Obit examples

The trip was supposed to be filled with laughter, snow and brotherly bonding.

Instead, a San Jose family is mourning Philip Walker, remembering him as fun-loving spirit who died snowboarding, one of the many outdoor activities the adventurous 22-year-old loved to do.

"He was so excited to take his younger brother on this trip," said Walker's father, Steve. "He had been planning it for a couple of weeks."

Walker, a Santa Teresa High School graduate best known for being a larger-than-life force on the water polo team, was snowboarding with his brother, Benjamin, 19, near the Sierra at Tahoe Resort over the weekend.

El Dorado County sheriff's authorities said Walker crashed into a tree Saturday on the Upper Powderhorn Trail and tumbled several feet down a hole in the snow. He was buried by a small avalanche and his body was discovered by a rescue team Sunday.

Steve Walker said his son had been wearing a helmet.

Lt. Bryan Golmitz added that Philip Walker was found on a defined course, and said that even experienced skiers and snowboarders can fall into these "tree wells."

It can be terrifying, Golmitz said, when the person in the hole sees glimmers of people whizzing by with no idea that someone, like Walker, might be trapped below.

The coroner is expected to determine whether Walker died because he struck the tree, or because he was under a snowpack in frigid temperatures.

"When someone comes up here to go out and have a good time, there's always inherent danger. This was one of those tragic ones," Golmitz said.

Holding out hope

The two brothers and a family friend left for South Lake Tahoe on Friday and hit the slopes early Saturday. Philip Walker arranged the hotel himself and really wanted to show his younger brother a good time, said his mother, Diane Walker.

The three young men began the day enjoying the snow. Then, about 12:30 p.m., Benjamin Walker and the friend snowboarded down the mountain. They waited at the bottom for Philip and later went to the resort's infirmary to see if he was there. At about 4:45 p.m., they called for help.

Steve Walker said about 100 rescuers helped to look for his son in treacherous weather, scouring the mountain, with helpers on the ground providing logistical support.

For hours, Walker's family held onto the chance that Philip had gotten lost.

"I was hoping he would just come back," Benjamin Walker said. "I was trying to keep my head up."

Then, just before lunch on Sunday, the Walker family received the grim news. One of the searchers noticed a dent in a tree and dug Walker's body from the snow.

This Saturday, his family will hold a church service for him, which is likely to overflow with mourners who will want to pay tribute to the entire Walker clan -- an upstanding Christian family, said longtime friend Greg Trapp, an elder at Evergreen Valley Church who used to coach Walker's water polo team.

"He lived his Christian values," Trapp said of Philip Walker. "He was a practical joker. But it was always fun and enjoyable."

'Living it up'

Walker's family and friends all say the young man had a zest for life.

They think of a zany guy who dressed in mismatched socks and who once sported a Speedo bathing suit when he and his high school water polo team held a car wash fundraiser.

"He was just a great, great, great guy," said Tyler Callaway, 21, who grew up playing Evergreen Little League with Walker. "He loved the outdoors, and living it up."

Callaway ticked off the activities his friend loved to do: baseball, riding BMX bikes, golfing, fishing for trout and bass in the ponds on Grant Ranch near Mount Hamilton, swimming and playing water polo. Walker had been captain of the team when he was a senior.

Walker had taken some classes at West Valley College, but told his parents he wasn't interested in being "book smart" and instead wanted to "live life," his mother recalled. Diane and Steve Walker said they supported their son in his decision but told him he had to learn a trade.

Philip Walker worked at a bicycle shop and most recently was an auto technician at Wheel Works.

In addition to his younger brother, Philip Walker is survived by sisters Danielle, 25, and Kristin, 19, who is Benjamin's twin.

The Walker family was struck by another tragedy in 2006, when nephew Robert Conway and his girlfriend, Mary Bernstein, both 20, died in a San Jose crash caused by a diabetic driver.

Amid his grief over his brother's death, Benjamin Walker said he thought about shelving his snowboard equipment. But he quickly dismissed that thought.

"We shared that connection," he said. "I think my brother would actually be mad at me if I stopped snowboarding."