Page 247 - The Exceptional Harley Fetterman

THE EXCEPTIONAL HARLEY FETTERMAN

Harley is survived by his parents, James Kevin Fetterman and M
Elisabeth Freeborn, his paternal grandparents, Jerry and Cissie
Fetterman, of Three Rivers, Texas, his dog, Bentley, his cat, Waldo the
Healing Kitty, aunts and uncles, Sandy (Leda) Freeborn, Kathy
(Jimmy) Strause, Lynn Freeborn, Kerry (Debbie) Fetterman, Kelly
(Tony) Dilworth, and many cousins. He was preceded in death by his
maternal grandparents, Sidney and Jean Freeborn of Orange Grove,
Texas. Although he was an only child, he had a large and loving
extended family.

At 5 years old, Harley was diagnosed with a brain tumor growing
from his optic nerve that made him blind. In 2003 through 2009, he
had two rounds of chemotherapy to stop the tumor from growing and
multiple brain surgeries to remove a cyst around the tumor. In 2013,
he was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) which
turned into Leukemia while he was waiting for a bone marrow
transplant 2016.
He had many accomplishments for such a young man. He attended
Camp Discovery almost every year since he was 6 years old. During
those camps, he won the Director's Award in 2010 and Camper of the
Year in 2014. His favorite activity at camp was the Jell-O Wars.
When he was 7, Harley made a goal to see all 50 states by the time
he was 10. He finished this goal at Four Points (Arizona, New
Mexico, Nevada, Colorado) 1 week before his 11th birthday.
Harley was an avid Braille reader and won 1st place at the
Central Texas Regional Braille Challenge 7 out of 8 years he
participated. He qualified to participate in the National Braille
Challenge in Los Angeles, CA, 9 of 12 years. He won 3rd place in
2013 and 2nd place in 2015 at the national level.
Harley loved music. He learned to play the piano when he was 6.
At Bailey Middle School, he joined the band and learned to play the
French horn and to read Braille music. Like his Dad, he enjoyed
playing music on his iPhone and MP3 player. But his favorite
instrument was the guitar which he started learning to play during his
Sophomore year in High School. Even as he continued to master the
guitar, he also learned how to play other instruments such as the
ukulele, guitarlele, mandolin, accordion, and saw.

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