Ian Alexander Means

Our beloved son, Ian Alexander Means, passed away June 16, 2009 at the age of fifteen from acute
myeloid leukemia (AML). He was born February 25, 1994 in Chicago, Illinois, but had lived in Eugene
since 1996. He was diagnosed in December 2008 and endured many months of chemotherapy treatment at
Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland. Despite the hardships of being in the hospital for
long periods of time, he made friends with other kids in the unit, completed the 9th grade in the
Doernbecher school program, and rediscovered a love of Legos, completing several Star Wars sets. His
courage in the face of adversity was admired by all.
Ian was a creative and talented artist who only began to tap his true potential. He especially loved
glass art. He saw a PBS special as a small child about Dale Chihuly decorating Venice Italy with
enormous glass sculptures and began sketching his own ideas straight away. Ian studied stained glass
art for two years, creating several flat and 3-D pieces. He was participating in a flamework class
at Eugene Glass School and was hoping to become an apprentice.
Ian loved to travel, and had visited much of Oregon, his birthplace of Chicago, relatives in
Missouri and Ohio, as well as Nashville, Tucson, Oahu, and Maui. His wanted to visit Europe,
particularly Venice, Italy.
Ian loved the water, had taken junior lifeguard camp and wanted to work at Amazon Pool. He became a
certified scuba diver at the age of thirteen and went on several dives in Maui.
Ian also played guitar, fiddle, and electric bass. He was the bass player for Employees of the Month
and loved every minute of it, even when the practices ran too long. He had several great friends who
slept over often and had many a good time together. His friends and his bandmates were loyal to him
to the end.
Ian is survived by his parents, Phillip Means and Sharon Trigg of Eugene and his grandmother,
Juanita Trigg of Concordia, Missouri. Also surviving are his aunt, Nancy Wilder of Eugene and uncle
Jonathan Wilder of Alvadore and cousins Coralee Wilder and Edwin Wilder, his aunt and uncle,
“Rocky” and Dave Freeman of Cutler, Ohio and cousins Gage Freeman and Jake Freeman, and his aunt
and uncle Stephanie and David Means of Juneau, Alaska.
Ian was loved by those who knew him. Many others who never knew him prayed for his recovery when
they heard his story. A memorial service was held Sunday, June 28, 2009 at Trinity United Methodist
Church in Eugene.