This past week was a reminder of just how fragile and precarious life can be. One of the greatest things about living in a community like ours is the camaraderie of each other. The connected relationships and genuine kindness that is available from so many. The flip side of that coin is when something tragic happens, it’s all that much more devastating.

On Thursday evening I started to get word of the passing of Kim Choma and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Surely not. And not like that. In essence, a mechanical accident. By the next morning, statements and words of initial grief and reaction were out via social media and word of mouth. To say I was a good friend of Kim is a stretch, but I did have a connection because of the job and my fandom. Kim loved sports, she was one of the dynamite football managers for Star Valley and those kids are generally beloved and respected in their own way by the team and the coaches. On top of that, Kim was extraordinarily committed and motivated to work and do a good job. The whole family is that way. She played soccer too so it was fun to get to see her be on the field in that regard as well. In October of 2022 I was able to do a feature on Kim as she had found her way to Laramie to be a manager of the football team. As a lifelong fan of the Cowboys, I was excited that she got to be involved in that whole process and she spoke about some of the process and inner workings of how schools make game day work. It was evident in the photos that she’d already made good friends with the other managers, coaches and the players.

Fast-forward to last fall and Kim survived a crash that was challenging on a level that probably nobody outside her family really knows including me. But she survived and the community came out in force to support her because just like I already knew, to know Kim was to love her.

The Braves’ shirts during fundraising efforts said it all. “The World Needs More Choma”.

That’s why Thursday’s news hit extra hard. She’d already survived. She’d already recovered. She had done the work and overcome the odds and was ready to continue a bright future that she was poised for. There are instances in our lives when someone’s incredibly bright light buoys us up a bit. You can likely remember a few of those instances that stand out. Kim was one of those. In her short life she showed us how to be kind, work hard and serve others. That’s the legacy that stands out this week. My genuine thoughts and prayers have been and will continue to be with the Choma family and her close friends. May we all be so remembered in our time on this planet.