When I think about how death comes too soon for some, I recall the title to one of Billy Joel’s songs, “Only the Good Die Young.”

In the summer after I graduated from high school, one of my close friends, Sam Sessions, died in a car accident on his way to work.

The accident happened on U.S. 61 South just yards away from his home near Grange Hall Road.

When I got the call Sam was gone, I was in disbelief and could not stop crying.

Sam, along with some of my other friends, had just been at my house the weekend before the accident.

I had recently undergone back surgery and could not get out, so they had come to visit me at home. That night, we all had a good time laughing and talking about our futures.

Even though I was going to have to delay college for a year due to my recovery from surgery, the others were all planning to further their education.

Sam was heading to Mississippi State University with future plans of becoming a dentist.

Sam’s adult life was just beginning, and who would have ever thought when he left my house that Saturday night, I would never see him again.

As a teen, I had yet experienced grief and pain of this magnitude and wondered why something like this happens.

Sam had been one of the really good guys, kind and nice to everyone.

This week, I lost another friend unexpectedly and too soon.

Rowdy Nosser was genuinely one of the most upbeat “energizer bunny” acting persons I have ever known.

He was always generous with his hugs and compliments and thoughtful to always ask about the family.

Just weeks before his untimely death, he was sitting at my desk inquiring about my son.

That was Rowdy, always caring about the young people of the community.

And how obvious this was at his funeral. It made my heart swell to see such an out pouring of young men dressed in their suits, all paying respect to a man who really cared about them.

I am not professing that Rowdy was perfect, but his love of others and this community certainly bore witness to his core values.

There will be many days of sadness ahead, so it is now our time to be “Rowdy” and reach out to his family and dearest friends with hugs and love and prayers.

My friend Rowdy may have been a bit more gregarious than my high school friend, but like Sam, Rowdy was kind and nice to everyone.

Terri Cowart Frazier is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. You may reach her at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.