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Grants Pass mourns the loss of Kaite Davis By TIM TROWER GRANTS PASS - So young. So affable and accomplished. So much to live for. So tragic. A community of family, friends and teammates is struggling to come to grips with the heartache rendered by the loss of one of its own, Kaite Davis. It is a loss that batters sensibilities, defies reason and contradicts the rules of fair play. Ed Fisher, the golf pro at Grants Pass Golf Club, where Davis, 15, spent so much of her time, has seen some of her friends come in. Others haven't wanted or been able to come back. "You don't know what to say or, frankly, how to deal with it," said Fisher, who worked closely with Davis in the past year. "But then, how much should you know about dealing with this?" That's the crux. How do you cope with something as heinous as the unexpected death of a child? Davis collapsed in the motel room she shared with her mother, Kim, and another golfer. She could not be revived, and the cause of death remained unknown Wednesday, pending completion of an autopsy. The Davis family has been inundated with visitors, a support system that has proven invaluable. Friends brought food. They expressed their regret and sadness. They took walks. They said a prayer, with Davis' older brother, Geoff, leading the way. Geoff Davis, himself only a recent Grants Pass High graduate, has been a pillar on which to lean. The parents use him a lot. "I don't know, we're suffering," Jack Davis, the father, said Wednesday. He exhaled hard, shoving out the thick words. "Our son is doing better than we are. He has a great faith and it helps him. He's a strength for us. We're proud of him." Geoff Davis will be active in the memorial service. "It seems like the kids have more resilience than we adults do," said Jack Davis. He thought of the house overrun with friends, about what a blessing it is. "The difficult time is when no one is here," he said, "and Kim's and my thoughts are with Kaite and it's hard to think about going on without her. The support is a great strength to us." Lynn Myrick, a friend of Jack Davis' since childhood and a partner with him in a local law firm, was there all day Tuesday, into the evening and back again Wednesday. He witnessed streams of friends flow through. "You just don't go through this kind of thing very often," Myrick said, "but if that's how they all are, that's good. There was a lot of support and warm feelings. There were lots of people telling stories about Kaite, and of course, there were lots of tears." Of course. Myrick recalled how a couple of weeks ago, Davis shot the best round of her life, a 72 that eclipsed her personal best by seven strokes, to qualify for the U.S. Golf Association Girls Junior Championships, which will be next week in Kansas. "When Jack told me that she had qualified, I had tears in my eyes I was so happy," said Myrick. He had watched Kaite Davis grow up. "She was just one of the sweetest girls you'd ever meet," he said. "She was one of the nicest people with the biggest smile. There wasn't anybody who didn't think the world of her. She was a real credit to young people." Another young person, Johnna Neely, visited the family the day after the tragedy. She brought flowers. "It was particularly hard to see the family, to see how they're trying to deal with it," she said. "There's a sense of emptiness without her around. I'm sure that's how it will be for a while. Everyone misses her a lot. I don't think some people will realize it until they go to the golf course and she's not there or not at school." Neely, who as a senior this past spring shared the prep state championship with Tai Kinney of North Medford and who will further her career at Oregon, had for years played golf with Davis and was a close friend despite their age difference. They roomed together with Kaite's dad at the USGA qualifier in Lebanon. That tournament marked the first time Davis defeated Neely, to whom she looked up to a great deal. "I was happy for her," said Neely. "After she got off the course, there was this twinkle in her eye." Grants Pass girls golf coach Sue Kauzlerich echoed the thoughts of others about what a "great all-around kid" Davis was. "She was just an absolute doll," said the coach. "She was sweet and innocent and hadn't gotten to that point in life where she'd been scarred at all." The scars will mark those she left behind. Many are kids. "For most of them, it's the first time somebody they have known has passed away," said Kauzlerich. "It's a hard thing to deal with." Some members of the boys and girls golf teams gathered at the course Tuesday. They talked about Davis, about how to honor her. Golf was such a large part of her and her family's life, a display of her bag and clubs at the service seemed appropriate. There will be a basket nearby in which mourners can place golf balls with personal markings and messages. "It's important to have something there," said Kauzlerich, "for people to see what this kid was about." Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.