Tragic Takeoff

The Ebersol family is comforted by the knowledge that Teddy accomplished a lot in his short life. They are especially proud of his success in overcoming a learning disability that had troubled his childhood. "He was, we thought, a very angry kid at the beginning," Charlie says. "By the end, at the end of 14 years, you had this whole person who was best friends with my mom [and] who had created a relationship with my father. ... He was the complete person that you hope you will be when [you] die." While recovering in the hospital after the crash, Charlie says his brother Willie told him something "only a filmmaker could say." Teddy, Willie said, "had a complete arc."

Susan says she considers her support and encouragement of Teddy over the last three years the greatest accomplishment of her life. "He knew how we felt," she says, "[We would tell him], 'Look what you've done with your life, [what] you've achieved! You're such a happy guy now. You're doing so well!"