One Less Friar: RIP Kurt Yates
Kurt Yates passed away today. After 3 1/2 years of fighting cancer, his battle came to an end today.
It is frightening to think that I first met the guy over a decade ago. In 1995 I was a frightened little frosh from California entering Providence College on a swimming scholarship. He was a sophomore breastroker from Ohio. One of Kurt's famous quotes was "I hate people". He could be a rather tough guy to get to know, but once you befriended him, his character was that of loyalty and generosity. I think one of the reasons he liked me is that I was not from New England and I came from a "real swimming state". He hated the Mickey mouse swimming that was all too prevalent in New England.
Over the four years we spent together at college (he opted for the five year plan) and sporadic meetings post-graduation, we had many good times together. Thousands of memories are flying through my head right now: New Hampshire road trips, vitamin R, Columbus weekend on campus, riots on Eaton street (actaully, more like riot--there was only one. And no, Kurt did not start it), Big Red Cannondale, cycling, gravity, Wes' Rib House, Mexico, POS Celica.
You will be missed Yates.
PS: I hate people too!
PPS:
It appears a few people have stumbled upon this posting. If you would like to make a donation in Kurt's name, you can send it to:
Blood and Marrow Transplant Program
Jewish Hospital
4777 E. Galbraith Rd.
5th FLOOR, Cincinnati, OH 45236
Also, the obituary is here.
It is frightening to think that I first met the guy over a decade ago. In 1995 I was a frightened little frosh from California entering Providence College on a swimming scholarship. He was a sophomore breastroker from Ohio. One of Kurt's famous quotes was "I hate people". He could be a rather tough guy to get to know, but once you befriended him, his character was that of loyalty and generosity. I think one of the reasons he liked me is that I was not from New England and I came from a "real swimming state". He hated the Mickey mouse swimming that was all too prevalent in New England.
Over the four years we spent together at college (he opted for the five year plan) and sporadic meetings post-graduation, we had many good times together. Thousands of memories are flying through my head right now: New Hampshire road trips, vitamin R, Columbus weekend on campus, riots on Eaton street (actaully, more like riot--there was only one. And no, Kurt did not start it), Big Red Cannondale, cycling, gravity, Wes' Rib House, Mexico, POS Celica.
You will be missed Yates.
PS: I hate people too!
PPS:
It appears a few people have stumbled upon this posting. If you would like to make a donation in Kurt's name, you can send it to:
Blood and Marrow Transplant Program
Jewish Hospital
4777 E. Galbraith Rd.
5th FLOOR, Cincinnati, OH 45236
Also, the obituary is here.
posted by twothirds at 12:15 PM
3 Comments:
Hi, I found this post the other day. I swam for Kurt and he was the manager at my pool. It made me laugh to read this post because it described Kurt just like I knew him. Thank you for writing it, it made me happy. I miss Kurt very much
Hi. I am Kurt's sister Kristin. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who loved Kurt. He wasn't always easy, but he was very special to me and I miss him. What you wrote was perfect. Thank you.
I can't believe I'm sitting here reading this! I swam with Kurt for a year at PC (1997) and then would regularly run into him the next year as he was finishing school. He was always a great guy to be around. It blows my mind that someone so strong and full of life could be cut down so soon. RIP YATES.
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