The ‘Fast and the Furious’ actor passed away in a car crash in November 2013 but his mom Cheryl knows his memory will never be “forgotten” because her son made such a “difference” to so many people’s lives.
She said: “I’ve gotten letters from people all over the world who said he made a difference in their lives.
“That is such a blessing. He’s never forgotten.”
Cheryl saw Paul on the morning of his death as he and his daughter Meadow, now 15, sat in her kitchen talking about their festive arrangements and made plans to pick out and decorate a Christmas tree that evening, and the actor was in very good spirits.
But the ‘Eight Below’ star had to make a quick exit when he realised he’d forgotten a pre-arranged meeting.
She recalled to People magazine: “We were having this good conversation, and he’d forgotten about an event he had.
“He got a text and said, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m supposed to be somewhere!’ ”
Hours after the engagement, a charity car show for his organisation Reach Out Worldwide, Paul was a passenger in his friend Roger Rodas’ red Carrera GT Porsche when it crashed and exploded, killing both men.
But Cheryl insists the circumstances surrounding her son’s death shouldn’t overshadow who he was.
She said: “I think so many people think, ‘Oh, he was just a movie star who was killed in a car accident.’ But there was so much more to him. That was just a piece of who he was. He was an amazing man.”
Almost five years after Paul’s death, his family do what they can to keep his memory alive and on his birthday on September 12, they pay a visit to his favourite surf spot on Huntington Beach.
There, they throw sunflowers into the ocean and swap their favourite memories of their beloved family member.
