Kyle Hellyer

Kyle left us on Valentine’s Day 2023.  In our family, we called it “Love Day” as we loved each other unconditionally. He is survived by his younger brother Mitchell, his parents Rich and Pam, and his treasured Bernese Mountain Dog, Kimi.

We are not sure when Kyle signed up to be an organ and tissue donor, however, it did not surprise us that he did. He always put others before himself. He even mentioned this when he learned that he only had a few weeks to live. In his words, “Well, I had a good time living. Even though I am not healthy now, hopefully, I can still help others.”

We are sure he is beaming with pride and looking down on his donor recipients and smiling at the quality of life he provided them.

I would like to share more about our son Kyle. If we had to describe him in one word, kind comes to mind. He had a deep belly laugh and when he smiled it was always a smirkish smile that warmed his mom’s heart. His sense of humor was dry, but creative. He loved pushing your buttons to get a reaction, then that smile would come out.

He was a seeker of information.  He enjoyed reading, the latest podcast, and was attracted to the technical side of space travel and Formula One racing. His dog was named after a driver.

He especially enjoyed Christmas. That meant family time, bowl and playoff football, McRibs and peppermint shakes.

In his last days, he asked not to be too sad he was gone, but rather focus on the good times we had in his short time on earth. He asked us to focus on the memories we shared not what got us to this point. He often signed cards he had sent to his mother with “thank you for being loving, caring and kind,” which is exactly what we think of when we think about him.

We are so glad that his love and kindness can live on in others.