Family, friends of Charlie Boike remember him fondly: "He made everything a little bit happier"
ST. AUGUSTA, Minn. -- Hundreds filled the gym at St. Cloud's Tech High School Saturday morning to say goodbye to Charlie Boike.
The 17-year-old died last Saturday when his car went off a slick road in St. Augusta. Today, his friends and family shared memories.
"Mad or sad, I don't think those are words you could use to think to describe about the kid. Happiness literally was his personality," said Ben Eiynck. "Anytime you'd see him, [he] just had the biggest smile and just the most positive attitude about everything. [He] just made everything a little bit happier to be around."
More: "Hug your children tight": Family grieves loss of Charlie Boike, 17, after crash near St. Cloud
"Charlie was such a caring, giving kid and God picked me to be his mom and God picked my family to be his family, and now it's his turn to be up in heaven and do things for others," said Erika Boike.
Charlie's family and friends say the past week has, of course, been unimaginably difficult. But they also say they never could have imagined the support they'd receive from strangers across the country.
Boike's family says tributes have poured in, with hockey fans leaving their sticks out in Charlie's honor.
More: Wild honor Charlie Boike, teen hockey player killed in crash near St. Cloud
Those who knew him say he was as good as a teammate and friend as he was a person.
"Every game, he would come up to me and say, 'Eiynck, can you score a goal for me?' And every game I'd tell him, 'Yeah, and I'll find you in the stands and point to you.' And even though most of the games, I wouldn't score, the next game he'd come right back up to me and say the same thing with the same, biggest smile every time," said Eiynck.
Charlie's family says he will continue to live on and help others as an organ donor--they say it's a statement of what a giving person he was.
