Staff Sgt. Kyle Eggers' funeral draws hundreds of mourners
By CHARLENE KOSKI
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
JEFF HALLER/Yakima Herald-Republic
About 300 gathered at the West Valley Church of the Nazarene on Sunday afternoon for the funeral of Staff Sgt. Kyle Eggers, killed Dec. 5 in Iraq.
The crowd shared tears and laughter as friends and the family's pastor told stories that portrayed Eggers, 27, of Yakima as a caring father, good friend and devoted soldier.
"He was one of the number one huggers in the Army," said pastor Holland Lewis, who officiated the service.
Eggers was someone who always wore a smile, dealt with hardships through laughter and lived to help people, friends said. When his twin sons Tegan and Kaden, now 21/2, struggled after birth, Eggers camped out at the hospital. When he received a box of food items as a Christmas gift about two weeks ago, he shared it with his fellow soldiers.
His strong work ethic once kept him from accepting a promotion in the Army, because he wasn't convinced he was ready for the task, Lewis said. He eventually accepted the rank upgrade.
Eggers and his wife, Jennifer, 22, also have an infant son, Zane, who will turn 1 at the end of this month. A photo of Kyle Eggers and his sons dated June 13 of this year was included in a slide show shown at the service. The photo was taken during Eggers' last visit to Yakima.
Those attending Sunday's service were encouraged to write notes of remembrance about Eggers for his sons, so they can read about their father when they're older.
Eggers served in the Army for nine years and was sent to Al Habanijah, Iraq, in August. He died when a roadside bomb struck his vehicle outside Fallujah.
His wife and sons have been staying with her mother, Susan Whitman, a Yakima city councilwoman.
Eggers' parents and sister live in Euless, Texas, outside Fort Worth. Sunday, Eggers' casket was taken to a mortuary to be prepared for flight to Texas and burial in the Dallas National Memorial Cemetery. Instead of a hearse, Eggers' casket was carried in the back of a historical Yakima Fire Department truck. Jennifer Eggers and Whitman are reservists for the Yakima Fire Department, and Jennifer's father, Jim Giles, is a dispatcher for the department.
At the conclusion of Sunday's service, Eggers was awarded a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Meritorious Service Medal. He is the fourth local serviceman, and the fifth with ties to the Yakima Valley, to have died during the conflict in Iraq.
Jennifer Eggers, second from left, is comforted by mother-in-law Diane Eggers at the funeral of her husband, Staff Sgt. Kyle Eggers,on Sunday.
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