Kent McCray

From his earliest years curiosity, sensitivity and humor distinguished Kent's approach to life, and a can-do spirit usually accompanied by an easy smile. He was known for his inventive ways of solving problems. Whether they were mechanical problems or the many challenges life threw his way, he met them with a deeply thoughtful, quiet confidence that took him to solutions. Kent loved challenges. At 18, he forged solo up a misty mountain in Ecuador, leaving his family waiting in the primitive village. He returned with a huge smile and the confidence of a young man. He swam with dolphins in Galapagos, scaled rock walls like Spiderman and in winter loved riding the deep powder with only his cold breath for company. Kent faced dyslexic learning issues. It taught him that obstacles could be overcome. Frustration led to persistence, and with family support solutions were found. He was born to explore, building jumps in vacant lots with buddies until he could ride the slickrock in Moab. As a teen, he worked at Bicycle Village, often building bikes out of spare parts with friends and for Boulder Junior Rangers building trails. He conquered many obstacles until at 22 he was confronted with a diagnosis of Type I diabetes! Once again, he took this on, learned to manage his affliction, and came close to winning this battle as well. Like his father, Scott he loved building and racing cars. He attended New Vista HS and the auto program at VoTec. At Denver Automotive and Diesel College he graduated as valedictorian, with perfect attendance. He particularly enjoyed helping family and friends, often pulling their vehicles into his garage and repairing them, giving a blow-by-blow description of what was wrong and how he would fix it. It was as if he fluently spoke a different language. Kent enjoyed 10 years as the lead master mechanic at a local shop. He married his school sweetheart Michelle Rooney, after the divorce they remained close friends. He offered his trust, forgiveness and friendship freely. He took in freinds to help them in rough times but it didn't work. Those "friends" kept his insulin from him and waited 5 hours to call 911 after they found him unconcsious. Only 1-4% of hospitalized diabetic coma patients die. Donations are being accepted in his name, to JDRF at www.2jdrf.org.