Patrick Kutschbach grew from a boy with a devilish grin to become a leader, a father and a soldier, his friends and loved ones said Monday. "Patrick was exactly what he wanted to be," said his mother, Debbie Huffner. "He loved his country. He loved us. He was a good man." Kutschbach, 25, of Kennedy, a staff sergeant in the Army's 10th Special Forces Group and a Green Beret, was remembered and honored by friends and family in funeral services at his childhood church. He died Nov. 10 during combat operations in his first deployment to Afghanistan. Kutschbach was remembered in St. Louise de Marillac Church in Upper St. Clair, where he had been baptized, received his first Holy Communion and attended school for six years. It was where his 1-year-old son, Bastian, was baptized. The child's coos and cries punctuated his father's services. "Although we cry and we mourn, we smile when we hear that beautiful voice," the Rev. Tom Kredel said of the child. "We all hope and pray his life will be happy and wonderful." Kutschbach loved his country so much that he put his life on the line for it, Kredel said. "There never is a right time to die, especially for one so young," Kredel said. Kutschbach overcame obstacles in his life to grow into a leader, said Mike Marcionda, his volleyball coach at Montour High School, where Kutschbach graduated in 2000. The only thing greater than his sense of competition was his feeling of loyalty for this teammates. "Patrick was the fiercest competitor I've ever known," he said. "All of us loved Patrick. All I ask is you remember him every day," Marcionda said. "We have a new greatest generation." During the eulogies, Kutschbach's father, David, and his older brothers, Andrew and David, held on to each other. The siblings were close, the younger David said. "We went through a lot together to become the men that we are today," the brother said. "I loved him very much, and I'm going to miss him dearly." "I am humbled by your courage. You are my inspiration," said his father. "You are my hero. I love you, and I will miss you." The family has been grateful for an outpouring of support from the community, said Kutschbach's uncle, David Huffner. "Everybody wrapped their arms around the family this week," he said. Kutschbach asked to be buried at historic Bethel Cemetery in Bethel Park, near the grave of Army Sgt. Russell Kurtz, 22, of Bethel Park, whom he came to know in the military. Kurtz was killed in a February roadside bomb attack in Fallujah, Iraq. The cemetery also is the burial site of 14 Revolutionary War veterans.

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