Kevin was a large man, who had a “larger-than-life” impact on those who knew him. He also lived life to the full, packing many experiences and adventures into his life before cancer finally defeated him.
He was born in Boise Idaho to Gene and Sharon Eyraud. Kevin grew up on Idaho State Parks managed by his father - Ponderosa Park in McCall, and the majority of his life at Harriman Park in Island Park. This instilled in him an abiding love for the outdoors.
He graduated from North Fremont High School, Ashton, ID in 1988. He received a BA in Spanish from Utah State University in 1992, after which he taught English in Mexico City for six months. Following that he was a paralegal working with Spanish speaking people for Idaho Legal Aid in Idaho falls, before attending Northern Arizona University where he received a Master of Arts in teaching English in 1997. He then taught English as a Second Language (ESL) in the Intensive English Language Institute at Utah State University.
Kevin’s sense of adventure led him to teach two years at the American University in Cairo, Egypt to teach in a program designed to increase English proficiency in Egyptian government employees. While in Egypt he volunteered in a refugee program, teaching pre-literate to basic level English to refugees from countries such as Somalia, Sudan, Oman, and Yemen.
Upon his return to the United States, Kevin landed in Long Island, New York and Stony Brook University. While he enjoyed the differences of Egypt and New York, he longed to return to the west. The job at Utah Valley University (then Utah Valley State College) returned him closer to his beloved Idaho and Idaho fishing.
Though his travels often led him north to Idaho, Kevin explored the beauty of Utah and fell in love with Capitol Reef National Park. He found a way to combine his love for Capitol Reef with his love for teaching and passion for helping his students increase their English proficiency.
During his 23 years at UVU Kevin facilitated more than 20 student trips to the Capitol Reef Field Station for hundreds of students. He developed and implemented a unique language immersion experience for students which included semester research trips to Capitol Reef. Kevin’s multi-modal curriculum approach culminating with hands-on research at the field station was groundbreaking in the field of ESL in higher education and the only intensive ELL program in the Western United States to consistently implement this unique method of teaching.
During his career at UVU Kevin completed his PhD in Education, Culture, and Society with an emphasis in Language and Curriculum from the University of Utah. (August 2020). Kevin also presented at numerous conferences relevant to TESOL and Applied Linguistics, was a published author, and served as a Capitol Reef Field Station Steering Committee Member, among other accomplishments. He was also a student advocate, writing numerous letters of
recommendation and scholarship applications for students. His love for his students was reciprocated, as was evidenced by the number who remained in contact after finishing Kevin’s classes.
Kevin’s abiding passion was fly fishing! A job in academia was perfectly suited to his desire to spend his summers on the water as much as possible. One of his favorite sayings was “Fish on!”, which was a phrase his niece and nephew quickly learned! Kevin was thrilled when his nephew became hooked on fly fishing, and then his niece started sending him photos of the large fish she was catching. He loved spending time on his rafts with good friends, fishing the rivers of southern Idaho. Kevin was a skilled oarsman, able to read rough water and find the best way through - usually. During a float down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon he nearly died after his raft flipped and he was pinned underwater against a rock. That experience did not diminish his love to be on rafts on rivers - calm and peaceful or raging and wild!
Kevin was a man of integrity and a person who hated injustice, especially because of race and cultural differences. He did what he could to help others, because he truly cared about others. That care earned the love and loyalty of many, and it has been a joy for Kevin’s family to hear from his friends the impact he had in their lives.
That is the summation of a life well-lived that his family would like all to remember: Kevin truly cared about others. He will be sorely missed by many, especially his family. Kevin is survived by his parents, Gene and Sharon Eyraud; his sister Shelley Prouty (husband Alan); his nephew, Kenneth and his niece, Ruby. Fish on, Kevin, Fish on!
A celebration of life will be held in Salt Lake City in the spring of 2024.
