Evan R. Austin

Hampton - Evan Ryan Austin, 8, passed away on Thursday, June 10th after a nearly three year battle with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). He passed peacefully while in the arms of his family. Evan was born on December 17, 2013 to parents Brent Austin and Jessica (Poirier) Austin of Hampton, New Hampshire, joining big sister Avery. He completed the family and was a cherished son and brother. Evan attended 2nd grade at Centre School in Hampton, NH, where he enjoyed his time with a very special teacher and many close friends. When Evan was three years old, his teacher once commented that he loved to make his friends laugh so that “they would feel the same joy that he feels inside.” Some of his favorite things were Legos, Star Wars, fishing and playing baseball. During the summer, Evan loved to have pizza night on the beach. He loved listening to and mixing music, playing catch in the backyard, and building legos with his dad. He loved snuggling, playing games, and baking with his mom. He and his sister Avery were exceptionally close and enjoyed singing and dancing in the kitchen, bouncing on the trampoline, and spending sunny days outside together. After being diagnosed with DIPG in July of 2019, Evan and his family were fortunate to be able to travel and see the country. This included his Make-A-Wish Disney cruise in the Caribbean, a National Park RV trip out west, a tour of the California coast, Disney World in Florida, a road trip to the beaches of South Carolina, and many weekend getaways on the coast of Maine. The family regularly went to Vermont to spend time with grandparents Shawn and Kathy Austin, his uncle and aunt, Scott and Lisa Austin, cousins Bryce Austin, Noah Crogan and Cameron Crogan, his great grandparents and many other extended family members. This past October, Evan went to New York City for the first time to visit his Aunt, Jennifer Poirier. Evan loved all of these adventures and the family made memories to last a lifetime. Evan is predeceased by his maternal grandmother, Collette Poirier and grandfather, Edward Poirier Jr. After Evan’s diagnosis, the community of Hampton rallied around Evan and his family, and he affectionately became known as ‘Super Evan.’ The community helped plan several fundraising/awareness events, including an annual light up the night celebration, multiple Community Oven fundraiser nights, the Hampton Christmas Parade, Super Evan soccer nights, multiple Super Evan days at the school, and many others. The love, support, and generosity was exceptional and has helped raise awareness and tens of thousands of dollars for childhood cancer organizations. Evan taught us all the meaning of true, unconditional love and he has inspired so many to live each day to its fullest. While he wasn’t with us for nearly long enough, he lived more and experienced more love, happiness, and wonderful memories than most people experience in a lifetime. The Austin family has chosen to donate Evan’s tumor to Cincinnati Children’s hospital for research. Evan will be cremated later this week and the family is planning for a celebration of life for family and friends later this summer. DIPG is considered a rare form of cancer, so funding for research towards a cure is very limited. Currently only 4% of national cancer research funding money goes to pediatric cancer and about 1% of that towards DIPG. In honor of Evan’s life and fight, donations may be made to The Cure Starts Now. To donate, please click here

Evan R. Austin

December 17, 2013 - June 10, 2022