Brayden Thomas Davidson

Brayden was raised in Everett, Washington, and most recently lived in Snohomish. Brayden’s life was far too short, and it was not the life we had imagined for him. But it was a life filled with more courage, love, and meaning than could be measured by the number of years he was given. Brayden was forced to fight battles he did not sign up for and no one should ever have to face. And somehow, through all of it, Brayden remained Brayden.

With a continued smile and determination, in 2017, Brayden shifted from proudly playing for the Archbishop Murphy Youth Football program, snowboarding, and ridiculously quick Rubik’s cube solving, to missing the remainder of his 8th grade year while enduring treatment and starting high school in a wheel chair. After finishing treatment in 2019, he learned to walk again, then got his drivers license and ultimately a Ford F-150 that he treasured. He worked at Emory’s on Silver Lake as a busser, graduated from Archbishop Murphy High School in 2022, worked on his killer golf swing and perfecting his bowling ball spin, and took classes at Cascadia Community College. For five treasured years, we believed he had beaten the disease. During those years, he worked hard to build life beyond cancer and looked forward to the same things any young person would—discovering who he would become.

Brayden spent much of his final years, after the cancer returned in 2023 and again in 2024, fighting not only the physical effects of his disease and related treatment, but also the loss of so many of the ordinary things young people take for granted. His mobility, independence, friendships, opportunities, and dreams were all changed by cancer. Yet even as his world became smaller, his capacity to love on others never seemed to disappear. He had a gift for making others feel cared for.

He loved spending quality time with his people. While we took several adventures together, he most enjoyed board games, card games, cribbage, poker, and found joy in simple moments. He had such a kind and respectful demeanor, always grateful, and even on incredibly difficult days and while in pain, the way he interacted with those who treated him at Seattle Children’s Hospital left a lasting impression. In his final days, there was a line out the door of people who worked at the hospital who wanted to say goodbye. We told him he was like a rock star there, with nurses often asking to be the ones who could care for him when he was in-patient.

Brayden loved his family and friends deeply, and he was loved deeply in return. Brayden also taught us something that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. That a person’s life cannot be measured by what they were able to accomplish, the places they traveled, the career they had, or the number of years they lived. Life is measured by the way a person makes others feel. By the kindness they show, the grace they offer when life has given them every reason to be bitter, and the people who are changed simply because they had the privilege of knowing them.

Our faith tells us that this is not the end of Brayden’s story. We believe he is now free from the body that became so difficult for him to live in, free from pain, free from limitations, and finally whole again in the presence of his Creator.

Brayden is survived by his parents, Ben and Erin Davidson; his grandparents, Karl and Anne Renschler and John Davidson; his aunts and uncles, Matt and Erin Renschler, and Jim Davidson; and his cousins, Anthony Davidson, Bonita Wolff, Sam Schamp, Ashlea Renschler, and Allie Renschler.

He was preceded in death by his grandmother Debbie Davidson, and aunt Sharon Davidson.

We will miss his laugh and funny smirk. His little dance moves and catch phrases. His sweet heart. His playlists. Feeling his hugs. His smile. His kind eyes. The sound of his voice. The soft way he would tap or brush you with his thumb while holding your hand. And all of the little things that made him who he was. Most of all, we will miss simply having him here. We are heartbroken that our time with him was shorter than we ever expected or wanted. But we are extremely grateful for every year, every memory, every ordinary day, every hard-fought milestone, and every moment we were given with him.

Twenty-two years was not enough. But Brayden made those 22 years matter. And he will be loved for all the years that come after.

A Funeral Service will be held at Evergreen Funeral Home, 4504 Broadway, Everett, WA 98203, US, on October 10, 2026, at 1:00 pm.