Family of WSU QB Raises Suicide Awareness in Seattle

For Kym and Kelly Hilinski, Ozzie’s in Seattle is one of the many stops on a road trip to raise awareness. The mother and son traveled from California to Washington to mark what would have been Tyler Hilinski’s 22nd birthday.

“We’ve heard the first year is the hardest. You go through the holidays without them. You go through birthdays, you go through everything for the first time without them,” said Kelly, Tyler’s oldest brother.

“His name is not going to be forgotten and what happened to Tyler is not going to be in vain,” said Kym Hilinski.

Washington State University is where Tyler Hilinski was the well-known and well-liked quarterback. It is also where his life came to an end on January 16.

“If he couldn’t tell us something was bothering him, then he absolutely had to be suffering in silence,” said Kym.

Tyler’s suicide is something Kym is talking about. Thursday she sat at a back table inside Ozzie’s with owner, Kathy Mahoney.

“He was a great boy. My son knew him. So it is just Coug family. You do what you do for Cougs. You do what you do for family,” said Mahoney.

In late January, Mahoney opened the doors at her bar and invited people in to sign a WSU flag for Tyler’s family.

“I wanted to write a letter and that letter that I wrote was kind of a crazy, difficult letter,” said Mahoney.

It turned out to be a letter that meant a lot to Kym.

“A beautiful, amazing note because they have been touched by suicide as well in her family, and I just knew I had to come up and see her,” said Kym.

James Donaldson is a former WSU basketball player who went on to have a career in the NBA. He knew he wanted to be there when the Hilinski family visited.

“I really wanted to meet them. They didn’t know my story,” said Donaldson. “What happened to Tyler could have easily happened to me.”

Donaldson says around Thanksgiving, his depression started.

“January rolled around and I heard about Tyler over at WSU taking his life. And I was probably in the deepest and darkest time of my little period that I was going through. I woke up the next day and I was just so compelled and so motivated to get out there, be a voice, be an advocate for mental challenges, for mental issues, mental illness,” said Donaldson.

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“It is really eye-opening to see all these people who are affected by it, and hopefully we can come together and make a change,” said Kelly.

“That is part of what we are going to do with Hilinski’s Hope,” said Kym.

Hilinski’s Hope is a foundation Tyler’s family started.

“If good can come from this terrible tragedy and we can help one person, then I know Tyler would be proud of us.”

Kym and Kelly Hilinski plan to spend Tyler’s birthday Saturday remembering him by hiking Mount Rainier. His family says it is a trip Tyler had said he wanted to do before he graduated.

If you need someone to talk to, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The number is 1-800-273-8255. It’s available 24 hours a day.