James Campbell Stuttering Memorial

Please read the entire page in honor of James.

Memorial gifts in memory and in honor of James Michael Campbell can be made in the following ways:

Mail a check in his memory to:

Stuttering Foundation of America
1805 Moriah Woods Boulevard, Suite 3
Memphis, TN 38117

or click here to make an online donation in his memory

or call toll-free and make a credit card donation by phone:

800-992-9392

The Stuttering Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. Gifts are tax-deductible.

JAMES MICHAEL CAMPBELL

James Michael Campbell, age 17, of Sterling, VA, died unexpectedly Sunday, October 23, 2011. James was a lifelong resident of the Northern Virginia area and a senior at Park View High School in Sterling, VA. He had stuttered all his life and had attended an intensive treatment program at HCRI. He was born April 24, 1994, to Tracy Hart Campbell and the late Charles Ray Campbell.

In addition to his Mother, he is survived by his grandparents, James W. and Lanelle Campbell, Catonsville, MD, Col. Herbert M. Hart, USMC (Retired) & the late Teresa K. Hart, Springfield, VA; aunts and uncles: Shirley (Rick) Alexander, Warm Springs, GA; Christopher (Candi) Campbell, Birmingham, AL; Susan (Jeff) Miller, Ellicott City, MD; Bridget Hart Shea, Bethesda, MD; Erin (Tom) Hart, Glendora, CA; Bret (Julie) Hart, Tampa, FL; Megan Hart Lugo, Springfield, VA; Michael (Laura) Hart, Falls Church, VA; Patrick (Kelly) Hart, Springfield, VA and the late Sharon Augustine.

Cousins: Stefan and Shawn Augustine, Florida; Lonnie, Grace, Victoria, Juliana, and Michelle Campbell, Alabama; Sage and Wesley Alexander, Georgia; Hannah and Erin Miller, Maryland; Patrick, Katherine, and Maura Shea, Maryland; Devin, Kelsey, and Sean Hart, California; Ryan and Kevin Lugo, Virginia and Luke Hart, also of Virginia.

Family will receive friends Friday, October 28, 2011, from 5:00-8:00 PM at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church, 46833 Harry Byrd Highway, Sterling, VA 20164, where a Memorial Mass will be held Saturday, October 29, 2011, at 1:00 p.m.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Stuttering Foundation of America, www.StutteringHelp.org.

James Campbell Stuttering Memorial

By Bret Hart, James' uncle

Almost everyone has a day that they will never forget. It’s a day that can be one of the happiest days or one of the saddest days in a person’s life. October 23, 2011, was one of those days I will never forget. That was the day my nephew James Campbell tragically took his own life. James was only 17 years old. For years to come people will ask “why?” “Why did James end his life at such a young age”? I, too, have been asking this question. As the grief, anger, sadness and disbelief continually swirl in my mind, I keep coming back to the speech disorder that James had suffered through for years. James was a stutterer.

James was a teenager who loved to have fun. He had a great personality and positive outlook. But in his mind, all the positive features in the world could not trump the negative that he could not shed. His stuttering. Oftentimes, James was a recluse because of his speech disorder. He would communicate with his friends through Facebook. Why through Facebook? Because he didn’t have to talk. A computer could speak for him.

Imagine being a teenager who stutters and has to give a presentation in front of the class? This had to be a frightening feeling for James. Not only will the entire class be watching, but trying to speak fluently was more than a challenge…it was impossible.

As James got older, the stuttering became more and more of a handicap for him. He saw his disability as a hindrance to his future. On Sunday, October 23, James felt he could no longer go on. He made the decision that he wanted to be with his father who had passed away 13 years earlier in a tragic accident. James really didn’t know his father that well, as he was only 4 at the time, but the absence of his father profoundly affected him.

As we say good-bye to James and try to piece together our own lives, I would hope that we can prevent another “James” situation. There is no need to have another teenager take their own life with the explanation that they feel the burden of being a stutterer has become unbearable. In an effort to help other stuttering teenagers, we would like to set up the James Campbell Stuttering Memorial.

Hopefully, the end of James’ life can be the start of someone else’s life. In honor of James Michael Campbell, we look forward to helping other stuttering teenagers so they can live a happy and exciting life, embracing all that a life unhindered by stuttering can offer.

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Dave Taylor

Dave Taylor has been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter for many years, but probably few people know all of the unique accomplishments of this former hockey great who was born on December 4, 1955, in Levack, Ontario.

John Stossel

John Stossel is one of the most recognized and articulate reporters today. However, he once considered giving up his broadcasting career because of his stuttering.

“Fear of stuttering can easily become worse than the stuttering itself,” observed Stossel. “The idea that I’m on television and making speeches is still a shock to me sometimes.”

Bill Walton

From BillWalton.com

Thank you for your interest in my life long problem with my speech and communication skills. I was a very shy and reserved young man who could not speak at all without severely stuttering until I was 28 years old. Always a success in the classroom and on the basketball court, I took refuge in the things that I did well as a youngster. A straight A student, my athletic abilities covered the deficiencies that limited my overall growth and development. The game of basketball was my religion, the gym my church. It was a convenient way of avoiding my responsibilities of developing my human relation skills.

When I was 28, a chance encounter at a social event with Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Glickman completely changed my life in so many ways that things have never been the same since, nor have they ever been better. That day, in a very brief, private conversation (one way, mind you, since I literally could not speak at the time) Marty explained, patiently and concisely, that talking, communicating was a skill not a gift or a birthright and that like any skill, whether it be sports, music, business or whatever, needed to be developed over a lifetime of hard work, discipline, organization and practice. Marty gave me some simple tips that day and then encouraged me to take those keys and apply them to methods of learning that I had received from the special teachers that I had come across in my life, particularly the 6 Hall of Fame basketball coaches that I had played for throughout my career. The beginning of my whole new life was as simple as that. No gimmicks, tricks or shortcuts. Just the realization that with some help, guidance and a lot of hard work that I too could do what seemed so easy, simple and natural to everyone else, yet seemed impossibly out of my reach and comprehension.

Bruce Willis

While the world knows Bruce Willis as an A-list actor, few know that he struggled with stuttering throughout his first 20 years.

Walter Bruce Willis was born in 1955 in West Germany to his German mother, Marlene, and his American GI father, David Willis. The family settled in David’s hometown of Penns Grove, New Jersey in 1957, and the couple has three other children.

Ken Venturi

As much of the nation watches the U.S. Open Golf Championship, it is impossible not to think about our late friend Ken Venturi. Ken overcame many challenges to win the Open at Congressional in 1964 and go on to become the voice of golf for more than three decades.

However, Ken faced no bigger obstacle than stuttering. Ken Venturi was a champion to those who stutter, going out of his way to share his personal experience when consulted by a colleague, friend, or child who stutters.