Family, friends praise victims of car crash
A Kalispell man is battling possible brain damage and numerous broken bones in a Seattle hospital after he and another man were struck by a car on U.S. 2 in Evergreen Saturday.
Family and friends of 33-year-old Rory Holcomb are now rallying to prepare a fundraiser while at the same time mourning the loss of a dear friend.
Kyle Kingren, 39, was killed in the collision near the intersection of Montclair Drive at about 9:40 p.m. after the two men walked in front of a westbound Jeep Cherokee. The Highway Patrol has not released any results of its investigation.
Funeral arrangements have been delayed as the family awaits word on the status of Holcomb. He’s listed in serious condition at the Harborview Medical Center intensive care unit, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
Holcomb, a native of Redding, Calif., is the owner of Excel Painting in Kalispell. It’s a business that has acted as a financial umbrella for many family members who found jobs waiting for them as the recession rolled on.
“Thanks to him, a lot of people in the family still have houses,” said Sara Mackay, his sister-in-law.
One of eight children to move to the Flathead Valley from Redding in the early 1990s, Holcomb has earned a reputation as a hard-working, skilled painter who never turns his back on family.
“Rory is one of those guys, he is just good to a fault,” said his brother-in-law Matt McCollam. “He’ll lose money to make sure his employees are getting what they deserve... You can’t talk to anyone that has a bad word about that dude.”
It was for those reasons that Kingren moved to Kalispell a year-and-a-half ago in search of a fresh start. He found it in the form of a full-time job with Holcomb’s company where he worked until his death.
Mackay, who along with her husband provided Kingren a home before he recently moved in with her parents, said he was having a difficult time in California but had found peace in Montana.
Kingren loved to hunt and fish, and he enjoyed helping out at family gatherings where he was treated and felt like he belonged.
“He wouldn’t let people make their own food or drinks or anything,” she said. “If anything was ever needed he was always the one to do it.”
Never married, Kingren’s “baby” was a terrier-pit bull crossbreed named Peaches.
Mackay said Kingren recently began reading his Bible and improving his life. He wasn’t perfect, she said, but exuded a love for life and his new family that was only growing prior to his death.
“He’d always say, ‘Thank you for giving me a family,’” Mackay said.
McCollam is spearheading a fundraising effort that will be held in the parking lot of Kmart at noon Saturday.
A raffle, car wash and bake sale are planned, and cash donations will be accepted. The funds will be used to pay for Holcomb’s medical expenses as he remains in the hospital.
Doctors say it could be nine months before he walks again, depending on whether or not he is able to survive the possible brain damage inflicted during the collision. His wife, Rachel, and other family members are in Seattle, while others are keeping his business operational in Kalispell.
Donations can be made at any First Interstate Bank to the Rory Holcomb Benefit Account, and funds are also being accepting at all local Sherwin Williams locations.
For additional information, call McCollam at 406-240-3824.
“This family just bands together,” said Mackay. “If something happens to one of us, it happens to all of us.”
Reporter Eric Schwartz may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at eschwartz@dailyinterlake.com