Matt Colby 114, Retired this year...

Matt Colby

114, Retired this year

The 6-foot, 185-pound defensive end did in death what it is nearly

impossible to do in life: He brought together two rivals.

After spending three years at Estancia High, Colby was playing for

Costa Mesa when he was involved in a seemingly routine collision on

Sept. 28, 2001.

He was removed from life support the next day and passed away.

It didn’t take long for his death to have its effect. By Sunday,

members of Costa Mesa, Estancia and Santa Ana Valley highs’ football

teams were meeting together in prayer and remembrance.

“It’s been a very emotional week,” Estancia wide receiver Nate

Harriman said at the time. “Our team got in a fight a couple of

days ago. We were all going down, then we made up, and we’re doing so

well now. I think we’re going to have a successful season now. We

almost won this one.”

Colby’s death had that kind of power.

A tribute at Orange Coast College’s football field was a crowded,

and fitting, place for a public memorial.

104. Bob Henry

The community was heartbroken when the Newport Beach Police

officer died of a bullet wound on April 13, 1995. The loss was

perhaps harder given that Henry had been trying to disarm a suicidal

gunman in the Newport Harbor Lutheran Church parking lot a month

earlier.

105. Gray Lunde

The crushing blow of Gray’s passing from a congenital heart defect

in October 1995 was felt by his family and by his community. A

budding water polo player at Newport Harbor High, Gray left a void

that the community worked hard to fill with memorials ranging from a

tree planted near the Balboa Pier to a weight room named in his

honor.

106. Roy Alvarado

The list of achievements Alvarado had to his credit when he passed

away on his 61st birthday in April 1996 fixes him as one of the most

influential figures on the Westside. He started Madres Costa Mesa,

Latinos Costa Mesa and Todos Hermanos and spent countless time

involved in Save Our Youth.

107. Jason Ferguson

His battle with cancer touched the Costa Mesa High School campus

and everyone involved with the beloved basketball coach. After losing

his fight in January 1996, Ferguson’s name was added to a

scholarship, a basketball tournament and a trophy case at the high

school. The image of him, coaching from his wheelchair, won’t be

forgotten.

108. Sierra Soto The 4-year-old Costa Mesa girl was one of two toddlers involved in

a horrific murder in May 1999 at the Southcoast Early Childhood

Learning Center. Their story transfixed Newport-Mesa and beyond.

109. Brandon Wiener

The 3-year-old Costa Mesa boy was one of two victims at the

Southcoast Early Childhood Learning Center in May 1999. The loss of

the smart, active little boy crushed his family and neighborhood.

110. The Rev. Kenneth Krause

The 63-year-old Catholic priest had long served his community by

the time of his death in June 1999. His loss was felt by members of

the two congregations who had come to know him so well at Our Lady of

Mount Carmel on the Balboa Peninsula and St. Joachim Church in Costa

Mesa.

111. Paul Troxel The barrel-chested baseball coach passed away from a brain

aneurysm and massive heart attack in May 1999. Popular at both Costa

Mesa and Estancia highs, where he had spent more than half his life

teaching the sport he loved, Troxel’s absence was cutting, but his

memory lasting.

112. Rosalind Williams

For any number of reasons, Williams will be long remembered in

Newport-Mesa. Whether because of her long and public fight with

cancer, her near tireless work as president and chief executive of

the Newport Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau, her success at home

or just in meeting with people on the street, she was unforgettable.

Williams passed away in the summer of 2000.

113. Andre Stewart

The 18-year-old Newport Harbor High tailback’s death in a Mother’s

Day car accident in 2000 brought a sadly fast end to a budding

career. He led Newport Harbor to a CIF championship, winning numerous

awards and accolades as he passed 2,400 yards in a season and rushed

for 310 in a single game.