Cameron Boyce's Loved Ones Honor Late Disney Star on What Would've Been His 22nd Birthday
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Family and friends of Cameron Boyce paid tribute to the late actor on Friday — the day that what would have been his 22nd birthday.
The Descendants star was 20 when he died suddenly on July 6, 2019, after suffering a seizure in his sleep due to epilepsy, three years after he was diagnosed with the disorder.
Libby and Victor Boyce, Cameron's parents, both honored their son with sentimental social media posts.
"Cameron would have been 22 today," Victor wrote on Instagram, captioning a childhood photo of him and his late son. "This is the way I will always remember him. So happy, so full of love for his family and friends."
"I miss him more than words can describe and I dream about him often," Victor continued. "His beautiful spirit lives on through all the people that love him and continue to support us as a family. For that I am eternally grateful. ??"
Libby, meanwhile, shared a smiling photo of her son alongside the quote, "Changing someone else's life positively will change yours for the better as well."
Dove Cameron, who costarred with Cameron in Descendants, wrote a sentimental post on Instagram, captioning a gallery of videos of the two.
"I will love you like this forever, stuck in time, always in the back of the van with you," she wrote in part. "You still make me laugh like no one else. I have never been so sure that I can still feel the warmth of your cheek on mine, on my laughing lips as I fall over you, casual and clumsy Tuesday morning, you are my family, we are kids like this."
"I'll never understand and my head aches most days so I try to lay down the burden of making sense of it," the 25-year-old actress added. "But i hold your body in mine forever, everywhere I go, I hold you, I carry you lovingly, willingly. I am lucky for this . We are all better for it."
Also on Friday, Entertainment Weekly shared exclusive video of Cameron's final on-camera interview, in which he opened up to his Paradise City costar Matt Pinfield about the impact his grandmother, Jo Ann Boyce, has had on his life.
Jo Ann, 91, is a part of American history as one of the members of the Clinton Twelve, a group of Black students who were first to attend an integrated high school in the South back in 1956.
"We talk about it constantly," Cameron said. "It was not that long ago that this all-white high school in the south in Clinton, Tennessee, was desegregated by my grandmother who is still alive and in her 70s and still going, and will be for a long time. It just gives you this perspective of how close that is. It wasn't that long ago."
"I think the best thing about her is that she's one of the happiest people I've ever met. She could be bitter about the way things went and not talk about it. But all she wants to do is spread love and positivity. White people from the south who were not very happy that she was there originally have reacted out to her on Facebook and apologized. And she's so quick to forgive them. It's really an amazing story... she's a living legend."
RELATED: How Cameron Boyce's Parents Plan to Honor the Late Actor's 22nd Birthday
Since his death, Cameron's family started the Cameron Boyce Foundation, to provide "young people artistic and creative outlets as alternatives to violence and negativity and uses resources and philanthropy for positive change in the world."
The foundation marked Cameron's 22nd birthday with its annual charity event, selling T-shirts, hoodies, and a jean jacket designed by actress and his Descendants costar Sofia Carson.
Both Libby and Victor told PEOPLE that in the wake of their loss, they want to "propel forward" with their son's spirit.
"He's gone but his spirit lives with us," Libby said, calling her son, "deep," "thoughtful," and "an old soul."
Reflecting on his death, Libby said "it's extremely excruciatingly painful every day — not just his birthday."
