Austin James Shoumaker

Austin grew up around Barksdale AFB in Bossier City, Louisiana. He loved the Barksdale Air Show and attended it every year. He loved to sit in the planes and talk to the pilots. When he was 6 years old, he told us he wanted to be a pilot.

Austin loved Jesus. He helped his mom teach Sunday School at Bellaire Baptist Church. He liked to help others and never met a stranger. He loved to cheer people up when they were sad and his smile would light up a room. He had the wonderful gift of encouragement. He often shared his faith with others and led four of his friends to Christ.

Austin graduated from Airline High School and went to Louisiana Tech in Aviation. He did pursue his dream of becoming a pilot. He was 6 weeks from graduation when on March 9, 2008 his life was cut short in a car accident.

Before Austin left for college, he told us, his parents, he wanted to be an organ donor and if anything ever happened to him, he wanted to help others live. We honored his request by donating his organs to help others. We are very proud of our son and his decision to donate.

Mr. & Mrs. James Shoumaker