Kevin Ebbert was born January 23, 1980, in Azusa, California. Kevin grew up in Northern California where he quickly discovered a love of the outdoors, music, and education. To all that knew him, Kevin was thoughtful, insightful, driven, and born to succeed – he was destined to be remarkable at whatever he did.
Kevin attended the University of California, Santa Cruz and graduated with a degree in Classical Music Composition in 2003. After graduating, Kevin enlisted in the United States Navy and became a Navy SEAL. Kevin approached the military the way he did everything else in his life. He set high expectations for himself and fulfilled them all. Kevin deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and due to his outstanding work as a medic was meritoriously advanced through the combat promotion system and awarded a Bronze Star with Combat V.
Shortly after his return from Afghanistan, Kevin married the love of his life, Ursula Jansson in 2011. Kevin had a plan to attend medical school and pursue his dream as a doctor following his military commitment and had set the wheels in motion to do so. Kevin returned to Afghanistan on his second deployment in 2012. During an operation on November 24, 2012, Kevin was killed in action by enemy fire while moving to support teammates.
Kevin’s love of the outdoors started when he was young, but continued throughout his life. He loved camping, backpacking, hiking, kayaking, cycling and seemed to be truly at peace when he was outside. He met his wife on a backpacking trip, proposed on a hike overlooking a waterfall, and took to rock climbing like he was born for it. When introduced to roped up rock climbing, Kevin was incredulous at all the gear required. He often would climb in bare feet sans chalk and impress anyone watching with his skill. Just like everything he did, he wanted to learn and do something new every time he climbed. He led traditional rock routes his second day at the crag and routinely followed up climbs that far exceeded the ability of a beginner. He was a joy to watch climb, he climbed with reckless abandon and precision at the same time. He was a partner that would never turn you down and often pushed all to exceed their own expectations.
Kevin died in combat operations, taking the fight to the enemy. Kevin was taken far too soon and the world is poorer without him in it. He constantly strove to better himself and through his quiet example he encouraged others to want to better themselves as well. Kevin was a hero to his family, his teammates, and to his country. He left a legacy of passion for success and a willingness to work hard to achieve it. His memory continues to inspire all those who knew him.
Climb For The Fallen is a non-profit organization created in Kevin’s honor that seeks to memorialize US service members whose lives were lost in combat operations. To learn more about their mission and support their cause, please visit www.climbforthefallen.org.
Join us for the 3rd annual Kevin Ebbert Memorial Trail Run on August 27th, 2016 at the Redwood Park and Community Forest. All proceeds from the run will be donated to Climb For The Fallen. Click below for more details and registration.
