Page 252 - The Exceptional Harley Fetterman

JUDY K JOHNSON

every minute of it. It was a good day and I am in a good place right
now! Thank you all for your love and support!”

In the continuing days after the funeral service, Harley's passing
was documented in many publications and online social media. Each
source had personal experiences they desired to document and retell.
The National Federation Of The Blind, Imagineering Our Future,
Issue 92, December 2016, included an article entitled, “Harley
Franklin Fetterman: Someone You Should Know” and is included
below:
The National Federation of the Blind is blessed with thousands of
remarkable members. Harley Fetterman was one of them, but Harley
was more than remarkable. His short life was extraordinary. This
article shares some remembrances and honors a very special person.

Many things should be said in memorial of Harley, who passed
away shortly after graduating from high school at the age of eighteen
from complications stemming from a bone marrow transplant.
Harley’s life touched all of us. We have been and will continue to be
enriched by his active membership in the National Federation of the
Blind.

The first word that comes to mind when thinking about Harley is
“kind.” One of Harley’s classmates hated to go to school. This
classmate may have been bullied. He was developmentally delayed
and therefore different. But Harley took the time to speak with the boy
and help him learn to shrug off much of the teasing. In the card that
Harley‘s mom, Beth Freeborn, received after Harley’s death the boy’s
parents expressed gratitude for Harley’s chat. No one knows exactly
what Harley said to this vulnerable classmate, but the boy wanted to
attend school after Harley reached out to him with understanding and
caring. Sick kids enjoyed listening to Harley play his guitar even
while he was in the hospital coping with his own illnesses.

Another descriptor of young Mr. Fetterman is “persistent.” When
he set out to do something he did it. He wanted to learn music and to
read Braille music. Despite experiencing significant health problems,
two rounds of chemotherapy, and two years of dealing with surgeries
including brain surgery, Harley played at least four instruments by

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