds. Photographer Marty Beck captured the moment with Braeden holding the trophy high - a photograph that's come to mean so much to his family.
"We are going to have a bust made of it," Shelly Sconce said. "We have a massive poster made of it we're bringing to the memorial (at the school)."
Braeden was driving home during a winter storm Feb. 4 to join his family on Super Bowl Sunday, planning to cheer on his favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles. The accident occurred just outside Lebanon on Interstate 5 when his car collided with another. Bystanders pulled him from his burning car and provided him with CPR until EMTs arrived. After first being taken to Lebanon Hospital, Braeden was flown to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
While close family members gathered at the hospital, others established a Facebook page, "Pray for Braeden," which amassed almost 4,000 members. The page became a place for people to post prayers and receive updates, with members in and out of the community offering support. Photos and stories of Braeden became common, memories people thought would comfort the family, or at least themselves.
"I think it's been a testament to how many lives Braeden has affected," Wes Sconce said Feb. 13. "Even in the 19 years that he's been with us a lot of it, I think, is a testament to his personality and his charisma."
After weeks of staying near Braeden's bedside, the family was told there was no brain activity above his brain stem and his recovery was at a standstill, according to a Saturday Facebook post by Stephanie Turner, a family friend of the Sconces.
The family decided to turn off the machines supporting Braeden and let him pass Tuesday, announcing their decision with the post: "Braeden embodies the phrase, 'Live, Laugh, Love.' He lived life to the fullest every single day, he always wanted to make people laugh, and he loved people and always made sure they knew it. We know that Braeden would not want to live life in a facility unable to interact with, or even be aware of, the environment around him."
The day before Braeden died, a surprise package arrived from the Philadelphia Eagles: a green T-shirt signed by Super Bowl scorer Zach Ertz.
"He scored the winning touchdown," Shelly said of the Eagles' Super Bowl victory.
During high school, Braeden played football and golf and managed the girls basketball team. He recently decided to become a history teacher and football coach. Shelly said he was a student at Moberly Area Community College, but was thinking of enrolling at Westminster College or the University of Missouri.
"He had just changed his major," she added. "He had such respect and love for his high school history teacher, Chris Gray. He wanted to impact lives like Chris Gray."
Since the accidents, people have been wearing green to memorialize Braeden. The Facebook page is full of comrades, family and strangers wearing green, athletes dedicating games to him and comments about his loving and fun personality.
"We found out the ribbon for traumatic brain injury awareness is green, too," Shelly said. "It's just another God thing."
People have raised money for the family's medical expenses by selling green T-shirts and bracelets, and University Hospital in Columbia turned its campus lights green in his memory.
"We'll spend our lifetime paying tribute to the people who supported us through this process, paying them back or paying it forward, or however we can show the impact it's had on us," Wes said two weeks before Braeden passed. "We'll spend the rest of our lives making sure we are good stewards."
Braeden loved Bible verse Galatians 6:9: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." He had it tattooed on his body.
"We have all talked about that recently," Shelly said of the verse. "No one - truly no one in our family and friends - knows why he loves it."
Before Braeden turned 18, he wanted a tattoo, but his mom said no.
"I wouldn't sign off on it," she said, laughing. "Within weeks of turning 18, he went to Lake of the Ozarks and came back with that tattoo. Thirteen people have since had that tattoo put on their bodies in memoriam to him."
She said her in-laws also have a devotional they opened the day Braeden died.
"It was the same devotional - Galatians 6:9," Shelly added. "It could not have been anything but God."
She said people have remarked on how strong she, Wes and their other children have been throughout these last several weeks.
"So many people have commented to us about how strong we've been," she said. "But there are so many signs that God has been with us. We are just so completely humbled by the outpouring of support. We have always been supportive for the community, for friends and family. It's amazing, for sure."