Friends and family are in shock following the sudden death of
Live Oak High graduate Kevin Arata, 23, on Monday in Italy. Arata,
who graduated from Live Oak in 1999, was a quartermaster, chief
petty officer in the U.S. Navy, stationed in Italy.
Friends and family are in shock following the sudden death of Live Oak High graduate Kevin Arata, 23, on Monday in Italy.
Arata, who graduated from Live Oak in 1999, was a quartermaster, chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy, stationed in Italy.
While at a beach with his wife, Tina, in Gaeta, the main port for the Sixth Fleet between Rome and Napoli in the center of Italy, Arata collapsed. He was stationed at the Naval base in Gaeta. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
The preliminary cause of death is natural causes, said Lt. Cmdr. Lisa Braun, public affairs officer for naval command in Europe. Tests are still being conducted to determine the exact cause of death.
Friends and family describe him as a loving person with a love for life and everyone he met.
“He had a heart of gold,” his father John Arata said. “His love for family, friends and even strangers was always present. Others saw that.”
“This is such a shock that someone so close to you could pass away so quickly,” said Becky Basham, who met Arata nearly 10 years ago.
“He was an incredible young man,” said Arata’s mother Susan who still lives in Morgan Hill. “He loved every moment of life and lived it to the fullest. The most important thing to him were his friends.”
Friends of Arata said he was the type of person who could befriend anyone and could cheer up a person in five minutes.
“When you think of what a friend is, Kevin was that friend,” Basham said. “He was the definition of a friend; he’s what everybody aspires to be in a friend.”
Friends said they would play pool, go to the beach or just hang out. Arata’s mom said he loved cars, especially his little white truck he would drive across town delivering pizza and to and from other jobs.
“Kevin as the biggest kid with the biggest heart,” said David Laughman, a friend since graduation from Live Oak. “Kyle was his world.
“Kevin was a good friend. He would walk the door with a cheerful greeting for everyone. He had a big smile.”
In high school, Arata’s friendly nature made him the choice to be one of two students to be liaisons of diversity.
Shawn Chandler, who met Arata at Britton Middle School, described him as just the sort of person who would reach out to people.
“He was one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met,” Chandler said. “You could call him at any time and he would do anything for anybody. I couldn’t believe it (when I heard).”
Joe Barrett, who met Arata in his seventh grade math class, described his friend as one of the friendliest people, one who no bad things should happen to.
“When I heard, I didn’t believe it was true,” Barrett said. “I thought he was someone who didn’t deserve it, and I still feel that way.”
Arata is survived by his wife, Tina, and his 3-year-old son Kyle. He had one other son who was born with a defective heart and died after six-and-a-half weeks. The two will be buried next to each other at Mount Hope Cemetery.
Also surviving are his parents John and Susan Arata of Morgan Hill; sister Christine; and grandparents Gene and Lucille Arata of Mariposa and William H. Brown of San Jose.
Services are at 10am Friday, Aug. 27, at Johnson Funeral Home.
Cheeto Barrera is an intern at the Morgan Hill Times. He can be reached at cb******@*************es.com
