At the age of six, James De Roon and I were matched on April 9, 2003. Our journey as Big and Little spanned 20 years and during that time James has encountered many changes in his life. Other than the normal challenges of growing up, James has had several life-altering events come his way. His father drowned in a swimming pool about two years after I met James, his mother died of breast cancer when he was eighteen years old, his only brother has been in and out of prison, and he graduated Grand Canyon University on December 15, 2017.
Despite the challenges James has had to overcome, he is a happy, healthy, and productive member of our community. James is currently working for Amazon in their logistics department.
In January of this year, James let me know that he was going to be married in April and asked if I would officiate his wedding. Without hesitation, I told him that it would be my pleasure and an honor to do so. On April 14, 2003, James married Erika.
-John (BIG)
I met John when I was 6 and was very shy to have this very tall asking to be my big brother but surely warmed up once we started playing basketball. We have been through many ups and downs and John was always there for me whenever I needed and very grateful to still be in each other’s life and family. He was able to officiate my wedding this April right after our 20th anniversary of our match and I couldn’t have asked for a better person to marry the love of my life. John is an amazing role model and father who I can’t thank enough.
-James (LITTLE)
