Kris Kirby 

Where do I begin.  Kirbs was a best friend and roommate of mine through some of the most memorable times of my life.  Why is life so fleeting?  Why is he gone before I could say goodbye?  Why does the Lord allow some of the best people I’ve ever met leave early?  Doesn’t He know we need more people like Kris in this world?

Personal conviction.  Kris Kirby had loads of it.  I’ve never met anyone with a better ability to make a decision for himself and stick with it.  Commit to it.  He was just so brutally honest to himself and would never give himself an excuse to fail / give-up / change course.  If Kris said he was going to do something, he would.  Period.

Crash diet?  Still remember Kris explaining to me how he was saving money by dieting only on cans of tuna and peanut butter.  He did this for months if I remember right.  I hate the smell of tuna.

Catch a muskellunge?

Kirbs would be out on the water 3-4am before class trying any sort of lure, technique, lake he could try.  The only thing that could deter Kris from his pursuit of a monster trophy fish?  Minnesota winters.  For some months anyways.

We transitioned to snowboarding, both learning this passion together.  Our first time was on demo snowboards at Wild Mountain.  This was trying to learn how to ride on the iciest slopes you could imagine.  We both had concussions that first day.  Neither of us could get out of bed that next morning from whiplash neck.  Couldn’t have been more than a week later and Kris was telling me of a deal he found to get snowboards, boots, bindings all for some $250.  We both got our boards so that we could ride whenever and wherever we wanted.

What we found was that wherever we wanted was out West.  And these were my best times with Kris.  Big Sky and all over Colorado.  Deepest, steepest snow we could find.  And this is how we stayed connected after graduation.  Kris moved to Durango and I went out to board with him.  Later I moved to Colorado Springs and Kris came out to board with me.  Lord do I wish we could have another trip together!

Once I lost Kris out at Breckenridge.  Waited at the bottom of the hill, waited at the top of hill.  No Kris.  Retraced our last ride.  No Kris.  Finally found him down at medic station.  Kris was smiling ear-to-ear because he had a story to tell about doing one of his favorite things.  Just this time equipment failure caused his binding to pop out midair on a jump.  A mangled and swollen knee was a small price.

One thing about boarding together is you have a lot of time to talk while riding back up the mountain.  That’s when you really get to know a person.  What they are made of.  What they believe.

Kris believed in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He was personally convicted to following Him.  To be pure.  I wish I had more time to spend with him.  Why does God take away some of the best people I know too early?  I don’t know, never will.  Maybe it’s not even my right to know.

But I do know I will see him again someday.  Together with our Lord.

Kris, I loved you like a brother.  I miss you terribly.

Peter Engblom (a.k.a. “Engie”)