Kyle Vernon Baumgarner died at age 45 at his residence in Mission Viejo, California on December 11, 2024. He was born August 28, 1979 in Duluth, Minnesota to Charles and Jackie Baumgarner.  The 3rd of four children, his siblings include Keith, Kevin and Krystal. His family moved to California shortly after he was born. From an early age, Kyle loved the water and excelled in both swimming and water polo. He got his first taste of water polo at age 9 when he joined a club in Placentia, CA. He played goalie until he turned 13 at which point his coaches moved him to the two-meter position, which suited him well. His "15 and under" club water polo team, ORCA, won 1st place at the National Junior Olympic Water Polo tournament in 1995. Kyle attended Villa Park High School where he was an All-American high school swimmer in sprinting events, along with being an All-American in water polo. As a junior in high school, he scored 116 goals and was an All-Southern Section Division I first-team selection. His 50 free time was among the top 3 fastest in the country. Kyle lettered four years in both water polo and swimming in high school. He earned All-Century League and All-CIF honors four times, including two Player of the Year awards.  He was a three-time All-Orange County and All-Southern California selection, two-time NISCA All-American and three-time California/Hawaii All-American. He captained Villa Park squad twice earning Best Defensive Player and MVP honors including being named Freshman MVP.  He set school records for career goals (340) and ejections drawn (116). A five time Junior Olympic All-American, he helped his team to championships in 1995 and 1997 and played on the U.S. Junior National Team in the 1998 Pan-Am Games in Havana, Cuba.  In college, Kyle won two consecutive national championships for UCLA in water polo, playing driver or attacker in the water with scoring being his main job.

After attending UCLA, he lived for several years in Iowa where he worked in construction and carpentry and became a volunteer assistant water polo coach at the University of Iowa. He also lived a few years in Washington where he worked as the lead carpenter at Bonhoeffer Botanical Gardens in Stanwood.  He became a security officer for Securitas Critical Infrastructure Services in California in 2017 where he obtained several levels of security clearance. In 2018, he was awarded SCIS Security Officer of the Quarter. In 2023, he began working part-time as a water polo referee for school and club games. He worked in both security and water polo refereeing until his death.

Kyle was deeply passionate about minerals and rocks. His expertise in mineralogy allowed him to identify even the rarest and most obscure samples with precision. He could often be found combing riverbeds, quarries, and other natural sites always on the hunt for new and interesting finds.  In addition to his passion for geology, Kyle had an equally fervent fascination with chemistry. He collected nearly every element in the periodic table and enjoyed conducting experiments.

Kyle was very generous and sought opportunities to bless others with his resources. He would often give money, gifts and birthday presents to neighbors, friends and family. The last person to have seen him before his death was his gardener whom he generously tipped for the Christmas season. The greatest source of happiness in his life was his 9 year old son, Orion. Kyle's life revolved around him. When Orion was just 3 years old, Kyle started a college savings plan for him which he contributed to monthly until his death. He desired Orion to be well-educated and a good man, husband and father living life to its fullest in taking advantage of life's many unique opportunities. Preceding him in death was his brother, Keith. Kyle is survived by his son (Orion), mother (Jackie), father (Charles), brother (Kevin), sister (Krystal), 3 nieces and 2 nephews.