Colby Christian Kostelac

Colby Christian Kostelac passed away on February 3, 2023.  His Mass of Christian Burial will be Friday February 10, 2023 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 3333 Broadway, Kansas City, MO 64111, at 9:30 A.M.  Visitation will be at Amos Family Funeral Home, 10901 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, KS  66203 on Thursday February 09, 2023 from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.  Colby’s favorite team was the Kansas State Wildcats!  Dress as you like but K-State attire and the color purple would be very appropriate!  The Kansas City Chiefs would be a close second.

Colby was born May 26, 1999 at Overland Park Regional Medical Center to Denise and Chris Kostelac of Shawnee, KS. Colby was the middle of three children.  He was baptized at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.  Growing up Colby was close with his older brother Avery and younger sister Tasha.  There was that one magical year for his parents where all three were in the same school building.  Like all siblings they squabled but Colby was fiercely protective of his family and would always look out for them.  Tasha has said his protective nature is one thing she will miss the most about Colby.  Avery mentioned their silly, immature and often “inside” jokes as the thing he will miss most.

Colby Began his academic career at Peppermint Patty’s day care and then Canterbury Preparatory School.  There his antics led to him becoming lifelong friends with the owners.  He then attended grade school at Benninghoven Elementary in Shawnee and went from there to Trailridge Middle School finally graduating from Shawnee Mission Northwest High School in 2017.  While at Shawnee Mission Northwest Colby was a member of Marching Band for four years, Swim Team for 2 years, a manager for the girls Swim Team, and played tennis for one year.  One class he particularly enjoyed in high school was woodworking, taking those classes several semesters.  Colby worked hard to prepare for the next step and he was very proud of his acceptance to Kansas State University. In the fall of 2017 Colby headed off to Manhattan, KS for his next great adventure.

Growing up, to say Colby was a typical boy would be a considerable understatement.  He excelled in sports but often disagreed with the calls of the officials.  He played many sports but swimming and soccer were his passions. He loved to swim, boat and fish.  He and his friend Reid could often be found with their lines in the water.  Fish were rarely in danger, but they would talk for hours and hours.  This friendship continued to Colby’s last moment on earth as Reid joined him at K-State and spent those last watchful hours on Friday with our family.

His sophomore year of high school, Colby suffered a Sudden Cardiac Arrest.  This occurred while swimming in gym class.  Several things came together that day that helped Colby become one of less than 10% of people who survive a Sudden Cardiac Arrest outside a hospital.  The attention of his teacher, prompt CPR, the intervention of the school nurse and school resource officer coupled with the close proximity and skill of the first responders overshadowed by the Grace of God, resulted in Colby’s resuscitation and recovery.  He was very grateful for the excellent care he received at Children’s Mercy Hospital.  It wasn’t long before Colby was back to being Colby.  However, this incident left him with a greater appreciation for life and faith in God.  After that, Colby made it a point to wear his cross daily.

At Kansas State University Colby found a circle of friends that exceeded all expectations. It was reassuring to his parents to know he had that camaraderie. Colby had an amazing spirit and when he showed up it always seemed the party had started.  There are so many pictures and videos with the crazy antics of this group.  Colby was studying Mass Communications with an emphasis in Strategic Communications at KSU and hoped to graduate in December of 2023.  He was a founding father of the Iota Pi chapter of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity at K-State.  Colby put his social skills to work serving as a bartender at several establishments in the Aggieville bar district.  His last job which he truly enjoyed was at the Marriott hotel bar.  There he engaged in mixology far more complex than the typical pulling of a tap or pouring of a shot.

Colby was preceded in death by many that he knew and loved; his grandparents, Joe and Betty Kostelac, Soren Medley, Richard Schlehuber, his great grandmother, Frieda Birkle, and his cousin Abigail Medley.  He is survived by his parents Chris and Denise Kostelac, his brother Avery, his sister Tasha and his Grandmother Betty Medley. There are too many other friends, family, roommates and acquaintances to list them all.

Colby was passionate about the topic of Sudden Cardiac Arrest and often could be heard encouraging others to have more than the standard school sports physical.  He knew that each year about 7000 young people under the age of 21 die of Sudden Cardiac Arrest.  Many of those incidents are sports related.  His family would like Colby to be able to continue that advocacy even after his death.  Donations are suggested to Heartfeltscreening.org an organization that provides low cost cardiac screenings in an attempt to prevent SCA.  Alternatively, donations may be made to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 3333 Broadway, Kansas City, MO 64111.