Two sad graves at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery

Friday, May. 09, 2014

As a historian, I enjoy hanging out in cemeteries.  Call it morbid if you will, but there is significant information on some of those headstones, information missing elsewhere. Even more importantly, a grave is a place where I can bond with the deceased. I once wrote a history of Sanpete County, Utah, and one of the great pleasures was visiting the Manti cemetery on weekends and finding the graves of people whose diaries I had been reading during the week.

As a historian of Utah Catholicism, I have spent many happy hours wandering around Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Salt Lake City, and some of the factual material I have gathered has found its way into my writings. 

Not all of my discoveries have been happy ones. One of the hardest experiences one can endure is the loss of a child or another loved one who is taken from life prematurely. Mount Calvary contains the graves of two young men who died in separate tragedies on the same day. Michael Starks was 18 years of age; Dylan Hopkins was 25. The day was Nov. 21, 2008. Michael died at 3 a.m.; Dylan at 3 p.m. Both lay in Starks Funeral Parlor from that date until their funerals, on Nov. 25 and 29, respectively.

Michael Starks was the type of son any parents would want to have. Even as a child he had exhibited a fine sense of humor, a devotion to his family, a compassion for the needy and a desire to serve. At various times he served as a waiter at Friendship Manor and a worker in the Cathedral of the Madeleine’s Good Samaritan program. Even at his young age, he had become a world traveler and spent two weeks in Australia for World Youth Day. From his older brother Jason he had developed an interest in old cars, and with Jason’s help had lovingly restored a vintage Volkswagen Bug. His commitment to service was in evidence when he registered for the fall semester at Utah State University with the goal of becoming a firefighter upon completion of his undergraduate program.

It was not to be. Three months into the program he was subjected to hazing as part of pledging a fraternity. What was intended as innocent fun turned out to be neither innocent nor fun, and Michael wound up losing his life.

Dylan Hopkins was also a terrific son. A child of two former professional river runners, he grew up in the outdoors – hiking, climbing, running rivers, fishing and sailing – and he developed an athletic physique that enabled him to excel in them all. 

Even in elementary school, he knew he wanted to become a firefighter, and he pursued that goal with a single-mindedness that amazed the adults in his life. He was known shamelessly to bribe firefighters with ice cream to let him ride along on calls.  He tailored his high school curriculum to prepare most efficiently for his chosen career, and after basic fire service training he joined the West Valley force.  

But just being a firefighter was not enough; he wanted to be the best. He put himself through the rigors of EMT and paramedic certification as well as heavy rescue training. He traveled across the country with the Utah branch of FEMA to assist with the Hurricane Katrina rescue and recovery. Dylan also was among the first responders to the Trolley Square shootings in 2007.  He applied for the Salt Lake City Fire Service, was selected from 1,200 applicants, and qualified at the head of his class.

Dylan from an early age was interested in all things related to flying.  He became a falconer, passing the license exam on his 14th birthday, the earliest possible moment. He also loved flying in airplanes. On the morning of Nov. 21 he boarded the back seat of a small airplane with two firefighter/paramedic friends heading to a football game in Colorado. An initial tailwind stopped as they approached the Uinta Mountains and the low-flying craft failed to clear the crest. All three were seriously injured; Dylan’s wounds proved fatal. 

The epitaph on Dylan’s grave is an adaptation of a quotation from Winston Churchill: “The course was yours to control, but the term of service was not.” It applies to both of these young men.