Aurora Flight Participant
Alexander Douglas Byrnes
By Debbie Byrnes (mom)
Alexander Douglas Byrnes (Alex) was born on December 5, 1991, and lived in North Kingstown, RI (formerly of Jamestown, RI). Alex passed away peacefully at home on February 21, 2022, at the age of 30, surrounded by his close family and his expansive collection of Star Wars Legos.
Facing a lifetime battle with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, Alex eventually passed due to complications. Despite his difficult disease, Alex lived a happy life filled with laughter, video games, sci-fi movies, and many furry friends. He grew up with a treasured friend, Quinn Earley, along with his many cousins, aunts, and uncles. Alex will be greatly missed. He was continually kind, thoughtful, and generous. He will always be remembered for bringing humor to the lives of the people around him.
With a passion for movies, storytelling, and a fierce determination, he achieved a Bachelor's Degree in Game Design with an emphasis on 3D modeling from the New England Institute of Technology. Earning the Best in Tech Scholar Award in the process. In the later stages of his life, his passion for storytelling evolved into writing and creating science fiction and fantasy stories. His favorite writing work is called “The Bleedthrough,” a complex and compelling story involving space travel and the physics of time and space. It is our hope that this and other stories will one day be published and find their way to the big screen. Alex had a creative mind and a photographic memory; he forgot nothing, always solved problems, and made us laugh. Alex was a much-loved son, brother, nephew, cousin, and friend.
Alex's greatest wish was to go to space. He knew that because of his diagnosis, it would never be possible. We would sometimes joke that we’d put his (ashes) up in a weather balloon, not knowing that Celestis and space travel was possible or affordable. We were so happy to find that the technology did exist, and we are now able to send him on the Aurora Memorial Spaceflight, where he will rocket to the edge of space and fulfill his dream.
Alex is survived by his mother, Debbie Byrnes; his sisters: Abby Byrnes and Amanda Beck; his brother-in-law Chris; and his niece and nephew, Olivia and Jackson. Alex is predeceased by his father, Paul Byrnes.
“May his soul roam where it must, and his body return to stardust.”
