’Finding a purpose.’ Centre County man starts nonprofit in honor of wife, son killed in crash
A Centre County widower is channeling his grief into a nonprofit for new and expecting mothers, an endeavor meant to honor the memory of his wife and son after their sudden deaths.
Koleton Cares will initially aim to support new parents by providing early childhood necessities such as diapers and baby wipes. Founder Walt Derhammer said that may evolve over time, but the mission will remain the same — and it will always be about the family he lost in a car crash late last year.
“Just because they’re not here anymore doesn’t mean that I’m not going to live for them. I want to honor them through what I do,” Derhammer told the Centre Daily Times. “I was blessed by finding someone who had the same values, the same morals and the same positive personality of wanting to help people who are in need.
“I really want to continue that on; I don’t want that to stop. I don’t want to go down a dark hole where I just kind of lock myself in and don’t do anything else. I want to live vigorously because that’s what I would have done if my family was here.”
Wearing a Koleton Cares sweatshirt, Derhammer sat at the same table he and his wife’s parents spoke from four months ago when they recounted some of their fondest memories of Kayte Derhammer’s life.
His grief was as palpable in late January as it was in mid-September, tears occasionally rolling down his face as he described the roller coaster of emotions that comes with trying to figure out “what life is now and what I am to do, finding a purpose.”
“I was very excited to be a dad, be a husband. That was my role,” Derhammer said. “Now I’m just trying to find what my role in the world is now.”
A serendipitous beginning
Grief has taken many forms since Kayte and Koleton William died in September of injuries from a crash on Interstate 99 in Centre County, but Derhammer said he knew almost immediately that he wanted to start a foundation named after the son he and Kayte were eagerly awaiting.
With a stash of baby supplies inside his Spring Township home that had been ready for Koleton, Derhammer said he looked to help anyone in immediate need. Few fit that description better than a Centre County volunteer firefighter and his girlfriend who didn’t know she was pregnant until she gave birth in September.
Once they were released from spending a couple weeks at Geisinger Medical Center, one of the couple’s friends visited Derhammer to pick up diapers, wipes, clothes and other items to get them on their feet.
“It was at that moment I was like, ‘Yeah, this is cool. We need to do more of this,’ ” Derhammer said. “They were very grateful.”
They also invited Derhammer to visit their newborn, something he described as “surreal” since they were otherwise strangers. Then they asked him to be their son’s godfather. He said yes.
A widower who spent months with his wife planning out baby showers and preparing the house for their son’s arrival stepped in to help a couple that wasn’t expecting a newborn until he was in their arms.
“It was kind of odd that our paths were meant to cross and they definitively were,” Derhammer said. “Somehow, but I don’t know how.”
Turning tragedy into love
Kayte was 33 weeks pregnant in September when she was rear-ended on Interstate 99 in Benner Township. A 32-year-old Boalsburg man driving a GMC Yukon slammed into her SUV at a high rate of speed, state police at Rockview police wrote in a crash report. Traffic was congested because of an unrelated crash about a mile ahead.
Derhammer, 29, was flown by medical helicopter to Geisinger Medical Center. Koleton died at the hospital of maternal blunt force trauma and his mom died of multiple blunt force trauma, the Montour County Coroner’s Office said.
No charges have been filed. Centre County First Assistant District Attorney Joshua Andrews said the investigation is ongoing.
Derhammer said he thinks about his family and the crash daily. He’s experienced a mix of emotions when holding other newborns and infants, going as far as to say he’s sometimes “envious” of parents with young children.
He has not heard from the driver who rear-ended his pregnant wife, but hasn’t let that stop him from grieving the loss of what could have been.
Some days he feels ready to attack the world and then there are others when he said the grief “hits me so hard that I just barely get through a day.”
“There is no guide to figure out how to get through life with grief. It is your own. Everyone owns it their own way. It might hit you at home, when you’re driving, at work,” Derhammer said. “I’ve realized that the people who care most about you in life understands.”
Counted among those who have supported Derhammer are the more than 200 people who have purchased Koleton Cares merchandise and members of the Logan Fire Co., where he joined as a social member to show his appreciation for their assistance after the crash.
He’s also opened up to his faith more since the crash, saying he “truly couldn’t survive this without opening up my heart.” Kayte’s beloved dog Remi helps too.
“You at least give me a reason to have to get up, even if it’s just feeding you,” Derhammer told the dog while petting her.
Those who would like to get involved with the nonprofit once it becomes official can contact Derhammer through the nonprofit’s Facebook page or at koletoncares@gmail.com.
You can also help, Derhammer said, by heeding the phrase on the back of Koleton Cares’ sweatshirt: “Do good, be good.”
“There’s so much that I can take and spew anger out or hate or whatever it may be from all of this. That’s not what I want people to take away from my experience,” Derhammer said. “Even through trials and tribulations, there’s always going to be a way out.
“There’s always going to be a positive turn that you can make. You can always make sure that you approach something with kindness and love and it will most likely go your way.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2025 at 6:00 AM.