We were hoping to never have to type that title.
In our three years of podcasting, there hasn’t been a Duke football player we have connected with better than we did with Kade Parmelly. We initially reached out once the grad transfer from Abilene Christian’s official team photos were found. We could tell he had a quite the personality. If you haven’t seen them, this one was our favorite.
After our first podcast conversation with him, we knew he was definitely a true “friend of the pod.” He was a natural on the microphone, and as he was in every situation, as he would light up the room. He had a larger than life personality. We even had him co-host with us once this past season, and we all agreed he was better than Jamie.
He was a strong believer, and made his faith a public part of his life. In his season at Duke, he was involved in Bible studies and other faith-based activities. That connected with us as one of us is a pastor and all of us believers.
In February of this year, Kade was diagnosed with leukemia. This also connected with us as one of our host’s son has the exact same diagnosis. Kade’s friends and family pulled together to do all they could to help. But chemotherapy was a drain, as many of you could imagine. It began to take its toll both physically and mentally. After an extremely difficult week of chemo this past week, Kade went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Friday, July 7th.
There will be a memorial service in Abilene, TX, this Wednesday at 11 AM. The family (*who gave us permission to post this*) will post a more detailed obituary in the next day or so, and we will share the link. There are also plans for his service to be live-streamed. Once again, we will share all this information as it is made available.
For now, you can send flowers here.
Please keep his family, friends, former teammates, and coaches in your thoughts and prayers.
Kade, we will miss you buddy.
I knew Kade when he was a little leaguer in Abilene, TX. Our son played for one year on the same team as Kade. Kade was a year older than our son and even at that age, he was quite the athlete. His skill level was above our son’s, but he and his father spent extra time with our son working with him after practice to improve his skill level. Kade and his dad even gifted our son one of Kade’s old bats that he had outgrown that was better for our son and his swing. I will never forget their kindness. We moved from Abilene a few years later, but I always followed Kade as he grew up. I was so excited when he chose to go to Duke (one of my alma mater’s) for his graduate year and it sounds like he made a lasting impression. Prayers to his family and friends.
So sorry for the loss of your son and our beloved Duke player. God bless you all
RIP
As a journalist, I covered Kade dating back to his high school days at Abilene Wylie (TX). He overcame so many obstacles, including one that cost him his junior year, with a smile on his face and cheerful, positive outlook. Those are the things I will always remember about him.
Kade was so uniquely and simply himself. He was confident, kind, and the definition of a good man. Kade made everyone around him feel like sunshine.