Vail Daily obituary: Kyle R. Hall, 1964-2013

Kyle Richard Hall, 49, was a dedicated law enforcement officer, community member, father and friend. He passed away Oct. 25 with family by his side.

Hall was born in Naperville, Ill., and raised in Downers Grove, Ill. He went to grade school, junior high and three years of high school at Pontiac Township High School in Illinois. In 1981, his family moved to Fort Morgan, where he graduated from Fort Morgan High School in 1983. Then, he attended Northeastern Junior College in Sterling and Mesa State College in Grand Junction where he studied drafting and enjoyed wrestling. He later graduated from Kaplan University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal law.

Hall graduated from Morgan Community College’s Colorado Law Enforcement Training Academy in 1988 and took his first job as a deputy marshal in Log Lane. He came to the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office in 1989. He was eventually assigned to the department’s K-9 unit and together with his police dog Nicky, he became a familiar presence in the valley.

In 1989, he earned his emergency medical technician certification and from 1993 to 1996 he was a volunteer EMT for Western Eagle County Ambulance District. In 1996, Hall and his family moved from Eagle County to Burlington, where he took a position as a police officer and K-9 handler. He also volunteered as an EMT for the Kit Carson County Ambulance Service. Hall returned to the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office in 2001 and he became a detective in 2011 shortly after his other K-9, Fantom, passed away. Hall also attended and competed in police K-9 competitions with both of his police dogs — Nicky and Fantom — and was a judge for the United States Police Canine Association.

“Kyle was a true professional,” said Eagle County Sheriff Joe Hoy. “He was respected for his attitude, courage, ability to look beyond the obvious, and most importantly, for his commitment to the community and the brotherhood of law enforcement.

“He was a cop whose opinion and insight I could always count on,” Hoy said. “But above all, Kyle was a good friend and he will be sorely missed.”

From 2008 to 2012, Hall was a member of the Gypsum Town Council.

“He wanted to give back and help the community he lived in, even though he worked hard at his day job at the sheriff’s office as a deputy and a detective,” said fellow Town Council member Pam Schultz. “He always had time for his commitment to the town board. He is greatly missed in this position.”

Schultz said she first became acquainted with Hall through a mutual love of country music. She recalled how Hall gave her a denim jacket and asked if she could collect autographs on the garment when the Gypsum Daze concert headliners came to town.

“Kyle would also volunteer to do security at the Gypsum Daze concerts and always wanted to be backstage where the action was,” Schultz said. “I can still see him standing at the concert in July of this year, watching from the wings of the stage. He was quiet man doing his job, but was well aware of everything that was going on around him.”

Hall was an enthusiastic mud racer, participating in Gypsum’s Dirty Dozen, Copper Mountain’s Warrior Dash and Beaver Creek’s Tough Mudder events.

Hall was stricken with cancer three years ago. Schultz recalled how he came through his stem cell transplant and was able to come home.

“He still wanted to do his races, go places and be a part of the community,” said Schultz. “We spent many hours just talking about how his illness had changed him and how his priorities had changed from before his illness. He said that’s what happens when you have a look at the other side and stare death in the face. To him it was a second chance to do things he hadn’t done before.”

Schultz noted that Hall was a kind and compassionate person.

“His two daughters, Karen and Beth, and his grandson, Dillan, meant everything to him,” she said.

Hall was preceded in death by his mother, Patricia Ann Diaz (nee Abbaduska), and Bill Diaz. Survivors include his daughters, Karen Perrin and her husband, Gregory of Knoxville, Tenn., and Elizabeth Hall of Anaheim, Calif.; grandson Dillan Perrin; father Richard Hall and wife Chris Hall; sisters Heather Hall and K.C. Harris and husband Don; and nephew Derrick Hall.

A memorial service is planned on Nov. 8 at 11 a.m. at the Eagle River Center at the Eagle County Fairgrounds. A celebration of life will follow from 1 to 5:30 p.m. at the Gypsum Creek Golf Course Creekside Clubhouse & Grill.

Memorial contributions may be made to Cops Fighting Cancer – http://copsfightingcancer.org/ – or the Kyle Hall Memorial at Wells Fargo Bank. His family plans to use memorial donations to support K-9 units for police departments who cannot afford such services.