Football team recalls one of its own

All of South Hunterdon’s players will wear the number once worn by Kyle Donnelly, 23.

By: Linda Seida
   WEST AMWELL — At the first home game this year, South Hunterdon Regional High School’s football team will remember one of their own when each player’s helmet bears the same number: 23.
   That was the number Kyle Donnelly wore when he was one of them, not so long ago.
   In his memory, the cover of tomorrow (Friday) night’s program booklet will show a rendering of a football helmet adorned with that same number. Inside, there will be a tribute to Mr. Donnelly, who graduated from the school in 2005.
   Mr. Donnelly joined the Marines after high school and was scheduled to deploy to Iraq in September. He died in a car accident while home on leave in August.
   In the near future, the school also plans to install a plaque at a place to be determined and plant a sugar maple, which was donated by Munds Nursery, Principal Don Woodring said Tuesday.
   "When I think of Kyle, what comes to mind is just a genuinely nice young man who was always there," Mr. Woodring said. "He had a way of making you feel good. He was sensitive to situations. He cared about others."
   What some people remember are the quiet acts of kindness he performed.
   When Mr. Donnelly worked at a local gas station, he noticed another young man from school riding his bike home in the dark from his job at a nearby market. Mr. Donnelly stopped his car and gave him a lift and, afterward, would often call the other young man to see if he needed another ride.
   "That’s the kind of kid he was, he would call up to make sure he was safe," said Cindy Ege, whose son, Chad, now in the Marine Reserves in Texas, remained friends with Mr. Donnelly since they met in kindergarten.
   Another time, Mr. Donnelly noticed Mrs. Ege’s elderly father was having difficulty walking. Without asking, just because he saw a need, he brought a walker to their house.
   Most people wouldn’t have noticed the need of one elderly man, Mrs. Ege said.
   But Mr. Donnelly "took it all in, always looking out for everyone, always putting a smile on everyone’s face."
   "We always told Kyle to treat people the way you would want to be treated," said his mother, Wendy Donnelly, of Lambertville.
   After his death, his mother found a poem in his wallet called, "The Clown’s Prayer." It asks God to help the speaker "create more laughter than tears" and "dispense more cheer than gloom."
   It concludes, "And in my final moment, may I hear You whisper, ‘When you made my people smile, you made Me smile.’"
   Mrs. Donnelly recalled the moment her son’s former teammates brought her his football jersey within a day of his death. They each hugged her and presented a box full of sympathy cards, each containing a personal memory of her son.
   The family reads them, maybe four or so at a time, before breaking down. The memories are good, but the pain remains deep.
   "We were so worried about him going to Iraq. This never occurred to us, that something could happen while he was home," Mrs. Donnelly said.
   The family has established the Kyle P. Donnelly Scholarship Fund at South Hunterdon. So far, almost $10,000 has been donated.
   "I just hope he knew what an important part he played in so many lives," Mrs. Donnelly said.
   Contributions may be sent to the Kyle P. Donnelly Scholarship Fund, in care of South Hunterdon Regional High School, 301 Mt. Airy Harbourton Road, Lambertville, 08530.