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Published on 10/26/1998 All articles from this issue

Hundreds mourn loss of auto accident victim

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue

Town Crier Staff Writer

Hundreds filled the sanctuary at Union Presbyterian Church in Los Altos for the memorial service of 24-year-old Kyle MacDonald, who died Oct. 24 after an auto accident in Los Altos Hills.

At the request of the family, those present shared anecdotes, verbal snapshots, of the Los Altos Hills resident, "to weep and to laugh in the community of other people who loved Kyle," said the Rev. Judy Joy, one of the two ministers who officiated at the service.

"He was so free-spirited, with a heart of gold," said one of Kyle's cousins.

"The great thing about Kyle, you'd go and visit and run into five or six of your friends you hadn't seen in a long while," said a friend.

Joy, a Los Altos resident and associate minister at Westminster Presbyterian Church in San Jose, and the Rev. Brian Person, associate minister at Union Presbyterian, officiated at the service.

A woman, who had known Kyle as a child, talked of "the little touch of mischief" he had as a 3-year-old.

In high school, "He showed me his smiling light," said a friend. "I know he's dancing with the angels."

And he was a guy who loved to dance, said family and friends. He perfected moves like "the sprinkler," the "mountain biker" and the "lawn mower."

"Kyle, I'll 'cruise up' sometime and we'll dance again," said his sister, Jennifer Sulprizio, 29.

"Kyle was the coordinator of all things fun," she said.

MacDonald was driving with four friends early in the morning of Oct. 23 when his car apparently went out of control and hit a tree near the intersection of Magdalena Avenue near Dawson Drive in Los Altos Hills, police said.

The passengers suffered injuries, from critical to slight, police said.

Following the accident, MacDonald's family gathered and decided to donate his organs.

As they sat together in the hospital room at Stanford, "it became clear to us - he'd do anything for anyone - we as a family decided" to donate his organs, Jennifer said. "Kyle was terrifically generous. We knew it was the right thing."

At the close of the service, worshipers sang Kyle's favorite hymn, "Lord of the Dance."

Words in the last verse say, "I'll live in you if you'll live in me, I am the Lord of the dance said he."

And Kyle does, as his heart beats on for the life of another.

According to Kyle's brother Cail, 11, "Grampy called us all (the grandchildren) No. 1. We wondered who was No. 1. Since Kyle's been gone, I realized he was No. 1."

Kyle MacDonald is survived by: his mother, Marilyn; his father, Stephen; sisters Jennifer, Roxanne, Melissa and Kelsey; brothers Michael, Cail and Jonathan; and his step-mother, Robin.