Deseret News | Reader comments: Man who died in paraglider crash was former Eagle Mountain official

Reader comments
Man who died in paraglider crash was former Eagle Mountain official

cheeth | 5:27 p.m. Sept. 13, 2007

I don't have any axe to grind with Eagle Mountain, but what is with the elected leaders there? Can anyone in the know tell me about it?

hof | 8:02 p.m. Sept. 13, 2007

This has nothing to do with the elected leaders in Eagle Mountain. He was a city councilman until 2004. Don't confuse issues, this story is about a man who died yesterday, not about Eagle Mountain politicians.

alh | 8:05 p.m. Sept. 13, 2007

oh wow.

Comments continue below

cheeth | 8:24 p.m. Sept. 13, 2007

I am not confusing anything. I know the story is about a man who died, but he was a prominent Eagle Mountain citizen, and there seem to have been a lot of incidents out there. Please forgive my curiosity.

I certainly feel bad for the family and people involved.

Ali | 11:30 p.m. Sept. 13, 2007

Eagle Mountain has had it's share of strange stories, but this was a good man going through a very difficult time. I say never judge a man until you walk a mile in his shoes.

dws | 2:16 a.m. Sept. 14, 2007

What were the difficulties he was experiencing?

RGPierce | 4:52 a.m. Sept. 14, 2007

I knew Greg and his family. I am shocked and stunned at this tragedy. I am heartbroken for his wife and sons. They are wonderful people. I had a tremendous amount of respect for Greg when I live there. I had been to his house numerous times and not once did I see anything but love and respect among him and his family. Sometimes people face some very difficult cirmustances in life. They make decisions and do things you would never think they would. Regardless of this, Greg was a man that put his heart into the city of Eagle Mountain and truly adored his boys and loved his wife. My prayers are with them and I hope that those that didn't sit on the same page with Greg politically will put that aside and help and support his family through this very difficult time. Thank you Greg for all you did for Eagle Mountain and for me. God Speed.

aff3 | 5:09 a.m. Sept. 14, 2007

At least he died doing something he loved.

kevin | 7:28 a.m. Sept. 14, 2007

What a sad way to go.

sjb | 7:29 a.m. Sept. 14, 2007

Living in Eagle Mountain for the past 7 years has taught me just how much our forefathers had to do to establish the communities we enjoy today. Most of the local cities have been in existence for decades and the kinks were worked out a long time ago. Towns like ours are trying to do the same thing in a society far different than that of 100 years ago. Not many are willing to step up to the plate (in any community)and those who do should be given as much support as possible. Whatever Mr. Kehl and his family were going through may not be far from what's going on in homes across the state. Rather than label him as a former Eagle Mountain official, let's talk about him as a human being.

kyle | 7:42 a.m. Sept. 14, 2007

Ali, coincidently that is also an American Indian saying. Your good. I feel bad for this man and his family. Suicide, a horrible solution to temporary problems.

lance | 8:28 a.m. Sept. 14, 2007

"At least he died doing something he loved"

Not really, he died from a self-inflicted gun shot wound, not from the crash. Unless he is an avid marksman, I don't think he died doing what he loves.

Dave | 8:29 a.m. Sept. 14, 2007

He was distraught over a business problem. He had bought the franchise rights to Bajio Grill in Texas and other states. Subway bought Bajio and did not want to recognize his ownership, so it went to court. Classic deep-pocket organization running over the little guy. I will never buy a Subway sandwich again!

a neighbor | 8:42 a.m. Sept. 14, 2007

I am very sorry for this man's family and his state of mind at the time of this incident. However, I am upset that he chose to put so many of us on the ground in harms way when he landed just a few hundred feet from my home. Many of my children's friends witnessed this horrifying accident, including seeing the body up close when they ran to help. It surely is a sight they will never be able to erase from their memory.

I cannot imagine the pain he must have been going through at the time of the accident, but my friend's child has had nightmares for the past two nights from the memory of seeing this man up close after he died.

