News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Chris Smith, left, and his wife, Sara, look at the Incredible Hulk gravestone that was custom-built for their son, Max. Max died in May after suffering from Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

ALPENA — Max Smith was your typical little boy.

He loved toy trucks, playing outdoors, dinosaurs, and, especially, watching superhero movies and dressing up like the characters.

Earlier this year, Max, who those near to him call Mighty Max, died at the age of 2-and-a-half, after struggling with Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Now, thanks to the community, Max has his favorite superhero, the Incredible Hulk, standing guard over his grave in Evergreen Cemetery in Alpena.

According to Max’s parents, Sara and Chris Smith, he was diagnosed with LCH when he was about 6 months old, and the doctors said it would be manageable with proper treatment.

Chris said Max was a happy and loving young man who never let his illness get in the way of doing the things he loved.

“He was your typical little boy who liked all the things little boys would like,” Smith said. “He was just slowly starting to comprehend the concept of sports and getting into them. Overall, he was an amazing little man.”

LCH is a rare type of cancer that causes the mutation of Langerhans cells, a type of white blood cell. Typically, the cells fight off illness and infection. The disease causes the over-creation of the cells, which turned the cells against Max’s healthy organs.

Sara and Chris believed their child would still be able to live with the disease, but with constant treatment and regular medical appointments.

“They told us it was easily cured and, with chemotherapy, he should have been fine and would just need yearly checkups after they get it to a manageable level,” Chris said.

Max’s health was up and down and the family decided to move forward with a bone marrow transplant at Mott’s Children Hospital in Ann Arbor.

After the transplant, Max’s health began to deteriorate. After a lengthy stay at the hospital, the couple was notified that Max’s conditions was failing.

“We didn’t see it coming,” Sara said. “We didn’t know how bad his condition was until about 45 minutes before he died. Everything happened very fast. We didn’t have any time to prepare.”

Sara praised the doctors and staff at the hospital, some of whom came to Alpena to attend Max’s funeral. She said Max was also a model patient, helping the nurses perform simple tests on him, such as taking his temperature and blood pressure.

After Max died, Sara and her husband donated some new toys for the hospital that were similar to what he played with while he was there.

As the word of Max’s death spread around Alpena, several local businesses held fundraisers to help cover the cost of the funeral and for the supersized grave monument.

McWilliams Funeral Home Funeral Assistant and Apprentice Eric Ross said he has been friends with the Smiths and known Max since his birth. Word of Max’s death spurred him to take action to make the boy’s memorial, funeral, and burial the best possible.

“This was a terrible situation, and I wanted to help them as much as I could to help them through this process,” Ross said. “Because he loved superheros, we did Guardians of the Galaxy service folders to hand out to everybody at the funeral. Everything revolved around the superheros and his love of them.”

Ross said he came up with the idea of the Hulk-themed tombstone. The first iteration included the character engraved in the granite, but Ross worked his sources and came up with the idea to have a three-dimensional version carved out of a large block of stone.

“The kid was a trooper and a fighter in every essence of the word,” Ross said. “They took our idea and absolutely nailed it. It is a one of a kind, and Max now has the most badass stone ever.”

Sara said she will always remember the way the community rallied to help her family after her son’s death.

Seeing the Hulk not only reminds her of her son’s love for him, but also what the people did to make this a reality.

She and her husband visit Max’s grave several times a week, and she knows he is looking down with a smile on his face.

“He would absolutely love this,” she said. “The Hulk and the Baby Groot on it would be something he would just love. This just screams Max and is very fitting for him.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz
Chris Smith, left, and his wife, Sara, look at the Incredible Hulk gravestone that was custom-built for their son, Max. Max died in May after suffering from Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz
Max loved his superhero idols, and the community came together to make sure his final resting place was one that suited him.