Stories about Greg by his Friends

I remember Greg as a little kid, mostly. He was a fun loving kid to babysit for. And he was beyond brave when our dog bit his face so badly. Maybe that was an indication of how he would later handle the cancer.

Since we weren't home when it happened, all I knew was how much blood there was. It was a mess. So was Greg's face. The trauma docs at Ramsey (now Regions) did an amazing job of saving his eye and minimizing the scaring.  And through it all Greg was wonderful. Even though his tear duct was irrepairable damaged, he was great about it. He never blamed us (to our faces) and never complained about all he had to go through about it later. I remember being amazed by his resilience and spirit. So I guess it was no surprise that he handled the cancer so effectively. I miss him and the person he was becoming.

This is from my good friend Stephanie Frost. She has known Greg almost all his life. When Greg was 2, he was bitten in the face by their dog. He had two surgeries back then to repair his eye.

One day, before Greg had his driver's license or permit, we were sitting around in the living room talking about cars. I asked him what kind of car he wanted to get. He said, with a great big grin, that he want a VW Beetle. Surprised by his response, I said no way, you're kidding. (I really thought he was kidding.) Then he said convincingly, that he was very serious. That's when he whipped out his wallet and pulled out this worn-out photo of a VW Beetle. I started laughing, then he started laughing. I told him he was the only kid I knew who carried around a picture of a car they wanted to buy, let alone a VW Beetle. It was very silly.

We had a party for Greg for his 15th birthday. Greg helped plan the party including who would come, what to eat, and what to do. There were 6 boys, Fred, Scott & Leslie at the party. When Greg arrived we had a surprise waiting for him. When he walked in the door, Andy Doyle (Greg's friend who hadn't been to the house for over a year) popped out and surprised him. Greg's face went from a happy-smile to a surprised-shock. He couldn't believe Andy came to his party. Greg was now with all of his band friends, something he waited for for over a year. There were chips & dip, and Scott made hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill. We ordered an ice cream cake from DQ. The boys acted silly and goofy with those party hats and noise makers. After pigging out, Greg sat on the sofa to open his presents. He got a couple of CD's, gift certificates and some other things. After the presents, we all piled into two cars and drove to the 50th & France theater to see 'Two Days in the Valley' show. When the movie was over and we said our good byes, we noticed that Greg came and left with the same happy-smile.

You Have no idea how pleased I am to have found your memorial page for Greg. I read every word of the entire site. I have been searching for anything related to him for years.

My name is Lisa Scherer (now Sheehan), I am from Eden Prairie. I met Greg at Value Vision, we instantly "hit it off". Our common bond was music, primarily Blink 182 and 311.

I never knew about the severity of Greg's cancer. I'm sure that is the way he wanted it. I never asked too many questions either, I only knew that he had had cancer thus, his shoulder was removed.

Greg taught me many things about life and myself. He was always so optomistic, I wanted to be just like that. Still to this day whenever I become discouraged or need strength I think of him and his words. He was going through so much at the time that I was unaware of yet, he seemed to remain so happy. I never got to say goodbye or tell him how much I love him.

I have many stories about our time together. One of my favorite is when we went to The Blink 182 and MXPX show at the Quest with some friends. It was so much fun. I was so scared to go into that mosh pit. I more so like to watch the show fom a safe viewing distance! Greg made me try the mosh pit, I was reluctant but he said that he'd stay with me. The whole time he held my hand, and when I'd had enough of getting stepped on he'd sit out with me. After the show we stayed a bit later and got autographs. I got my ticket signed by Blink frontman, Mark Hoppe. I have the ticket framed along with Greg's picture and an alien face gutar pick he gave me :-) After the show we went to our favorite spot for late night coffe and greasy food, Denny's on 494 near France Avenue. I still refer to this as "Greg's Denny's." I think of him everytime I pass it :-)

Another activity Greg convinced me to try was frisbee golf. That was definitely not my forte. I lost one of his frisbees in the woods, I felt so bad! Needless to say it was probably the hottest day in August! That summer we also went to Cedar fest with Matt Jackson and Anna Bradseth (my friend from High School who also worked at Value Vision). Thus, I was first introduced to the band Flipp. I had heard there music before but never saw them perform. I was astonished when a band member came right up to Greg and started a conversation. It was a great show and we had a lot of fun that day.

Greg taught me to be more open minded, take more chances, live a little! He introduced me to my now favorite band, Unwritten Law. He also got me into Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker and Lifter Puller. I remember singing with Anna to Blink 182's Dammit while Greg, Matt and Tony(?) provided musical backup. It was so much fun. I could go on and on, rambling off all of these cherished memories.

I can say that that summer was literally the best yet! It was my last summer before I stared college at St.Cloud State. Even while at school Greg would call me or leave me a goofy messages. I had trouble adjusting to school at first. I always looked forward to coming home weeknds and seeing everyone! He was such a good friend and I miss him dearly. On one of my visits home he skipped school, I begged him not to. We had breakfast at Denny's went to the Mall of America and Best Buy. I really enjoyed spending the day with just he and I.

June of 1999 I returned home from my first year of college and almost immediately took off to go to Italy with my mother and Grandmother. I returned from my trip and started working once again at Value Vision. Greg said he wasn't working at the moment and would be back soon. Later that month I ran into Evelyn at Mystic Lke Casino and had a brief conversation with her. I told her to say "Hi" to Greg for me and hoped to see him soon. I never got a chance. I learned the horrible news of his death at Value Vision from a memo we were handed.

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for creating this website. It is so nice to read through it and remember Greg and think of all the good times. I only new him for a short time, but I always knew how special he was and I certainly knew how lucky I was to cross paths with him :-) I am a better person for knowing him. I often wonder how the Hundt family is doing or what Tony and Matt are doing with their lives.

Please send any comments or suggestions to me. Thank you.