May 9, 2005 – August 3, 2022
“Kevin was a creative thinker who loved life and loved to invent. I can remember shopping at thrift stores looking for old appliances so Kevin could Frankenstein some new cool invention. He would gut a VCR and use the motors to create robots. He was a Welder with ambitions of going into the Military.”
Whenever I get asked to speak about Fentanyl there is always the same question I am asked.
Tell me about Kevin? I thought for this group I would say something a little different about my son.
Kevin was my first born! My son! One of the few reasons why I work so hard and why I am the man who is here before you today.
But Kevin was not just my son. Kevin was your son, your nephew, your cousin, or even your best friend. You see Kevin was just like almost every other 17 year old kid out there trying to find out who he was and where he wanted to be.
And the reason I am sitting here today with all of you is because of one bad mistake which ultimately led to Kevin’s death.
Kevin was a creative thinker who loved life and loved to invent. I can remember shopping at thrift stores looking for old appliances so Kevin could Frankenstein some new cool invention.
He would gut a VCR and use the motors to create robots. He was a Welder with ambitions of going into the Military.
On December 27th, 2021, Kevin and I went on a trip from Gardnerville, NV to Austin, TX. We took this journey together because we were relocating and I needed to start my job in January. We spent a week together driving half-way across the country and exploring what Austin had to offer.
The drive was long and at times very boring, but Kevin and I talked about life, music, school, girls, and anything that came up. If I would have known that this was going to be the last road trip together, I would have turned that car around and not think twice about it.
On August 3, 2022, my wife called me as I was driving home from work. All I could make out from her cries was, “Kevin’s dead.” We knew Kevin had a hard time sleeping at night, but what kid does not when they live off Pepsi and Taco Bell. We tried Melatonin and over the counter sleep aid to help him at night as well as trying to limit his caffeine intake. My son took a pill because he thought it would help him get a full night’s sleep. That pill cost him his life.
Every one of us has a Kevin in their life and whether you want to admit it or not, they are one pill away from the end of their precious life.
— Darren McConville, Father
