Carly Stowell: Wings of inspiration

"Wouldn't it be great if I was a caterpillar, because I could turn into a butterfly." — Carly Stowell, piano piece written at age 5

KENT -- Somewhere this Christmas Day, a busy butterfly flitters across the sky, delighting those treated to a glimpse.

Glorious and industrious, it never alights for long, eager to spread its wings and soar again.

This could be the spirit of Carly Stowell, the gifted girl who touched countless lives and sprinkled constant joy in her way-too-brief 14 years. Caring and giving, curious and generous, Carly never spent an instant in any isolated cocoon. She flew into everything with passion and purpose, particularly basketball and music.

And on this Christmas Day, she is missed. Most of all by her family -- parents Elena and Chuck, brothers Eason, 13, and Carson, 11 -- but also by the droves of others who knew her or of her, including her former Kentlake High School teammates.

But she will not be forgotten, those same people assure. Her legacy lives on in the Carly Stowell Foundation, created "to provide enhanced education in athletics and music to young people who demonstrate passion for learning and a commitment to excel," according to its mission statement.

Kentlake, where she would have been a sophomore this year, put on the first Carly Stowell Winter Classic girls basketball event last weekend, unveiling her photograph, framed No. 21 jersey and a memorial plaque that reads, "In honor of Carly Stowell, an artist on and off the court," all of which will be prominently placed under the gymnasium scoreboard.

It has been nearly 8 ½ months since Carly died of arrhythmia, five days shy of her 15th birthday on the eve of a national AAU basketball tournament in North Carolina. Many days are still agonizing for the family, particularly Elena, who shared a deep bond with her only daughter.

"There are still days where I just want to stay in bed," said Elena, still haunted by her unsuccessful efforts to revive Carly in their hotel room the night of April 12.

Christmas is her holiday, she admits, one always spent with Elena's family in California by prenuptial agreement, she and Chuck joke. It is a holiday filled with traditions, a day Elena eagerly anticipates with all of the patience of an 8-year-old. Except this year.

"I've had a whole bunch of anxiety about Christmas," Elena said Saturday, the day before the family's flight. "I'm glad to be getting away, but I know being there is going to bring back all kinds of memories. It's going to be really hard for me. ... Every time I think about putting up her stocking, I just can't do it."

Carly's bedroom door is still closed, undisturbed since her death. Some years, the Stowells don't bother with a live Christmas tree at home. This year, a 4-foot evergreen is snuggled in a corner, decorated with memories of Carly, including lots of butterflies. The tree-topper is a heart-shaped ornament with a photo of her spinning a basketball on her finger, wearing an impish grin.

It was a gift from Mike Caplin, Carly's former strength coach who flew from Chicago to attend Friday's ceremony at Kentlake.

"When she got that look in her eye, you knew you were in trouble," Caplin said, referring to Carly's playful side that sometimes meant a sneeze in the face for him.

Many deaths demand the question, "Why?" Carly's seems especially unfair. A straight-A student and musical prodigy with unlimited basketball potential, she was a well-rounded teenager who drew friends like a magnet. She made basketball fans out of band students and band fans out of basketball players.

"Carly personified the saying, 'One in a million,' " Kentlake coach Scott Simmons said in his tribute Friday between games, with Chuck and Elena clutching hands in the stands. "In nearly 10 years of teaching and coaching, I have never had a student or player like Carly Stowell ...

"All kids have dreams as they mature and grow up in life, but very few have the dedication and commitment to making that dream happen. Carly was one of those few people in this world what had the mentality to make the world move for her."

It was an emotional evening for Elena, who had been unable to force herself to attend a Kentlake game this season. Chuck, head of the Kentlake music department and pep band director, is a constant at the games, but the memories are still too fresh for Elena, who was an assistant coach and "team mom" for Carly's under-15 AAU team, the Emerald City Legends.

When the thought of entering the Kentlake gym seemed too much to bear, Elena drew on Carly's strength, as she often does.

"I kept saying, 'I can't do this, I can't do this,' " she said. "Then I told myself, 'You've got to stand tall for her.' "

And that's what she did last weekend, through an ocean of tears and dozens of heartfelt hugs from those who have missed her as much as they miss Carly. After she and Chuck were presented flowers and a basketball signed by the Kentlake players, Elena stepped toward the Falcons' bench and was enveloped by the team.

Kentlake has dedicated the season to Carly, who was the Kentlake varsity's co-MVP last season with fellow freshman Morganne Comstock. The loss is still painful, but no one shies away from mentioning her name.

"We talk about her a lot," said sophomore Dakota Sisco, who had known Carly since preschool.

Sisco and Comstock played with Carly on the Legends team that was devastated by her death on the eve of the Deep South Classic in Raleigh-Durham, N.C. Mo Hines, a former Nathan Hale High star who coached the team at the time, asked Elena and his players what they wanted to do about the tournament, and they agreed they should play.

"That's what Carly would have wanted," Sisco said.

Their play would have made Carly proud: They reached the bracket championship game. Elena couldn't watch. Amazingly, though, she and Chuck later agreed to take over the team when Hines was hired by June Daugherty as an assistant women's basketball coach at Washington State.

Elena almost had a panic attack the first time she walked into the Emerald City gym again, but she got through it, for Carly. Chuck, former head girls coach at Orting and previous assistant at Kent-Meridian, was the X's and O's guy. Elena, a former WSU volleyball player who once coached at Green River Community College and now teaches at Kentwood, was still the do-it-all team mom there for support and hugs.

And with each hug, she whispered, "Don't ever forget her."

Sisco and Comstock, among others, swear they never will, and they say they often feel Carly's presence on the court. Like the other Kentlake players, they wear basketball shoes with "21" on the back and "Remember" on top. Soon, "21" patches will be sewn on each uniform. One of Carly's favorite sayings was, "Do what you love; love what you do," something Elena recently had tattooed on her left calf.

Whether it was jazzing up a saxophone solo or juking out a basketball opponent, Carly never did anything half-speed. When she failed to make the starting lineup her first year with Hines' Legends team as a seventh-grader, she trained relentlessly and became the best player the next year.

"She worked harder than any kid I've ever coached, even in college," Hines said. "She was on her way to becoming a big-time player."

Carly always felt fortunate for the opportunities she had and didn't want other budding athletes and musicians to miss out, which is why the Stowells created the foundation in her name. Their vision is to someday build a South End training facility similar to Seattle's Emerald City Basketball Academy, but where athletics and music coexist. They already are helping sponsor five age-level basketball programs and Elena coaches the foundation's first volleyball team, all under the name "Jammin'," tying music and basketball together.

"We wanted to do something to honor her legacy and make sure something good came out of all of this," Elena said.

The pieces began falling into place so quickly that she calls it magical.

As magical as the brief butterfly life of Carly Stowell.

Sandy Ringer: 206-718-1512 or sringer@seattletimes.com