1,300 mourn former Batavia High basketball star killed while rafting
Kevin J. Bryant accomplished a lot in his 21 years.
He was an all-star for Batavia High School. He graduated from Illinois Wesleyan College with a degree in finance.
He was in the Sigma Chi fraternity, and he made a lot of good friends in the process.
And friends and family alike said the same thing about Bryant: He had an amazing character.
More Coverage Links Batavia graduate Kevin Bryant dies after rafting accident in Colorado [06/09/08]
"I have many friends and could find things to change about most of them," said Mark Kettenhofen, who was friends with Bryant since high school. "But I could not find anything wrong with Kevin. He was such a great friend."
That was clear by the large turnout Friday morning for Bryant's funeral.
More than 1,300 people, including many standing on the outskirts, packed Holy Cross Church in Batavia to pay respects to the former basketball standout.
Funeral director Ray Anderson said that in his 36 years, it's one of the largest he has ever seen.
Bryant was in a rafting accident on the Cache de Poudre River in Fort Collins, Colo., on June 2. He died Sunday when he was taken off life support.
The Rev. Charles Reichenbacher told young people in the crowd to learn from Bryant and follow his example.
"This troubled world of ours needs the joys of your youth," he said.
He then shared his final memory of Bryant as a basketball player: a regional game against Reichenbacher's Marmion Cadets in 2004.
Bryant helped the Bulldogs win a hard-fought game. He scored 10 straight points to start the second half and lead his team to a 51-47 win.
This kind of take-charge attitude defined Bryant, Reichenbacher said, and was something others should try to aspire to.
"We are all better people because Kevin Bryant was a part of our lives," he said.
Bryant's family has been known in the area through basketball for decades. But the turnout showed Bryant had a positive effect in other areas on thousands of people in his short life.
"They miss that No. 12 for the Bulldogs," Reichenbacher said to the crowd of family, friends and teammates. "They miss that smile, that laugh, that dogged work ethic. Kevin -- you're only 21, how did you touch so many people?"