OGDEN, Utah — After losing their son, an Ogden family hopes to remember him by continuing his wishes by building and giving bikes to those in need.
The Kindall family's eighteen-year-old son, Jeramiah Kindall, loved working at the Ogden Bicycle Collective.
“He loved to build bicycles for people and give them to people," said Josh Kindall. "Just would help anybody who needed a hand."
They lost their son to suicide, according to the mother Corine Kindall, they didn't see it coming.
"We had a crisis plan in place,” she said. “We met with medical doctors and counselors and therapists. He was taking medication to try to help him. And even though all of our conversations, and all of our efforts, we missed something.”
According to Josh Kindall, his son had autism and faced challenges that many people didn't understand.
“Bullied all the way through grade school, junior high and school," he said. "He just wanted to be loved and liked."
"The quietness has been hard without Jeramiah," said Josh Kindall.
Their loss not only impacted them but also Ogden Bicycle Collective where Jeramiah worked.
“He was part of our bicycle collective family,” said Kirsty Johnson with the collective. “And we are all going to miss him so much. He fit right in here at the shop with his love for bikes and particularly old, vintage bikes.. He was fun to get out and ride with."
"He was such a good person to have around the shop," she said. "He was always so helpful and told the best bad jokes.”
Jeremiah's family said building bikes and giving them away was his way of serving his community.
“A lot of people that have come forward and said that he built their bike,” said his sister Caitlynn Cowles. “And that’s obviously been a huge part of their lives. It’s their means of transportation, it’s an outlet for their own mental health.”
In his honor, Jeramiah's family is starting a non-profit in his name, to make sure more people get the bikes they need.
“Building bikes for kids that don’t have bikes and we’re going to give them to kids to continue his legacy," said Corine Kindall. "Because that’s what he loved to do."
The family says they are working on building this non-profit using the money donated from the GoFundMe as well as Jeramiah's life insurance.
Ogden Bicycle Collective hopes to host a memorial ride for Jeramiah soon.
