Kindness for Kyle: Tragic passing inspires Othello
Casey McCarthy/Sun Tribune Will Lutey shows off his Kindness Shirt, in remembrance of his son Kyle who passed away last October.
Casey McCarthy/Sun Tribune Othello High School drumline members gather with their instructor, Will Lutey, to showcase their Kindness Shirts at halftime on Friday. The drumline had special performances in order to honor Kyle Lutey as part of Kindness Week.
Courtesy Photo Kyle Lutey
OTHELLO — When a community is hit with tragedy it can handle it in different ways. Othello residents decided to handle it, not with grief, but with kindness.
Last year, on Oct. 13, Kyle Lutey passed away suddenly. Kyle’s parents, Lisa and Will remembered their son as a bright, generous young man and wanted to envelop that spirit in his honor in their town.
“When you lose a child, there’s a couple of things you can do to deal with your grief,” Will Lutey said. “My wife and I decided we were going to do something positive because he was such a bright light in the community.”
The answer became Kindness Week. Schools in town marked the week with various acts of kindness, including food, coat, and blanket drives. Various colors were worn to bring awareness to causes and diseases, while elementary school students did acts such as writing thank you notes during the week.
During Friday night’s football game between Othello and Ellensburg, high school Drum Majors paid tribute to Kyle. Will Lutey is the music director at Othello High School. Huskies players donned blue bands on their arm in remembrance, while Ellensburg players sported a “K” on their helmets in honor.
Each day marked a different way to spread kindness. Knock on someone’s door with a gift on Sunday, invite someone over for dinner on Monday, neglect your phone and be kind with presence on Tuesday, do something kind anonymously on Wednesday, notice and appreciate someone’s talents on Thursday, empathize with someone on Friday, sacrifice something on Saturday, and on Sunday, smile.
“Rather than wallow in sorrow, we wanted to try and turn one of the nicest kids in the world, to have people remember him for doing kind things,” Will Lutey said.
The idea spread beyond the schools. In the week’s theme of superheroes, Othello Police Department donned capes and surprised children around town, while performing acts of kindness.
One resident decided to bake bread for his neighbors, while others organized flash dance mobs. Pictures continued to pour in all week of residents and groups in the area of people donning their blue Kindness shirts, in honor of Kyle.
Will Lutey said the community has embraced them. Sharing in Kindness Week, Lutey said his Othello neighbors had so many ideas they would have never thought of and that the week had “taken on a life of it’s own.”
“It got a lot bigger than we anticipated and it’s been very humbling,” Will Lutey said. “It also lets us know what kind of community this is.”
In addition to Kindness Week, Will and Lisa also started the Smile4Kyle Fund after their son passed away, which works to help Othello children have opportunities their son wasn’t able to.
The week capped off on Sunday evening with “A Night of Hope.” Donations from the drives were dispersed to the community, while a community worship service was held on the lawn beside the Life Center.
Will Lutey said that kindness can be contagious, and once it catches on, can change the world.
“If this would have been for one of Kyle’s friends that we were doing this for, Kyle would have been at the front line being kind to everybody,” Will Lutey said. “That’s just the kind of kid he was.”