PORT ANGELES — When they celebrate the life of Kenneth “Badger” Hyatt, who was killed in a collision Aug. 28 at the age of 56, his friends and family will do what he loved best: ride motorcycles.
The memorial service for Hyatt will start out with a ride Sunday from 7 Cedars Casino in Blyn to the Fraternal Order of Eagles, 110 Penn St., Port Angeles.
Those who wish to participate in the memorial ride should meet at the casino, 270756 U.S. Highway 101, at 11 a.m.
The memorial service will begin at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Eagles.
“Everybody loved my brother,” said his sister, Connie Ibarra, who lives in Reno, Nev.
“He never met a stranger in his life.”
Ibarra said Hyatt moved from Reno to Port Angeles about 10 years ago. He had no family in the area.
Loved Washington
“I know he loved it up in Washington,” Ibarra said. “He visited the area and then anchored himself up there.”
Hyatt was killed while riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle on U.S. Highway 101, headed west, when an eastbound pickup truck turning left onto state Highway 112 hit him, the State Patrol said. He was wearing a helmet, the State Patrol said.
The State Patrol attributed the cause of the wreck to the driver of the pickup failing to yield to the motorcycle and said charges are pending.
The driver of the pickup, 67-year-old Paul R. McShane of Port Townsend, was treated at Olympic Medical Center for a head laceration and was discharged that day.
The truck’s passenger, Celia M. Marquis, 58, of Port Townsend, was treated at the hospital for minor injuries and also was discharged that day, a hospital spokeswoman said.
No charges have been filed, said Trooper Krista Hedstrom, State Patrol spokeswoman.
The investigation could take a month or more to complete before any potential charges would be determined.
Hyatt lived in Port Angeles near two of his closest friends, Mark McComas and Debbie Lucke.
McComas met Hyatt about a decade ago while at a motorcycle rally.
Loved to ride
“It was something he really loved to do. We’ve been on many, many miles together on the road,” McComas said.
“He was a character, talked to everyone and anybody.
“He was such a clown and could really get people laughing.”
Hyatt was a Vietnam veteran and had been a diver for the Navy, Ibarra said.
His father bequeathed him the motorcycle he was riding at the time of his death, McComas said.
“His family and friends were the most important thing to him — that and his dog, Odin, were so important,” Lucke said.
“He died doing what he loved on his dad’s bike that he loved to ride.”
Lucke said that Hyatt was beloved.
“You could never have found anyone with a bigger heart,” she said.
“He never would ask a question but put his hand right out to help anyone and everyone.
“Everyone that knew him loved him.”
Hyatt is survived by two sons, Travis Hyatt and Kyle Hyatt, who live in Reno; nephews, Anton Hyatt, Roberto Hyatt and Eddy Ibarra; niece, Suzanna Ibarra; his mother, Susy Lambert; granddaughters, Raven and Rebekka; and stepson, Adam Whitney.
He was preceded in death by his father, “Kid” Bob Hyatt, and a sister, Terry Hyatt.
Hyatt also is survived by two ex-wives, Bernadette Whitford and Kelly Hyatt, both of whom live in Nevada. They are expected to attend his memorial service.
“We all still love him so much,” Kelly Hyatt said.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
