Darrell "Bam Bam" Stenson Memorial
Donativo protegido
Darrell Jovan Stenson (aka Bam, Big Bam, Bam Bam or Big Daddy Bam) passed away the morning of September 3, 2015 due to Cardiomegaly (which means he had an enlarged heart) while seated in his office. Although I do not understand it, God decided it was time for him to come home at the young age of 31. If you know me, then you also know that Bam was one of my best and most loyal friends, and I often referred to him as my giant son. Despite his 6 foot 4 inch and 400 plus pound frame, Bam was one of the most happy go lucky guys you could ever meet and he had a heart of gold that drew in everyone who met him. Whether it was in security, club management, coaching or running foundations, Bam moved up the ladder fast and was committed to being great at everything he did. This was a trait that showed in his love and devotion to every kid he knew, his “Momma Dukes” and each and every one of his thousands of friends.
I met Bam through his friend Antwan Barnes who was his roommate at FIU. Antwan and Bam played Division 1 college football together and even though he didn't go to the NFL like his roommate, Bam loved the game and never left football. In addition to being my annual “ringer” at NFL prediction pools, he played a season or two in a semi-pro league and was a partner in an arena football team in Miami before moving over to coaching. His coaching career began with a peewee optimist team in Miami before he moved up to assistant coach for the Florida High School 2A State Champions of 2013, Champagnat Catholic. Every young man that was blessed to have known him loved him for teaching them both football and life, but much more for his humor, personality and the genuine love of the game and of the kids he coached, which he exhibited each and every day.
In addition to maintaining his friendship with Antwan Barnes (he was named as Antwan's daughter's Godfather), he became close friends with several NFL players including Kendall Langford of the Colts, Antoine Bethea of the 49ers, Jaiquawn Jarrett of the Jets, EJ Biggers of the Eagles, future hall of famers Asante Samuel and Andre Johnson and dozens more. His personality was infectious and spread to the NBA when he became friends with Udonis Haslem of the Miami Heat who he jokingly referred to as his “shoe supplier” (Bam was the only person who had size 18 feet so UD gave him all of his excess shoes). Whether it was to hang out and listen to his jokes or to take advantage of Bam’s connections in the nightlife scene, he became the go to guy for everyone and was the person who the athletes and celebrities went to see every time they came into South Florida.
As much as he cherished coaching and enjoyed hanging out with his high profile friends, this was only a part of his day as he graduated from FIU with his business degree and went on to wear many hats in his short life. He began as a personal driver, a private bodyguard, a security guard and the operator of charitable football camps. Before long he quickly moved up to becoming owner of his own security company, serving as Vice President of the “Right Path” foundation and having several management positions including eventually becoming the general manager of a large South Beach nightclub. At the time of his passing, he was serving as the GM of another popular club in Miami putting in no less than 12 hours per day, 7 days per week, yet he still made time to coach, operate the “Right Path”, run several businesses and take care of his mom at the same time.
Bam did not have a wife or children (although that was at the top of his list of things to do) but he does leave behind his mother, who he loved dearly and affectionately referred to as "Momma Dukes". I have all of the respect in the world for every single mom, as they are truly our heroes and the people who make a difference behind the scenes and seldom are recognized for it. Most single moms are put into that position when they give birth to a child and react out of necessity. But Ms. Sandra Redick to me was an even greater hero as she chose to raise Bam and did one heck of a job at turning him into the man he became. Darrell was born to a mother and father who either chose not to or was not able to raise their son. Ms. Sandra stepped in when he was just over 1 year old to adopt Darrell and raised him all by herself. Despite having to raise him in the projects, Darrell never drank or did drugs in his 31 years and was a National Honors Society student in high school. To put it in perspective how much he respected his mom, the first time his mom ever had heard her son speak a curse word was the day after her son died when I showed her his comedy routine on Facebook! (you can see his performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MylYFmEkUB8)
The first chance he was able to Bam took care of her house payments, car, and insurances and loyally sent his mom money every time he had it. I know for a fact that if it had been the other way around, Bam would have stepped up and taken care of my family and you had better believe that I will be taking care of Momma Dukes. If you knew Bam, you were friends with him or even had the opportunity to meet him, then you loved him. He had a heart of gold and was the most loyal friend I could have ever had and we will all miss him dearly. The purpose of this campaign is to raise money in order to assist with his funeral and service costs, but more importantly, to raise money for Ms. Sandra so we can make sure that she knows for the rest of her life how great her son was and how he positively affected the lives of all of those who had the pleasure of knowing him.
Ms. Sandra was diagnosed with Pancreatitis on Friday, August 28th, only 5 days before her son passed. As I post this, she is being admitted back into the hospital in Tampa so they can attempt to get her healthy enough to be able to attend her son’s services in Miami on the 9th of 10th and in Tampa on the 11th and 12th. He was always worrying about his momma and had sent me a text asking for my prayers at 7:40 AM the day she was first going to the hospital. He was so happy that it was not something that was not immediately life threatening, never thinking he would be gone only 5 days later. He told me that her house was in dire need of improvements in order to accommodate her medical conditions and he wanted to provide her with more reliable transportation as her 20-year-old Toyota Corolla had seen much better days. She was counting on her son to be there for her until God called her back, and no mom should ever have to bury her son. Anything you can spare will go towards getting her through this horrible time and will insure that the upcoming celebration of his life lives up to the life he lived.
