From left, parents Derek and Amy Petz, nurse Kristy McKee and Amy's mother, Terri Lapp, leaning forward, are covered with silly string during a celebration of Benny Petz's cancer-shortened life at the Z Mansion. About 100 people came on Saturday to celebrate the life of the 5-year-old with a balloon release and a water-gun salute.

photos by Greg Bryan

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Amy and Derek Petz let go of their purple balloons and watched as they rose toward the heavens. One by one other pink and purple balloons followed, dotting the sky above Downtown on Saturday afternoon until they drifted out of sight.

The balloon salute was a fitting tribute to the couple's 5-year-old son Benny, who died June 27 after a 2 1/2-year battle with cancer.

Pink and purple were his favorite colors, and they were suggestive of the lightness and joy many said defined his life.

Prayers and remembrances were offered with each balloon, and the send-off capped a celebration for Benny held at Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave.

About 100 people attended. Most were friends, family members and caregivers. There were also those who never knew Benny and were moved by his bout with neuroblastoma, an early childhood cancer of the sympathetic nervous system.

The service's mood was celebratory and, at times, wrenchingly joyful. It was planned by children with Workship, a child--driven Methodist ministry, and as such reflected a child's spirit. Pink and purple ribbons hung from trees, water guns were in abundance and at one point, the audience was sprayed with silly string.

After the service, those in attendance dined on some of Benny's favorite foods: Cinnamon Toast Crunch, cheese pizza, waffles and Cherry Pepsi, among others.

In the levity, though, there was poignancy.

The Rev. Tom Hill of Workship, who knew Benny for about two years, described the presence with which Benny lived as something to be followed.

"Time goes away like the mist," he said. "There is a very important time and that is now."

Such sentiment was reflected by many others.

"I learned a lot from him," said Kara Pancoast, who has been the family's nanny for the past two years. "To smile no matter what. To love everybody with all your heart. You could never have a bad day when you were around him."

With the hint of tears in her eyes, she recalled how she met him. A student at the University of Arizona, she had applied for the nanny job hardly expecting it would change her life. Already 18 others had applied, but none had fit the bill. When Benny saw her, he rushed right to her and grabbed her leg.

"It was a blessing to know him," she said.

Sitting next to his parents was Kristy McKee, the nurse to whom Benny was closest.

She had seen Benny through his chemotherapy, stem-cell transplants and surgery, and Saturday afternoon she comforted his parents.

She said she admired "their strong love for each other and their positive spirit."

Across from the family were four representatives from the Tucson Fire Department. The men hardly knew Benny but admired him for working a lemonade stand to raise money for cancer research on his fifth birthday, about five weeks ago.

The stand raised more than $13,000 and was part of a nationwide effort called Alex's Lemonade Stand, which raises money for pediatric research.

"Here was his birthday, and he was raising money for other kids," said Capt. Bruce Avram.

Walking toward the balloon send-off, Avram said he had been nervous about coming to the service but felt relieved because it was such a celebration.

And deservedly so. As Benny's mother Amy noted in a letter to her son she read moments earlier: Benny's life "has changed more lives than any of us will truly know."

● The Petz family will continue to support Alex's Lemonade Stand, a nationwide project to raise money for pediatric-cancer research. They plan to set up a stand in Tucson every year on Benny's birthday, May 26.

To donate to Alex's Lemonade Stand For Pediatric Cancer Research in Benny's memory, go to www.alexslemonade.org or to the family's Web site at www.bennylove.com. You may send the family your thoughts via their Web site, too.