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LAKE IN THE HILLS – Dawn Kincaid always circles back to one clear memory of her son, Connor – when she found him standing in the kitchen early one morning wearing a fisherman’s vest. None of his three siblings were dressed yet, but 6-year-old Connor wanted to fish.
Kincaid said Connor had a passion for the outdoors and found comfort in the serenity the lake and surrounding nature for his entire life, until the 22-year-old Lake in the Hills man was killed in a car crash in Harvard in August 2016.
“Up until the week of his car accident, Connor would come home from work after a long day and he would either go out and cast for an hour from the dock or he would eat dinner, shower and then jump in the boat and spend the rest of the evening out until sunset,” Kincaid said.
The Kincaids will honor their late son’s lifelong affinity for the outdoors with the Connor Kincaid Memorial Fishing Tournament from 8 to 11 a.m. at Indian Trail Beach on Saturday, which would have been his 23rd birthday.
Entry is $8 and includes a light breakfast, lunch and an awards celebration.
All proceeds will be used to restock the village’s fishing areas.
The family also will host a private dedication for family and friends at 4:30 p.m. for the 75-by-75-foot memorial garden built in Connor’s honor at Indian Trail Beach, which the Lake in the Hills Parks and Recreation Department and Village boards unanimously approved.
Kincaid said the garden, which came together in about two weeks, would not have been possible without the dozens of community volunteers who have helped throughout its construction, including by donating bricks for the paver-brick patio and offering skilled services.
Many of the volunteers included Connor’s friends from church and former co-workers from his career-building outdoor living spaces and landscaping. They spent several hours twice a week helping the garden project for the past month.
Kincaid said the garden will have a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony later in August for sponsors and the village.
“It’s a perfect reflection of the lake where Connor spent a lot of time, a place that gave him just time for personal meditation and quiet time,” Kincaid said. “I hope other people get to enjoy that space how Connor did.”
The angler life suited Connor from a young age, but his mother said the motto of being a lifelong angler really stuck when he was about 15. Even when he got older and started working, Connor found time when he could to get out on the water.
He regularly shared pictures on social media of himself either hunting or fishing in the months before he died, usually holding his prized catch with a hat and a smile.
“As I reflect, overarching, that is true of him,” Kincaid said. “And I think about now and where he’s at, and he’s a still lifetime angler.”
Registration for the tournament can be completed at the Lake in the Hills Parks and Recreation office, on the village’s payment website or from 7:30 to 8 a.m. Saturday before the tournament. Fishing equipment and boats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
If you go
WHAT: Connor Kincaid Memorial Fishing Tournament
WHERE: Indian Trail Beach, 228 Indian Trail, Lake in the Hills
WHEN: 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday. On-site pre-registration can be completed from 7:30 to 8 a.m.