‘A Night of Angels’ honors the people behind the Jack, Will & Rob Boys and Girls Club

A legacy of hope

By Danielle Frost

February 28, 2012 12:00 am

Life

Photo by Antonio Harris/Special to the Post-Record Camas resident John Grall, 14, was selected as the keynote speaker at a black-tie fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland Metorpolitan Area. "A Night of Angels" paid tribute to Linda Rae Hickey, Henry Swigert and Brot Bishop Jr.

Bidwell family photo After Jack, Will and Rob Warren (pictured above) were killed in a plane crash in 1999, their mother, Geri Pope Bidwell, led the effort to build a youth center in Camas named after them.

A ground breaking ceremony for the future Jack, Will and Rob Youth Center was held in Camas in June 2001. The event was attended by several members of the boys' family including their mother Geri Pope Bidwell (far left) and their sister, Lucy Bidwell (holding balloons). Jack, Will and Rob Warren died in November 1999 with their father William "Tiger" Warren when their small plane crashed into the Columbia River. The youth center opened in October 2002, and this year marks its 10th anniversary.

There is a line in the movie, “The Shawshank Redemption,” where the main character, Red, finds himself at a crossroads. As he is contemplating which path to take, he utters a profound, yet simple, sentence.“You can get busy living, or you can get busy dying.”

When Geri Pope Bidwell’s three sons, Jack, Will and Rob Warren were killed in a tragic plane crash in 1999, she could have easily sank into a well of depression, fear and grief that only a parent who has lost a child can possibly begin to comprehend.

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