First-year student Kyle Kinsella will be remembered as a gentle, kind and loyal person by those who knew him.

Kyle, Sci ’14, died on April 5, 2011.

Kyle’s mother Rebecca Kinsella said her son was someone who excelled in all subjects.

“He was going into electrical and computing engineering next year,” she said. “He won a lot of awards in high school, and was a very talented player on his high school soccer team.”

Kyle loved nature and often competed in fishing tournaments with his father.

“We had a cottage and our best memories would be there, spending time with him in the outdoors,” Kinsella said, adding that other favorite memories with her son included watching him play competitive soccer and card games with friends and family.

Kyle was shy at times but his friends knew him for his sense of humour and caring personality.

“He helped a lot of people,” Kinsella said.

“He was big before his [friends] were, and he never used his height or weight to his advantage.” Kyle suffered from type 1 diabetes since he was 10 and had to wear an insulin pump.

“He had to do stuff that other people never had to deal with,” Kinsella said. “But he never complained about anything.”

Erik Veenendaal, Sci ’14, was friends with Kyle since kindergarten and remembers him as a happy and upbeat individual.

Veenendaal said he would frequently play music with Kyle who was an avid guitarist.

At the age of 13, Kyle made an automatic guitar-strumming machine. Soon after, he used magnets and wires to make a working electric guitar and base.

“He was a great guy. He liked to listen to a whole bunch of kinds of music,” Veenendaal said. “He would never do anything that would hurt anybody or make anyone feel bad. He was good to everybody.” Donations in Kyle’s memory can be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation at jdrf.ca.

—Katherine Fernandez-Blance

Students can contact Health, Counselling and Disability Services at 613-533-6000 ext. 78264