‘We loved him fiercely’ — WWU student killed in hiking accident in Alaska

Caleb Huisingh was a lot of things in his short life.

An emergency medical technician, a firefighter, a landscaper, a door-to-door salesman.

He worked at Magill’s in Pasco as a cook. He worked in an Alaska fish cannery.

He was a budding journalist — a good one, with talent, guts and promise to spare.

He played rugby — tough and relentless on the field. When he went in for the tackle, the other player went down.

But he could be tender, too. Children adored him. He had a multitude of friends.

To his family, he was a bright light — a complex, authentic, beautiful soul.

“That’s what I’ve always called him: my beautiful boy,” said his mom, Sharon. “He really was.”

Huisingh, 23, who grew up in Pasco, died last week in a hiking accident in Alaska.

The Western Washington University student had gone to the city of Hoonah, west of Juneau, to work at a cannery for the summer.