Kory Laos: Fearless, friendly, funny, his 'Heart was bigger than his body'

Sometimes they hang out in the bedroom of the 14-year-old Tortolita Middle School eighth-grader and watch TV or play with the teen's 5-month-old German shepherd, Rider.

Kory should be pedaling into his Northwest Side cul-de-sac to join them, but he won't.

Kory died May 4. He and seven friends were riding their bikes when an SUV driver turned in front of Kory, causing him to clip the rear fender and veer into traffic where he was hit by another SUV driver. Kory died at University Medical Center half an hour later, two days before his 15th birthday.

Kory stood only 4-foot-10, but his large personality drew in people of all ages. His funeral Mass last Wednesday at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church was standing-room-only, attracting more than 1,300 people.

"Kory had a supernatural extroversion and good nature to him that was simply unrivaled," said family friend Justin Halbert, 26.

Halbert was 17 when he met a then 6-year-old Kory through mutual friends. The pair got better acquainted when Halbert started dating Kory's cousin.

"Kory quickly became my little buddy and without fail was halfway up the street to greet me every time I came over," Halbert said. "He really knew how to make someone feel welcome."

Neighbor Sue Ferguson had known Kory since his family moved into the neighborhood more than 10 years ago.

"He had that perfect boy combination of innocence and mischievousness," Ferguson said. She was the charge nurse on duty at UMC the night Kory was brought in and was there to comfort his family.

Ferguson wrote a poem for Kory that was handed out at his funeral. In part it reads: "You were so full of zest and a spirit of fun. You never would walk, if you could possibly run. You ran like the wind, at each new soccer match. You were nearly unbeatable, impossible to catch."

Kory was a fearless athlete willing to try anything. Richard Beach started coaching him in AYSO and on club soccer teams when the boy was 5.

"He was a small kid in terms of size, but his heart was always bigger than his body," Beach said. "He was always willing to go up against the big guys. He was very fast. He was a good athlete. He worked really hard and he was one of these kinds of kids that everybody enjoyed having around."

Kory had a reputation, among his friends, for being daring.

"He was crazy, just all the time, stuff he did, he wasn't afraid to get hurt," friend Mike Czech, 14, said.

"He was funny and cool, the way he expressed stuff," said David Burks, 13, one of the friends riding with Kory the night of the accident.

"They all tried to save his life," said his father, Scott Laos. "They all did what they should. One kid ripped off his shirt to try to stop the bleeding and they called 911 before they called me."

Scott Laos is having his son's wrecked bike rebuilt and "tricked out" so Kory's older brother, Kyle, can hang it on his bedroom wall.

Kory spent a lot of time at David Burks' house, said David's mother, Taunya Gutierrez. She said the group of friends who knew Kory have banded together to support each other and the Laos family.

"Kory was like a son to me. He was always happy and a little daredevil. He was never afraid to try anything," she said.

Kory played soccer for nine years, was on a basketball team, loved BMX racing and recently developed an interest in mountain biking.

"We were going to buy him a bigger, badder bike for his birthday, but we never had a chance," said his father. "He took everything he did to the extreme, whether it was his bike riding, his quad riding, basketball."

When he was about 9 years old, Kory broke his finger during a YMCA basketball game and kept playing, his father said.

And recently Kory trashed the portable basketball hoop in front of their home after hitting it one too many times while making stunt shots. Kory would bounce off a mini-trampoline he had placed at the base of the hoop and make slam dunks.

Donn and Anita Westman spent a lot of time with the Laos family, taking boating trips together.

"We've got a lot of pictures of us fishing at the lake. We had a lot of fun," Donn Westman said. "We'd go to the lake water-skiing, wake-boarding. Kory was pretty much fearless, really athletic."

"Anywhere he went, he made some kind of impression," said Scott Laos. Even so, he was surprised to see so many people — especially students — at his son's funeral.

"I spent all this time with him, but I never had a clue how many people he had an impact on," said Laos, noting that Kory also was an organ donor.

To honor their son's memory, Scott and Lynn Laos have established the Kory Laos Memorial Athletic Fund at Tortolita Middle School.

Donations made to the school that are earmarked for the Laos fund will pay registration fees for students who cannot afford to join community teams.

Life Stories

This feature chronicles the lives of recently deceased Tucsonans. Some were well-known across the community. Others had an impact on a smaller sphere of friends, family and acquaintances. Many of these people led interesting — and sometimes extraordinary — lives with little or no fanfare. Now you'll hear their stories. Past "Life Stories" are online at go.azstarnet.com/lifestories