Landen was an 18 year old open speller living in Northville, MI, with his parents Chris and Frank and his boxer dog Parker. He was a happy young man, who was adored by all those who knew him. Landen showed us how to love unconditionally with pure joy and unfiltered happiness. He taught us to take the time to enjoy the small things in life by simply spending time together. His authenticity was amazing – he was genuine, lived with joyous intention, and was a pure soul. He had the best smile and the most joyous and infectious laugh.

Landen loved art and spent his free time drawing and creating. He had enough Lego sets to build an actual house, and he loved a good craft. He loved his Wii and enjoyed visiting arcades – Fruit Ninja and Ski Ball were his favorite games. He also enjoyed bouncing around at the trampoline park. He loved to hike and explore local parks and trails.

Landen had an adventurous spirit and loved to travel. We visited Florida every year with our dear friends. He loved to swim in the ocean and just spend time with his people. His favorite trip ever was to New York City at Christmas time. He loved to be where the action was. He was fascinated to watch all of the people ice skating in the middle of Bryant Park and he was enamored with the enormous Christmas Tree in the park square. He also loved to travel to Pittsburgh to visit his favorite cousin, Dylan and his awesome family.

In September 2023, Landen started to learn Spelling to Communicate, a method which helps non-speaking people develop the motor skills to point to letters on a letterboard, in order to convey their thoughts. With his most wonderful practitioner and dear friend Alyssa, he quickly learned how to express his thoughts and wishes through the letterboard. We gained more insight into his humor, wit, and astounding intelligence – through HIS words. He was able to tell us that he loved poetry, bridges, math, and history. We are forever grateful that we found this method, as it allowed him to express himself and allowed us to truly know him as the remarkable person that he was.

Landen was also given the gift of true friendship because of S2C. He enjoyed communicating with his first friend Jake, as well as his good friend Antonio. Landen was a proud member of the Wordsmith Social, where he thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie with the other members of the group. This group was a dream come true – he met some amazing young men and he was able to establish authentic friendships.

Landen made it very clear that he wished to advocate for every non-speaker to have access to this method of communication. We will do our very best to carry out his wishes.