Anjanette Lofgren | 8:50 a.m. Sept. 14, 2007

Our family is very saddend by the news of Greg's death.

The words from the LDS hymn "Each Life That Touches Ours for Good" comes to mind at this time. It sounds like he did indeed touch many lives for good.

May God bless the Kehl family.

Get over yourself | 2:57 p.m. Sept. 14, 2007

Neighbor, your kids saw someone die, his kids had their father die. Get over yourself.

Strange but TRUE | 3:02 p.m. Sept. 14, 2007

Is there something funky in the Eagle Mountain water? "Hi...I think I'll pretend to be kidnapped" "Hi...I think I'll invite a few friends from the ward over, throw our keys in a hat, and test drive Sister Jepson for the night"...."Hmmm....i think i'll fly over American Fork and play kamakaze with 30 kids running around to watch"

Seriously....do we need some groundwater studies??? Where is Erin Brockovitch when we need her?

Steve Nielsen | 6:13 p.m. Sept. 14, 2007

My only comment is that the Deseret News should hire a writer who can spell and knows something about grammar. It looked like a 2nd-grader wrote the article!!!

steve | 7:31 p.m. Sept. 14, 2007

Eagle Mountain is hillbilly land. Strange people out there. Get out while you can.

jazz fan slapper | 9:23 p.m. Sept. 14, 2007

Tragic. Bad reporting. But there is one question that keeps coming up: why are so many troubled people attracted to Eagle Mountain? Why? Is it the cheap homes? The feel of being in Colorado City? Is it over abundance of Mormons? What is it?

ayla | 10:02 p.m. Sept. 14, 2007

Each of us is weak to some degree, all vulnerable under the right circumstances. This a sad. He was deceived by that great Father of Deception, The Father of Misery and hopelessness. Let us pray that we can endure. My friend, my brother, my sister, can there be a greater loss? Yes you can be angry with this man, perhaps all have that right. However this is a man that in a moments time lost hope. And that my friends is tragic. I pray for the hopless and Pray that I will not be faced with the contemplation of ever ending my own life. Is it a sin to not feel the loss? to be void of compassion? His son is remarkable, I am blessed to associate and have the honor of being this mans sons Sunday School Teacher. I grieve... so many feel this loss...No person taking their life is thinking clearly. Let us learn compassion, seek first understanding. Not any of us is perfect. I'd rather know I was a sinner and be at the mercy of God, than to think I was perfect and condeem others.
Let us learn to cling to love, faith and charity.
An extra prayer from you would be appreciated. This family is experiencing agony. Let us reach out with arms of kindness. Let our prayers be filled with compassion.

Strange but TRUE | 11:42 p.m. Sept. 14, 2007

"Ayla"?!?!? What the H was THAT all about? Straight out of Colorado City with no spell check. You go ON with your bad self!!!

D | 11:51 p.m. Sept. 14, 2007

The name Eagle Mount does provoke an eye roll from me and probably always will.

That said, I am a semi-distant cousin of Greg's (his dad and my mom are cousins). I did not know Greg well, but am slightly better acquainted with his father, uncle, and grandmother on his father's side. Being a distant relative I don't know much more than has been reported and don't really want to reveal what information I do know about the family in general until I know more about what they feel comfortable revealing. I will say that in general the Kehls are good people, very honorable and very loyal. Greg's father and uncle are active in the local business community. I have no doubt that Greg was made of the same "stuff".

It so happened that yesterday, the day after Greg chose to end his life, another cousin was getting married. At the time my mother spoke with the family they were still dealing with the shock of the event and trying to ensure that this cousin and his new wife still had a special, joyous day despite the events that had taken place the night before. We have not been in contact with them since as we want to give them the space they need to grieve at this time.

As with any family there are those who have experienced depression and other forms of mental illness, and there are addictions and addictive personalities. In the end, as an earlier poster said, no better and no worse than or much different than many other families out there. As with many families also, it's not something we neccessarily talk about as much as we should perhaps.

