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***Please note, this post mentions suicide.
The life and joyous impact of Stephen 'tWitch' Boss and his friendship with Ellen DeGeneres is being honoured in a special way.
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in Rwanda, which works to support endangered mountain gorillas, has announced they've planted a tree on their "Ellen Campus" opened by the former talk-show host last year. Beside it sits a metal plaque with the words: "In Memory of Stephen 'tWitch' Boss and the light he brought to the world."
Sharing a photo of the tree on Instagram, the Fund described tWitch as "a very special person who left us too soon" adding that he "brought light to so many and was a wonderful friend to @ellendegeneres."
The caption continues: "In his honour we planted this tree so he will be forever remembered on the campus."
The 40-year-old Ellen Show DJ, So You Think You Can Dance Judge and self-described “Smile-Spreader” passed away on December 13. Authorities later confirmed he died by suicide.
Following his death, Ellen urged his fans to honour him by laughing, dancing and loving each other:
“Everyone is in pain and trying to make sense of it and we’ll never make sense of it. And the holidays are hard, I think, anyway but to honour tWitch, I think the best thing we can do is to laugh and hug each other play games and dance and sing. That’s the way we honour him, is we do the things he loved to do.”
*If you or anyone you know is struggling or needs support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia or find your local helpline overseas: findahelpline.com
(Feature Image Credit: courtesy Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund; DFree/Shutterstock)
