Darby McNamara was well-known in the community. He was an avid athlete, a talented artist and had an excellent sense of humor. It was his dream to go to culinary school and become a chef, having worked in the Steamboat Springs restaurant scene for a number of years. But on July 4, 2010, at age 21, he took his own life.
In school, he had been labeled a “problem child” and a behavioral issue. He became addicted to drugs and alcohol in middle school, and he was diagnosed with ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. There hadn’t really been talk of depression, which his older sister Meghan McNamara said seemed to exacerbate most of his issues, which she said started in childhood.