D | 12:03 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007

I'm back again because I have more to say. This too is probably a legacy from the Kehl side of the family.

Anyway, I also feel immensely for those both adults and children, who had to see the aftermath of what was ultimately a very bad, even somewhat selfish, choice. Just as no one should have to lose a loved one to something like this, no one should have to witness the aftermath either. I hope, Neighbor, that your children and any others whose lives have been affected by this get the help they need and the that the trauma begins to fade (I do realize that like grief, it can never completely go away). I will pray for all of them and their healing as I pray for my family's healing as well.

I do want to say, please do not judge anyone who comes to the point in their life where they believe this is a valid choice. It is truly a state of mind that you cannot fully understand unless you've been there yourself. True suicidal depression is several orders of magnitude worse than any other form of sadness. Despite the misfortunes inherent in living, most of us continue to have to desire to remain alive, consider for a moment what it would take for you to lose that desire, to reach the point where a loving extended family, a beautiful life, and two great sons, along with so many other simple pleasures are just not enough anymore to balance your pain.

Let us level with each other, this is a hard time for all. Let's treat each other as kindly as we can and try to let our religious and personal prejudices fade for a while. Peace to all of you.

Tiny | 3:33 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007

I think that the only comments that I read so far about this article that made any sense at all and that made a clear point were those from "D".

sm | 7:37 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007

My deepest sympathies to the family. I had a family member attempt suicide when in a very deep depression. It seems a chicken way to go when there are problems, but depression is debilitating.

Please recognize signs of depression and get your loved ones help. 1. Pervasive sadness lasting more than two weeks. 2. Comments of being worthless/expendable/hopeless 3 loss of interest in normal activities 4. impaired thinking 5. sleep disturbances 6. extremely agitated

l | 12:16 p.m. Sept. 15, 2007

As we see, taking ones life, even if it is your own life, simply creates more problemes for everyone. The guilt and distruction continues for years to come...

Ruth | 9:44 p.m. Sept. 17, 2007

Having lost my own brother to suicide, I just have to say that the self-righteous and judgmental attitude of some of the previous posts just makes me want to vomit. You are a bunch of idiots who don't know what you're talking about. If you don't know what you are talking about, please refrain from commenting. It's better to be an idiot and keep silent than open your mouth and have it confirmed.

Having lived in Eagle Mountain for several years (I haven't lived there for a few years now), I can say that in Eagle Mountain I truly experienced the "best of times" and the "worst of times". The media has a great time with Eagle Mountain. There are just as many scandals in other cities, you just don't hear about it as much. Eagle Mountain is a favorite media target. So what? Big deal! Do you honestly put that much stock in what you read in the paper??? Are you honestly that hungry for a scandal? If you are, I simply suggest that you get a life.

Having been close to Greg for a time while we lived in Eagle Mountain, I would like to say that he was the finest of individuals. He was kind and giving and a passionate person who gave his all to the people he loved. He was experiencing great agony in his personal life - in his body, his mind, in his business dealings, and in his heart. He sounds like just the person to deserve our greatest compassion and love, rather than anger or derision.

Having found out today about his death, I have wept over his loss. Eagle Mountain, the Kehl family, and the world in general have lost a great man.

Darlene Gedge | 9:59 p.m. Sept. 27, 2007

I find it unbelievable and out of character for Greg Kehl to have committed suicide. Our hearts go to Greg' wife and children.

Me | 11:29 p.m. Oct. 2, 2007

Greg was the most honest and hardworking person I have ever worked with or known. He was filled with Charity toward my family. His acts of kindness and concern will always be remembered.

He will always be remembered in the with the greatest love an affection by by family. Greg we miss you.

I pray that in this time of loss and grief we will all be kinder one to another - More loving and Charitable - More concerned over the welfare of our neighbor - and more willing to help out those in need.

I wish this tragic event wouldn't have happened but I vow to be a better person because of it.

May all who feel the need to be critical realize their own need for improvement and may we all be more supportive of each other - especially in times of trial.

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