Lovely Diane and Skye,

You were blessed to have been such a vital part of Kev’s life and he was blessed to have been a part of yours.

I only met Kev one time (at his shop) though on Facebook, I already looked up to him as someone I wanted to emulate. It might sound funny coming from a guy who is 66, but I have always looked up to people that used their hand and brains to fix / craft / create/ help / teach.

I had seen numerous posts on Facebook about some of the things that Kev had designed and built for others and thought of him as some kind of larger-than-life guy. My neighbor Paul Brown had reached out to Kev to buy a piece of metal from him and asked if I wanted to come along, knowing that I am a tool addict. I jumped at the chance to meet the guy I looked up to (from afar up to this point).

We got there and were introduced and Kev immediately made us feel welcome and invited us in to the shop. I looked around and had so many questions (What’s that?  What do you use it for? How do you do…? ) I wanted to do a massive “brain download” but felt it might be a bit too aggressive (you know “those Americans”, always pushy) to keep asking questions.

Coming from California (born and raised there) I had always worked with wood to build things. Now living in Portugal, I had begun to start to work with metal, beginning with a small and inexpensive welder.  Kev ENCOURAGED me to keep at it, try new things, think “outside the box” and generally GO FOR IT!  Don’t worry about making mistakes, you can fix them or start over. He ENCOURAGED me to try something (anything at all) that I had no experience with or skill at and put in the time to become better at it.  He invited me to come back any time, saying he would gladly coach and teach me more metal working skills.

I have a lot in common with Kev as both of us thrive on telling stories, living life in “learning mode”, always trying something new, looking for the next challenge and trying to help others. 

Helping others can be something simple (you can  lend a helping hand, a smile and a hug, a word of encouragement) but can be a very meaningful (even LIFE CHANGING) thing to the person(s) receiving it.

How to honor Kevin John Biles and what he meant to you? Live like Kev

ENCOURAGE OTHERS, lend a hand, be quick with a smile, look for ways to share a skill or interest with someone. Be kind.

Live like Kev