Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Kris Kauf is widely mourned and loved

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Sunday, September 2, 2001
Kris Kauf is widely mourned and loved
Bishop High athlete loved Nebraska team
By Guy H. Lawrence
Caller-Times

Kauf

   Kristofer Kauf, who died Friday in a car crash, had a passion for rap music and the Nebraska Cornhuskers - both of which were represented in his red Toyota.
   Kauf's car sported Cornhuskers stickers and his favorite rap music boomed from its speakers.
   The Bishop High School student was 17. Friends called him "Nebraska" and he was known as a motivator on the football team.
   Kauf was driving back from Kingsville when he was involved in a collision with a truck at the intersection of 14th Street and Corral Street, police reported.
   The accident happened at about 9:40 p.m., said Kingsville Police Corporal Juan Gonzalez.
   Kauf was driving northbound on 14th Street when he collided with a truck that was turning left onto Corral Street, Gonzalez said.
   The driver of the truck, Esteban Elizondo, 40, was arrested on suspicion of intoxicated manslaughter, Gonzalez said. Elizondo was still in the Kleberg County Jail on Saturday. His bond had been set at $45,000. He was not injured in the crash.
   A passenger in Kauf's car, Jacob Reimer, 19, also was uninjured.
   Kauf's father, Steven Kauf, said his son was returning home before going to a quinceanera to play music. Kauf attended high school in Kingsville last year when the family moved there from Illinois, Steven Kauf said.
   "His passion was football. He would do anything to play football," Steven Kauf said about his son who played wide receiver and defensive back and who was born in Lincoln, Neb. "He loved the Nebraska Cornhuskers."
   Steven Kauf could hear his son coming from a mile away because of the music he played. "It was a loud thundering boom whereever he went," said Steven Kauf, who is director of food service at Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
   Kris Kauf's teammates said he was a perfectionist on the field and worked hard to get his teammates to gel. James Beam, an 18-year-old at Bishop High School and running back/linebacker on the team, said Kris was a dedicated athlete.
   "Kris really helped our team come together. He would talk to us and encourage us," Beam said. "He was always the one trying to encourage everyone to do good."
   Beam was with Kris at Drew Murrs house Friday about three hours before the accident. Murr, a 17-year-old junior and offensive lineman on the football team, said Kris' passion for Nebraska football was well known.
   Kris' room was decorated in Cornhusker logos and paraphernalia. The Bishop high school senior was well liked at the school and the community despite being there only a few months, Murr said.
   "He fit in perfectly and everybody knew him and liked him," Murr said. "He was a big part of the community."
   Beam said dozens of people gathered at the Christus Spohn Hospital Kingsville when they learned Kris was involved in an accident.
   "It was one of those things that you don't think is going to happen to you," Beam said about the shock. "It was like a piece of me was torn out when he died."
   Funeral services for Kauf will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the Ramirez-Salinas Funeral Home Chapel in Kingsville.


Contact Guy H. Lawrence at 886-3792 or at lawrenceg@caller.com

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