COLUMN BY MATT PRANGER

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Islanders lose a favorite adopted son with Darryl Kile's death

Darryl Kile never played a regulation game in the San Juan Islands, but the standout pitcher's death yesterday stunned and numbed islanders. We shared our grief for the loss of a favorite adopted local son, extended our condolences and prayers to his family and started planning how to show our support.

We hurt for his wife Flynn, 5-year-old twin son Kannon and daughter Sierra, 10-month-old son Ryker Davis, mother, brothers, other relatives and friends.

We started cheering for the masterful curveballer after his parents -- Dave and Dorene -- and younger brother Davis moved to Friday Harbor in the early 1990s. We soon started to refer to Darryl by his first name.

We were fascinated with somebody who is related to a famous person, but the interest in Darryl's career was deeper than that. "He was kind of a local son, even though he wasn't a local son," said Dave Anderson, who coached Darryl's brother Davis. "We adopted him,"said Dave's wife Denise. We cared about Darryl because his family was "just a really, really nice family."

We kept up with Darryl's progress with the Houston Astros during trips to the San Juan Donut Shop, which his parents owned and operated. We extended our sympathies after his father died much too soon at age 44 in 1993.

We beamed with pride along with Darryl's mother, brothers Davis and Danny and aunt Karen McCumber after Darryl hurled a no-hitter later that year. We celebrated with parties when he appeared in his first of three All-Star games.

We kept up to date on his continuing career via Dorene when she worked at Friday Harbor Drug. We were impressed with Darryl's ability to persevere during his not so Colorado Rocky High. We rejoiced after he signed with St. Louis.

We didn't even lament the Mariners loss to the Astros the evening after his death. Houston's Jeff Bagwell, one of Darryl's close friends and former teammate, overcame his grief, entered the game as a pinch hitter and singled home the winning run in the 12th inning. We found it fitting that another friend -- Colorado slugger Larry Walker -- went 3-for-5 with a homer in the Rockies' victory in the 11th inning. We couldn't think of better tributes to Darryl's dedication to the game of baseball.

We weren't surprised when current and former teammates praised Darryl for his steadfast work ethic. We saw the roots of that first-hand -- his Dad toiling in the early morning hours on the tastiest donuts in the San Juans and his Mom greeting the first and last customers. We also saw this hard-working attitude in his younger brother's play on the baseball diamond and basketball court.

We related with coaches mentioning Darryl's leadership, his assisting younger pitchers and other players. We remember Darryl giving tips to the Friday Harbor High School team and San Juan Island Little Leaguers.

We concurred with sports commentators who concluded Darryl set himself apart from many star athletes by not allowing fame to go his head. We recall Darryl autographing cards, baseballs and mitts.

We understood Darryl shying away from the media spotlight, wanting be an average guy. We noticed his tendancy to be reserved while playing pick-up basketball games. We saw him attending Davis's basketball games simply as a supportive big brother. We remembered Darryl forming his arms into a hoop to keep a coach's son content during a prep contest.

We saw Darryl's fierce competitiveness during televised games but we knew the sternly set lips turned into a grin off the mound. "Darryl had the greatest smile, just like Davis," Dave Anderson noted.

We know an emptiness will take hold when reading the box scores. We'll wonder where Darryl's love of baseball would've taken him: World Series? Hall of Fame? Coach? Manager?

We wish relief of the pain his wife and children in San Diego, his mother in Florence, Ore., brother Davis with the Portland, Ore. Police Department, brother Danny and aunt Karen, his No. 1 fan in the islands.

We feel the loss of a child, brother, husband, father, teammate, friend and adopted son that can't be reflected in any recordbook.

SAN JUAN ISLANDER © 2008

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