Friends and family remember the twinkle in Kyle Hack’s eyes, his captivating grin, his energy and his passion for food, family and life.
They are qualities they will celebrate Saturday at Sooke Community Hall during a service for the 29-year-old father who was killed in a car crash on his way home from work on Oct. 28.
Hack died after his car spun off West Coast Road and hit a tree, crushing the driver’s door. He was killed instantly.
Hack was returning home to Otter Point from a catering job. His wife, Cindy Lajeunesse Hack, who was following him in a vehicle, was first on the scene.
The couple, who met in high school, have two children: Togan, 10, and Mattia, 7. The children attend Saseenos Elementary School, while Hack volunteered in the culinary arts program at Edward Milne High School. He was in the process of earning a culinary certificate to begin teaching.
Pia Carroll, the head teacher of the school’s culinary program and former Sooke Harbour House chef, recognized early on his talents working with food.
Hack started working at Sooke Harbour House when he was in Grade 11, making desserts. Later, he worked on dinners and helped the restaurant with catering events. He also worked at the Edge restaurant, where he met mentor Edward Tuson and developed his talent for making sushi.
Janine Brooks, a career counsellor at Edward Milne and the master of ceremonies Saturday, recognized his talents as an entrepreneur, his people skills and his love of the outdoors.
“I saw a young leader,” Brooks said. “He was energetic and alive and fun.”
Brooks once took Hack, then about 17, on a school trip to the Juan de Fuca trail.
She laughed as she recalled how he balked at her dried food and insisted on making fresh food from scratch.
“Kyle lived for the moment with energy and passion,” Brooks said.
At Sombrio Beach, he served up bagels with bacon and tomato and fresh herbs. It’s that picture, of him leaning back in his lawn chair, eating his scrumptious creation, that she thinks of as she mourns his loss.
Brooks also thinks other images, like the one of him taking photos at the prom with a couple of girls who didn’t have dates, and carrying a girl’s backpack on a hiking trip. Despite having two packs, he raced Brooks and won.
And there’s her last image of him, days prior to the crash, at the hockey arena with his children and Cindy, watching family friends play. The family was close-knit and heavily involved in the community.
Hack arrived in Sooke as a teenager from Cannington, Ont., with his brother Kal and parents Chuck and Marlene. Cindy, born and raised in Jordan River, was his first love, Brooks said. “They were in love and a happy couple.”
“Cindy is going to be able to raise those kids knowing they had a dad who loved them very much — losing a dad at ages 7 and 10 is such a tragedy,” Brooks said.
A trust fund for Hack’s family has been up at the Sooke branch of Coast Capital Savings. Donations can be made at any branch or via PO Box 481, Sooke B.C., V9Z 1H9, or by e-transfer at [email protected].
The celebration of Hack’s life features a potluck lunch and will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
