Revolutionary Moderation

Kevin Michael Ward: September 1, 1969 - April 22, 2003



I met Kevin Ward at the Calgary Chess Club. Kevin played chess the way he lived life, willing to make sacrifices, finding creative solutions that seemed so obvious... after he showed them to us. He always had a friendly, "Hey, Mister!" for me in greeting, always seemed to be smiling. A steady supply of diet coke fuelled him through most of those evenings, always happy to do the post-game chess analysis or go for one more round of video golf. He never failed to remember the name of a server or bartender, never failed to point out an attractive young woman leaning over a pool table, never failed to tip way, way beyond the standard. I can't think of an occasion when I wasn't happier for having spent time with him.



On Tuesday morning, for no reason I've been able to discern, Kevin chose to end his life. We're all poorer for that, but all richer that we knew him.