We all love you and will miss you so much my friend, and we will never forget all of the memories and make sure that your kindness and loyalty are passed forward to future generations who should have had the chance to know you. Knowing that you are in Heaven making the angels fall off their seats laughing at your jokes makes us smile and we all look forward to seeing your smiling face when our days here end and we get to see you again. As I post this I know you are nudging the angel next to you and saying "See? That's why I f*** with Big Dog."
I met Bam through his friend Antwan Barnes who was his roommate at FIU. Antwan and Bam played Division 1 college football together and even though he didn't go to the NFL like his roommate, Bam loved the game and never left football. In addition to being my annual “ringer” at NFL prediction pools, he played a season or two in a semi-pro league and was a partner in an arena football team in Miami before moving over to coaching. His coaching career began with a peewee optimist team in Miami before he moved up to assistant coach for the Florida High School 2A State Champions of 2013, Champagnat Catholic. Every young man that was blessed to have known him loved him for teaching them both football and life, but much more for his humor, personality and the genuine love of the game and of the kids he coached, which he exhibited each and every day.
In addition to maintaining his friendship with Antwan Barnes (he was named as Antwan's daughter's Godfather), he became close friends with several NFL players including Kendall Langford of the Colts, Antoine Bethea of the 49ers, Jaiquawn Jarrett of the Jets, EJ Biggers of the Eagles, future hall of famers Asante Samuel and Andre Johnson and dozens more. His personality was infectious and spread to the NBA when he became friends with Udonis Haslem of the Miami Heat who he jokingly referred to as his “shoe supplier” (Bam was the only person who had size 18 feet so UD gave him all of his excess shoes). Whether it was to hang out and listen to his jokes or to take advantage of Bam’s connections in the nightlife scene, he became the go to guy for everyone and was the person who the athletes and celebrities went to see every time they came into South Florida.
As much as he cherished coaching and enjoyed hanging out with his high profile friends, this was only a part of his day as he graduated from FIU with his business degree and went on to wear many hats in his short life. He began as a personal driver, a private bodyguard, a security guard and the operator of charitable football camps. Before long he quickly moved up to becoming owner of his own security company, serving as Vice President of the “Right Path” foundation and having several management positions including eventually becoming the general manager of a large South Beach nightclub. At the time of his passing, he was serving as the GM of another popular club in Miami putting in no less than 12 hours per day, 7 days per week, yet he still made time to coach, operate the “Right Path”, run several businesses and take care of his mom at the same time.
Bam did not have a wife or children (although that was at the top of his list of things to do) but he does leave behind his mother, who he loved dearly and affectionately referred to as "Momma Dukes". I have all of the respect in the world for every single mom, as they are truly our heroes and the people who make a difference behind the scenes and seldom are recognized for it. Most single moms are put into that position when they give birth to a child and react out of necessity. But Ms. Sandra Redick to me was an even greater hero as she chose to raise Bam and did one heck of a job at turning him into the man he became. Darrell was born to a mother and father who either chose not to or was not able to raise their son. Ms. Sandra stepped in when he was just over 1 year old to adopt Darrell and raised him all by herself. Despite having to raise him in the projects, Darrell never drank or did drugs in his 31 years and was a National Honors Society student in high school. To put it in perspective how much he respected his mom, the first time his mom ever had heard her son speak a curse word was the day after her son died when I showed her his comedy routine on Facebook! (you can see his performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MylYFmEkUB8)
The first chance he was able to Bam took care of her house payments, car, and insurances and loyally sent his mom money every time he had it. I know for a fact that if it had been the other way around, Bam would have stepped up and taken care of my family and you had better believe that I will be taking care of Momma Dukes. If you knew Bam, you were friends with him or even had the opportunity to meet him, then you loved him. He had a heart of gold and was the most loyal friend I could have ever had and we will all miss him dearly. The purpose of this campaign is to raise money in order to assist with his funeral and service costs, but more importantly, to raise money for Ms. Sandra so we can make sure that she knows for the rest of her life how great her son was and how he positively affected the lives of all of those who had the pleasure of knowing him.
Ms. Sandra was diagnosed with Pancreatitis on Friday, August 28th, only 5 days before her son passed. As I post this, she is being admitted back into the hospital in Tampa so they can attempt to get her healthy enough to be able to attend her son’s services in Miami on the 9th of 10th and in Tampa on the 11th and 12th. He was always worrying about his momma and had sent me a text asking for my prayers at 7:40 AM the day she was first going to the hospital. He was so happy that it was not something that was not immediately life threatening, never thinking he would be gone only 5 days later. He told me that her house was in dire need of improvements in order to accommodate her medical conditions and he wanted to provide her with more reliable transportation as her 20-year-old Toyota Corolla had seen much better days. She was counting on her son to be there for her until God called her back, and no mom should ever have to bury her son. Anything you can spare will go towards getting her through this horrible time and will insure that the upcoming celebration of his life lives up to the life he lived.
We all love you and will miss you so much my friend, and we will never forget all of the memories and make sure that your kindness and loyalty are passed forward to future generations who should have had the chance to know you. Knowing that you are in Heaven making the angels fall off their seats laughing at your jokes makes us smile and we all look forward to seeing your smiling face when our days here end and we get to see you again. As I post this I know you are nudging the angel next to you and saying "See? That's why I f*** with Big Dog."
Organizador
Aaron Parthemer
Organizador
Fort Lauderdale, FL