in memoriam...

A dear friend of ours, Kevin Pryor passed away today, Tuesday, June 17, 2008 of a brain aneurysm. He was just 31 years old.

I met Kevin's fiance Kelly Billingsley in a chemistry class at Cal Poly in 2000, shortly after Paul and I were married. Kelly and I were both Nutritional Science majors. We became fast friends and we started hanging out and doing things together as couples... dinner, movie nights, etc... Our friendship with them continued to grow. They were married in August 2001, almost 1 year to the day after we were married. Kelly, Kevin, and I all graduated from Cal Poly and sat together during the commencement services in June 2002. Kevin was a firefighter for Pismo Beach and one fourth of July, he took Paul and I on a ride in the fire engine up the hill to watch the fireworks. Over the years, we have hung out with them, celebrated with them, stayed with them after they moved away, vacationed with them. We considered them family. Sadly, Kelly and Kevin's marriage dissolved in 2007 and we have not seen Kevin since. Regardless, the news of his passing greatly shocked and saddened us. He was a wonderful guy. He was a shining example of service, kindness, friendship, and love. He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and Kelly during this most difficult time.


A memorial site for Kevin, with moving testimonals of his exemplary life and more information on his passing, has been set up by his firefighter family at the Newport Beach Fire Department.