Caleb Andrew Kemsley’s 22 years were defined by devotion —- to his family, his friends, his ever-growing list of hobbies, and of course to the Dodgers.
   
The eighth of nine children, he dutifully played the role of one of the cute (if sometimes annoying) babies of the family for the first years of his life. Favorites from this time included: trucks, Enya’s “sail away” song, back scratches, “the flying car part” from the film “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” and a blankie that was tragically lost in the back of a New York City cab.
   
As he grew, so did his role in his family. At the age of six he became an uncle to an ever-growing brood of nieces and nephews, whom he wowed with his command of “Super Smash Bros.” and “Splatoon.” Despite the distance and difficulty of gathering family often, all looked up to him as part-friend and part-cool-older-brother.
   
 As a child and as an adult, Caleb traveled the world, adapting easily to settings as varied as rural India to a politically fraught Chile. Through it all, he said, he learned to be more mindful and understanding of those whose experiences differed from his own.
   
 Caleb was shy, famously refusing to brave the hot lunch line until his mom walked through it with him once. Throughout his life, this introversion kept him from making many friends easily. But the ones he made represented a second family to him. He looked up to his closest friends as examples of who he wanted to be, and found deep comfort in their love and acceptance — particularly toward the end of his life.
   
 As it was with people, so it was with his favorite things. When Caleb found something that he liked, his excitement became like a live wire. He didn’t just play Shogi (Japanese chess) — he was internationally ranked. And while the rest of his siblings grumbled about practicing their instruments, Caleb threw himself into learning to play classical piano. He could talk for hours about why “Majora’s Mask” contained the most beautiful storytelling of all the Zelda games, and routinely found himself in the top 1% of Spotify listeners of his favorite composers. When the Dodgers lost to the San Diego Padres in the 2022 playoffs, he wept.
   
Even at his saddest, Caleb brought happiness to others with a silly and snarky sense of humor (see: the sexy, self-confident gingerbread man he decorated for multiple family Christmas parties).
   
Ultimately, nothing meant more to Caleb than when others took the time to enjoy the things he loved. To this end, if you’re reading this: We hope you’ll join us in honoring his memory by taking a moment to do something that made him happy. A few suggestions include listening to Rachmaninoff (his favorite composer), watching an episode of “Arcane” or “Survivor” (two of his favorite shows), or even just reviewing some of the rules of Shogi (none of us could ever get a handle on them).
   
 We love you, Caleb. Until we meet again.

Tamarra Kemsley