On Jan. 5, 2008, we learned how fragile life is. But one thing the family and friends of James Robinson can be sure of is that he lived his life to the fullest.

“You wouldn’t want to think about it any other way,” his best friend senior Mitch Cotter said. “If you asked James, ‘what’s something you want to do before you die, that you haven’t already done’—a lot of people could answer that fast. But James would have to think about it.”

Robinson’s grandmother, Donna Copeland, known to her grandchildren as “Gamby,” is secure in this belief.

“You know how boys his age are, they want to do everything right now, everything,” she said. “That’s just the way he was. It’s like he got everything in that he wanted to do while alive.”

Robinson had lived with Copeland on and off since the age of two, going between Springfield and Oklahoma City. Copeland described him as a sweet, loving child who “got into everything” loved the outdoors. The two had a remarkable bond.

“He was my baby,” she said. “He would call me ‘Mom.’ Mitchell asked him one day, he said ‘sometimes you call her Gamby, sometimes you call her Mom, why?’ He said ‘well, she’s both,’ something like that.”

Cotter met Robinson two years ago and quickly became like part of the family. It’s hard to pinpoint specific memories to share—there are too many to pick from, Cotter said.

“James was like my brother,” he said. “When you think about it, you don’t remember stuff with your family as well as you do with your friends… it’s not because I can’t, there’s plenty of reasons and times for me to remember things, it’s just that when he’s with you every day there’s something every day to laugh about.”

Robinson was known for his carefree nature, along with his pranks and practical jokes.

“To be as tall as he was and as built as he was, he was still a kid inside,” Copeland said.

His constant smile is the feature many remember best about him.

“James really didn’t have people he didn’t like, but even if so, if that person would come up to him they’d have no idea he didn’t like them,” Cotter said. “He got along with everybody, pretty much. A lot of people just knew him a little bit.”