‘A Life Well Lived': Family and Friends Prepare to Say Goodbye to Botham Jean

Botham Jean leaves behind both of his parents, a sister, and a brother.

Family and friends will prepare to say their final goodbyes to Botham Jean Thursday, one week after the 26-year-old was killed inside of his apartment. Almost 2,000 people are expected to attending Jean’s funeral.

The visitation is scheduled for 10 a.m., the funeral is scheduled for noon at The Greenville Avenue Church of Christ in Richardson.

The 26-year-old was about to start a new chapter in his life with his birthday at the end of the month. Jean leaves behind both of his parents, a sister, and a brother.

“Bo’s family loves him very much. He was a good son. He also had a church family, and a work family," said Minister Sammie Berry, who hired Jean as the worship leader at Dallas West Church of Christ. "We will all pay tribute to him and celebrate his life. Ministers from around to Texas to New York City will be here. Dignitaries from St. Lucia will also be in attendance, along with city and state officials, work colleagues from PricewaterhouseCoopers, and alumni from Harding University.”

“He had such a powerful voice. He had accomplished so much in such a short period of time," Berry said. "He also led mission trips to St. Lucia, his home country. He was organized and focused. There was so much more he wanted to do. It’s hard to believe some of the things he was able to accomplish in such a short period of time. He understood what his purpose was in life. What his life sentence was.”

Those attending today’s funeral will here Jean’s favorite song, which is a hymn titled “Oh How I Want To See Him.”

“Botham impacted everyone he knew,” Berry said. “He was so passionate about what he did, and everything was of excellence. If you knew him, you loved him. That’s the kind of impact he had on people.”

Jean received his bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting and management information systems from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.

Jean worked as a risk assurance associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers, since 2016. He was also classically trained as a vocalist. In addition to music, he used his voice to teach and mentor others.

According to a spokesperson for PricewaterhouseCooper, Tim Ryan, the US chairman and senior partner, will be speaking at today’s funeral. The PwC Foundation has contributed toward the cost of Jean’s memorial service and the firm made a $50,000 contribution to a scholarship fund that Jean’s family set up in his honor at Harding University.

PwC also created a scholarship for minority students majoring in accounting at Harding and pledged to make another $50,000 donation to that fund. The firm will also host a moment of silence today at noon for all 55,000 employees to honor Jean and will be hosting conversations throughout the week across more than 100 offices throughout the country, to tackle the issues surrounding race and this tragedy.

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