Lathom Kelley, quality dude. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net, Shawna Kelley, and Sylvia Arnold)
Lathom Kelley was my dude.
In 10+ years of writing this blog, I’ve witnessed a ton of Coupeville High School athletes come and go.
Some were amazingly talented.
Some had huge hearts.
Some lived life to their own song, bounding through each day, mischievous grin lighting up the prairie as they did.
Few have put all of that together like Lathom did.
The news that he is believed to have died after a kayak accident Saturday is a punch through our souls.
Sunday night his parents, Lincoln and Shawna, released the following statement:
It is with heavy hearts that we are informing Lathom’s friends, our friends, our families and extended families, we have lost our son, Lathom McCrae Kelley.
He is now a “missing person” after a tragic kayaking incident which occurred on Saturday, September 10th.
We believe he perished after his kayak capsized in the Sound’s 58-degree water and high current flow.
He was rowing from Guemes Island to Jack Island and his remains have yet to be located.
If you knew Lathom, you knew he enjoyed life and, in his presence, you probably did too!
His strength and energy exceeded the confines of every space he occupied.
His ability to conjure up some kind of crazy stunt or be encouraged to follow through kept the Kelley household on the edge of our seats.
We know this is a shock to you all, as it is for us.
He will always resonate in our hearts and minds and will be dearly missed.
The short story is that Lathom graduated with the CHS Class of 2016, a vital part of a group of student/athletes who entered high school in August 2012, right as I launched Coupeville Sports.
He was an absolute terror on the football field, a wild beast careening from side to side, blowing up opposing runners on defense and crashing through the line for big gains when the Wolves had the ball.
A broken hand? Slap a cast on that baby, cause Lathom wasn’t fond of sitting on the bench.
When track and field season rolled around, he was the kind of guy who would decide on a whim to pick up a new event, then dominate without a single day of practice.
Over the course of four seasons Lathom competed in an astonishing 14 different events.
Pretty much the only thing he didn’t try was the pole vault, and that was likely only because Wolf coach Randy King probably looked at Lathom, looked at the pole, and was like, “Hell no, dude will use it to jump onto the school roof.”
At which point Lathom would have grinned from ear to ear and said, “Damn straight, Skippy!”
My enduring image of Lathom was a moment when he came flying through the CHS gym, literally ran up the wall, and did a back flip, sticking the landing before bowing and exiting while declaring “No autographs, my hands are tired folks.”
A smaller, quieter moment came during Senior Night for Wolf boys basketball.
One of the players stood alone, the only soon-to-be graduate whose parents weren’t in the gym, for whatever reason.
Tributes were being delivered, roses were handed out, and things moved towards the lone Wolf.
At which point there was a scream from the top of the stands, and Lathom came flying down, screaming “My boy! This is my boy! I am so proud of him!!”
Grabbing his fellow student in a bear hug, he happily posed for photos, then departed, a rose clenched between his teeth.
Lathom was so many things.
Classy, yet sassy, a wild child who once popped up behind me right after a Wolf mom had given me a plate of cookies.
He had been on the opposite side of the field a moment before, and bam, there he was, vibrating in place, his entire uniform one giant stain of mashed-up grass and mud.
“Dude! You made me cookies!! I told you I was his favorite!!!”
Lathom was eternally proud of his older brother, Brandon, who he often teamed up with on relay units during track season.
“Dang it, Dave, did you see Brandon out there kickin’ ass and takin’ names?” he would holler at me.
“I gotta pick it up, man, dude’s gonna run me ragged!”
Lathom was also the rare kind of young man who refused to vote for himself or campaign for support when he appeared in my yearly polls to decide the “Athlete Supreme.”
“It’s a scam, dude! You just want more page hits!!,” he would holler at me, then he would laugh and go bounce off another wall, trying to hurt himself for my amusement.
Watching Lathom’s growth in recent years, as he found his way in life, you couldn’t help but be proud of the guy.
He amused me.
He entertained me.
He was truthful and honest, rough around the edges at times, but bursting with good will and love for all.
He was Lathom, and he was one of a kind.
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