Who:  Ryan Eagle, Valerie Eagle, Tom Eagle, and Kyle Eagle

What:  Beautiful evening had by all.  We even had a full-sized eagle ice sculpture! Great food and music, beneath a beautiful white canopy. Ryan was thrilled because everyone had such a great evening. Kyle was also very happy to be a part of it.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF KYLE PATRICK EAGLE’S LIFE

Kyle was born on September 13^th, 1990 at Highland Park Hospital.  He was a beautiful baby boy that Ryan could hardly wait to meet! It was so sweet to see how careful Ryan was with his newborn baby brother.

Kyle and Ryan became best friends as soon as they saw one another, and this continued throughout Kyle’s short 22-year life.

Kyle’s doctor didn’t bother to take the time to check drug interactions.  My dear, dear Kyle died as a result.

We have spent two years grieving the loss of Kyle. Sometimes our memories are filled with happiness, but often the loss of such a fine young man of 22, with his entire life just starting, is just too hard to bear.

Back To The Beginning

We had just moved from Highland Park to Buffalo Grove so that the boys would have a huge backyard, and a bigger home to live in.  A fond memory of the boys was the year Santa Claus brought a motorized jeep as a gift for Ryan, and Kyle was just old enough to sit in the passenger seat. Together they would ride around the block in the jeep having adventures all the way.

These adventures also included running out of power, at which time their dad, Tom, had to push the heavy jeep all the way home.

Willow Stream Park was located right behind our subdivision. I was fortunate not to work, so I took Kyle and Ryan there almost every morning, until lunch time and naps. We had great fun, playing on the swing set.

Willow Stream Park also had an annual Easter egg hunt, and though Kyle was still too young to find many eggs, Ryan, fast on his feet, would gather tons of them and split them with Kyle.

We moved to Houston, Texas in 1993 and Ryan started 1^st grade there. He simply loved the school, and all the nice children and families we got to know.  Kyle was three years old, and we enrolled him in 2 half-day preschool programs at the Presbyterian church.

His teacher, Ms. Gypsy, was very fond of Kyle. She told me Kyle was the only child in the group that did not take a nap, but laid quietly playing with his gym shoe laces, or a paperclip he found on the floor.

The Christmas pageant was the highlight for both the parents and all the children from the preschool.  Kyle was an angel, and sang a song by himself. He had such a beautiful voice.

We built a huge swimming pool, Jacuzzi, and waterfall in our backyard, and both Kyle and Ryan enjoyed watching the construction as much as swimming in it when it was all done.

One night it rained so hard that hundreds of frogs were swimming in it! They woke us up with their loud “ribbit ribbit” noises.

Kyle spent hours in the huge Jacuzzi with my measuring cups, spoons, pots and pans playing scientist. He was in constant amazement of all science, but especially animals and insects.

We lived in Houston for 3 years, before returning to Buffalo Grove. Kyle began kindergarten, which was an easier transition than Ryan’s entry into 4^th grade, which is the last year in an elementary school before starting middle school.

Ryan has always been very friendly and made friends easily. Still, it was not easy to start in a school where friendships had already been formed.

Both Kyle and Ryan were in the chorus at Pritchett Elementary School. Though this is mainly about Kyle, it is worth mentioning that while singing for a school performance, two of Ryan’s teeth fell out. Blood was everywhere, but he simply giggled, cleaned himself up, and bravely returned to finish singing with the chorus.   Kyle was very proud of Ryan, and he definitely was his hero.

Kyle, like his brother, was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout. Kyle also was involved for several years on the Buffalo Grove Hurricanes, and he was an excellent swimmer. Both boys were also in band and played the trumpet. Kyle and Ryan were active in band from 5^th-8^th grade, and Ryan also was involved freshman year.

Both boys were also successful in technology. They took all the computer classes that were offered, and excelled at each of them.  Two of Kyle’s very close friends, Rachel and Rebecca Duxler, learned everything about computers and went on to college majoring in computer science.

At Kyle’s wake, the girls shared this with our family, and it lightened our hearts a little. Both boys offered their teachers computer assistance often, and Ryan even led a computer class for all the teachers.

The science fair played a big part in their academic development, and their dad helped tremendously with their projects.

Drivers education, like most kids, was their favorite class. With his own money, Kyle purchased a big black Cadillac when he turned 16.  He loved rap, and I could often hear him from a block away coming home listening to that “gangsta music.”

Kyle was very close with his grandparents, and his Uncle Greg and Aunt Donna, before they moved to Florida. Uncle Greg would stop by often with dried ice to run under water in my sink so that the boys could see science in action!

Grandma Gang would babysit for the boys often when Tom and I took company trips, and it was always filled with lots of fond memories.

Christmas was always a big deal at the Eagle home, and since the boys could walk they always helped me make tons of Christmas cookies. They enjoyed licking the beaters the most!  That is a memory that makes me tremendously happy, and also very sad.

Ryan and Katie now have a beautiful baby girl. I know she will eventually love to come to Grandma’s to bake for the holidays. But she will not have cousins around to play with, since Kyle and his fiancé, Jenny, were unable to have children. Both boys’ children would have been great friends for life. That loss is very, very sad for me.

Kyle graduated from Stevenson High School in 2009 and took one semester of college at Harper. He was admitted to a number of four-year schools, but was not sure if he even wanted to go to school.

He started working for his brother in late 2009. Kyle did a lot of high-level jobs for the company, and also programmed in four languages he taught himself from books borrowed from the library.

Also, while in high school, Kyle took 2 years of Mandarin Chinese. His teacher called us a few times to express how proud she was of Kyle to tackle such a difficult language. He was the only non-Asian in the class.

Kyle planned to use this language later in life when he traveled extensively to foreign countries for Ryan’s businesses, and also his own enterprises.

Kyle got mixed up for awhile with over-the-counter caffeine pills, and other easily attainable drugs.  After a few years, he started to attend a recovery group which turned into the happiest thing he ever did for himself, and also helped others at the same time.

Nearly 300 people attended his wake and funeral. My husband and I called no one. We were too much in shock.  However, word spread through friends and family members, and there was not a dry eye in the room.

Kyle was buried on Memorial Day. We had a trumpet player there.  Kyle was buried with his engagement ring from Jenny on, a walking stick he had bought from the monks in New Mallory, Iowa (he loved that stick), and my mother’s ashes.