Kyle Raulin sent a postcard from Cancun over spring break to his parents. Dated April 4, it read “I don’t tell you enough how much I appreciate everything you do for me. I love you. You’re the best.”

“He was one of those people who stopped to say thank you,” said one of Raulin’s coaches at Lakota West High School.

The reading of Raulin’s postcard were the first words spoken at his funeral service held yesterday at the West Chester Presbytarian Church in West Chester, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati.

Raulin, 20, was one of five students who died in the house fire at 64 E. 17th Ave. Sunday morning.

The church was brightly lit, and the service simple. The first five rows on the left were filled with Raulin’s contemporaries. Opposite Raulin’s friends sat the immediate family, the mother, Janet; the father, Terry; and sister, Kelly. Terry’s hand never left Janet’s knee.

Pastor Michael Wheatly read the memories of the immediate family and afterwards opened the floor to any family or friends who wished to tell their own memories.

The stories recounted by friends granted relief as they sent laughter through the crowd.

Matt Fuller grew up two houses down the street from Raulin. He stood at the podium remembering several sports moments he and Raulin shared. His memories put a smile on the face of Raulin’s father.

Raulin was the captain of his basketball and soccer teams in high school and was on an intermural basketball team at Ohio State.

His love for sports was evident with each speaker. However, his true love was for the Cincinnati Reds and the Cincinnati Bengals.

“When the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2002, and the Cincinnati Bengals beat them in the regular season, I remember getting a call from Kyle saying the Bengals were the Super Bowl champions.

“He had his own way of looking at things, I guess,” Raulin’s sister, Kelly said.

Scott Beasley, Raulin’s uncle, said Raulin shared his love for sports with his grandfather, Bill Beasley. Raulin’s grandfather passed away a few years ago, but he was the one who recognized Raulin’s athletic talent at an early age, Beasley said.

“I know he has someone to talk sports with in heaven,” Beasley said.

Raulin was also remembered for his fine sense of humor, especially when pertaining to his car.

Pastor Wheatley told the family’s memories of Raulin always refusing to lock the doors on his Volvo. When the family asked his reasoning, Raulin would simply reply “because it’s a Volvo.”

Raulin’s friends shared similar memories of Raulin and his car.

“That ’83 powder blue Volvo, he drove it like a Lamborghini,” said the same childhood friend who remembers sharing Snack Packs with Raulin in the second grade.

The women in Raulin’s life painted a perfect picture with their words of his sincerity, kindness and gentility.

“Kyle was my first kiss, my first love and the first guy to give me flowers,” Tiffany Geiser said.

Raulin and Geiser met their freshmen year at Lakota West High School and remained great friends. Geiser sent ripples of laughter when she recalled an early morning memory with Raulin this past summer.

Geiser explained that after finding a spider on her ceiling at 3 a.m., she called Raulin and “he came over at 3 a.m., killed it and left,” she said.

Raulin’s sister Kelly reminisced of the days when Raulin would sit with her and watch “Days of our Lives.”

“How many brothers would admit to that?” she said.

Not many kids have all the facets to their character that Raulin had, said Carmen Miller, Raulin’s aunt.

“He had a lot of friends and was willing to do things for people,” Miller said.

Bill Hall, vice president for Student Affairs, attended the visitation held for Raulin Wednesday evening at Hodapp Funeral Home.

“The family has been very pleased with Ohio State’s response,” Miller said.

According to Miller, Raulin loved OSU. He was the most loyal fan even after only two years, she said.

Beasley offered advice to friends and family as to how to remember the loss of their loved one.

“Do not think about how Kyle died, think about how he lived,” Beasley said.

Raulin was buried at the West Chester Cemetery immediately following the service. Parked next to Raulin’s burial site was his powder blue Volvo, driven to the cemetery by high school friends. Following the ceremony, six of them piled into Raulin’s car and drove away. One of them said the Cincinnati Bengals had sent flowers to Raulin’s home.