By Joel van der Veen
HANLEY — The life of the party. An adventurer. A true friend.
In the days since Drew Kolbeck’s death, countless family and friends have shared their memories of the Hanley teen.
Some of these came in the form of posts to his Facebook page.
“I’ll miss your crazy dance moves at parties and your laugh that came right from the belly,” reads one.
“There was never a time when there wasn’t a smile on your face,” says another. “I hope you’re tearing it up where you are now.”
One simply reads: “Missing your smile, Drew.”
Speaking to the Leader last week, Drew’s mother Tanya Kolbeck said the stories have helped to sustain her and her family, in the wake of Drew’s death. They also give her hope despite her grief, she added.
“Maybe he could inspire people to be kind and always help each other out,” she said. “It was just natural for him to help people.”
Drew Kolbeck, 18, died as the result of a single vehicle rollover north of Hanley in the early morning hours of Sept. 22.
He was the middle child of Jeff and Tanya Kolbeck of Hanley. He has two brothers — Drayden, 15, and Dustin, who turns 20 this month.
Roughly 1,000 people attended Drew’s funeral service on Sept. 28 at the Hanley Community Hall.
The gathering included many students and staff from Hanley Composite School, as well as young people and others from throughout the area, as far as Craik, Davidson and Allan.
A procession of friends and relatives on dirtbikes and quads followed the hearse from the Hanley hall following the service.
Almost two weeks after his passing, friends are still sharing their memories online and sending text messages to Drew’s phone.
“I think there’s a lot of broken hearts out there,” said his mom. “He just touched people . . . He never had a mean bone in his body.”
Drew was an active young man, enjoying extreme sports like snowboarding and dirtbiking.
“He wasn’t scared to try anything,” recalled his mom. “I don’t know if he had a high tolerance for pain but he’d come back bleeding, bones sticking out, and he’d have a smile on his face.”
His hobbies led to the occasional injury — road rash a few times, a couple of concussions — but this rarely stopped him for long.
Drew attended school in Hanley, but had to reduce his course load after suffering a concussion in a snowboarding incident in 2015.
His mom said he was a couple of courses shy of graduating from Grade 12 last June.
However, Drew had also been accepted into a youth apprenticeship program through the Saskatoon Industry Education Council.
This fall he was beginning an apprenticeship as a heavy duty mechanic with SMS Equipment in Saskatoon. He turned 18 on Sept. 9.
Less than two weeks later, Drew was involved in a single-vehicle rollover near Hanley, sometime after 1 a.m. on Sept. 22. He was the lone occupant of the vehicle.
His mother said Drew had recently purchased a silver Pontiac Sunfire, replacing the engine.
On the night of Sept. 21 he had driven to a friend’s house at Dundurn to retrieve some stereo equipment he planned to install in the car.
He had told his mother that he planned to spend the night there, but later changed his mind and left for Hanley around 1 a.m.
“We think he fell asleep (at the wheel) and then the car rolled,” reported Tanya.
Due in part to foggy conditions, Drew was not discovered until 8 a.m., when his car was found near a gravel road north of town.
Drew survived the rollover, contrary to a police press release that stated he was pronounced dead at the scene.
His mother said he had been ejected from the car, despite evidence that he was wearing a seatbelt, and suffered a severe head injury.
The STARS air ambulance was called but was unable to land due to the fog.
Drew was taken to the intensive care unit at Royal University Hospital, but staff were unable to stabilize him. He died the following day, Sept. 23.
His mother said Drew’s organs have been donated on his behalf, saving seven lives — his final act of generosity.
Since Drew’s death, Tanya said she has heard countless stories of Drew’s friendship and kindness to people in need.
Whether it was befriending a lonely youth or holding the door for a stranger, Drew was always ready to help.
“He was always a friend to people when they needed it,” she said.
On the day of Drew’s funeral service, Hanley’s senior football team was scheduled to travel to Viscount for a game.
Given the circumstances, principal Chris Tucker said the two schools reached a mutual agreement to cancel the game.
“It was a joint decision,” he said. “It just seemed to be an appropriate decision based on what was happening.”
Tucker said Drew was well-known by many senior students, while his brother Drayden is still a student, having just begun his Grade 10 year.
He said the school has resources available for students coping with their grief, including a student counsellor who works at Hanley three days a week.
Recognizing that everyone grieves in different ways, Tucker said other staff members are also there to provide support.
“We hope that the family is able to manage through the tough days ahead,” said Tucker. “We just want to help support them as best we can in whatever way they need.”