Lorenzo Steven Seachris passed away peacefully in his sleep while surrounded by loved ones on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, after a long battle with cancer.
He is survived by his mother, Kimber Seachris of Greenville, NC; his nanny and papaw: Mary and Carl Heckrotte of Bocas del Toro, Panama; his sister: Alaina Seachris; his brother: Austin Seachris; his aunt and uncle: Angela and Terrell Wilson; his two cousins: Callie Burkhart and Savannah Wilson; his “adopted” son: Ricky Deleon; his “adopted” dad: Eddie James; and his two rescued German Shepherd “children,” Diego and Argo from Uganda, Africa.
Lorenzo touched the lives of so many people around the world. He traveled for several years with Eddie James Ministries serving as a photographer. It was in this role that gained first-hand experience with the down-trodden and broken-hearted. He was a full-time youth group leader for Ignite Church in Greenville, NC, where he ministered to hundreds of young people during the most challenging portions of their lives. He touched each one with encouragement, humor, authenticity, and unconditional love.
In 2015, he felt the call to minister to orphans in Africa after reading Love Does by Bob Goff. Lorenzo wanted to meet Mr. Goff when he visited Greenville for an event, so Lorenzo’s friends arranged to have Lorenzo drive Mr. Goff to and from the airport. In the short expanse of the trip, Lorenzo convinced Mr. Goff that he wanted to work for Love Does Primary School in Africa – a school founded by Mr. Goff.
Shortly thereafter, Lorenzo went to Gulu, Uganda, to work as a photographer and encourager for the children at the school. He often ministered to the children with art therapy in hopes of helping them deal with the horrors of war they had endured. His dream was to open an art therapy school. After that, Lorenzo transitioned to helping African women who had been tortured and abused during the war there. He was the Distribution Manager for The Akola Project, which empowers the women to make necklaces and other jewelry sold all over the world.
Lorenzo lived by the words and images of the tattoos he had:
CHANGE THE WORLD (in Arabic)
PER ASPERA AD ASTRA (meaning “through adversity to the stars”)
An image of an arrow symbolizing that wherever God sent him, he would serve.
Everyone who knew Lorenzo was touched by his happy-go-lucky attitude, humor, fun-loving spirit, thoughtfulness, kindness, and his overarching goal to “change the world.” He dreamed of a world where there was no more pain, abandonment, hate, racism, or abuse.
Thinking of “Through Adversity to the Stars,” Lorenzo’s cousin Savannah has arranged for a beautiful star in our galaxy to be named LORENZO SEACHRIS. You can find his star in the night sky after looking up the coordinates on a star map at the web site, cosmonova.org. The coordinates are RA 01h 35m 52s and DEC 41º 4’ 35”. Registration number F2NVER1GH6.
Lorenzo loved kayaking, snorkeling, growing plants, having exotic pets, reading, cooking on the grill, and going on adventures. Most recently, he worked at SoCo Farm and Food Restaurant in Greenville, NC, where the customers loved his fun service and attention to detail.
When Lorenzo was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer in 2021, he struggled through many treatments, including many hours of chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant at Duke, targeted therapy, and much more.
During all of this, he never complained, and enjoyed life by traveling to the beach, the mountains, Hawaii to attend a wedding, and to spend time with friends and family. Very few people knew he was sick because he wanted to live a normal life full of adventures and fun. He spent many days curled up in the bed with Diego and Argo, his Shepherds he rescued from Uganda.
His family is currently searching for a loving person to adopt these two sweet dogs together. They are four years old. A Celebration of Life will be held in the next few weeks. Details will follow.
Please consider a donation to Lorenzo’s “doggy adoption fund” to help his mom cover vet care, transitional care, and grooming for the adoption process. Her Paypal is roatangurl@hotmail.com.
Donations may also be made in Lorenzo’s honor to the Raleigh Testicular Cancer Foundation, a charitable organization that supports people through their cancer journey. Those donations may be made by CLICKING HERE
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