Katie Wren made everyone laugh as she spoke through her tears about her younger brother, Jason.
“He made so many friends. He was so intelligent. He was a golden boy, and it made me sick,” she said as laughter rippled through the more than 700 people who packed Cherry Hills Community Church for her brother’s memorial service.
“I know he’s sitting up there now saying, ‘I’m so cool’ ” she said to continued laughter.
Jason Wren died March 8 at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house at the University of Kansas after a night of drinking.
During Monday’s memorial service, Jason’s father returned to what killed the former Arapahoe High School honor student and football letterman.
“Alcohol killed my son,” Jay Wren said. “Mistakes are made. It should never have happened.”
Wren described his son as smart, kind and athletic.
“He went full-throttle at anything he did,” Wren said. “Unfortunately, he thought he could handle his alcohol.”
As they left the church, many people picked up a colored bumper sticker with Jason’s picture on it.
It read: “In memory of Jason Wren, I put my drink down!”
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
