Keith Douglas Ohlendorf (1977-2004)
Our son Keith was an intelligent, wonderful, kind young man with a great sense of humor and fun. He was full of life, loved football, wrestling, politics, skiing, movies, comics, video games, good books, his sheltie Crystal, good friends, Emily and family. An accomplished ski racer at an early age, he used to taunt his Mom by skiing down the slop in front of her backwards, often on one ski. Avid Vikings fans and season ticket holders, Keith and his Dad enjoyed many games decked out in purple and gold. He even managed to drag his Dad to a couple of wrestling matches. A graduate of the University of Minnesota in film studies, Keith had a huge collection of DVDs and a vast knowledge of movies and pop culture. He managed a blog where he reviewed movies and other media and worked at Electronics Boutique. He planed to attend graduate school at UW Madison after his fiancée Emily finished law school.
Full of energy, Keith was a natural leader concerned for the safety and welfare of everyone. His philosophy carried over to his politics and he was a staunch member of the DFL party, assisting us in our roles as DFL party officers. He was a volunteer for Senator Paul Wellstone and according to Senator Wellstone, never missed an opportunity to lobby for more funding for NIH. Keith's name is on the DFL Wall of Fame.
Keith was a Quaker and believed that you must look for the good in everyone that is a reflection of their creator. His group of friends included all sorts of people representing different races, sexual orientations, backgrounds, faiths, social classes, ages and cultures. If he received a phone call from a friend in need at 1:15 am, Keith was out the door at 1:20 am. Holidays were always an adventure. We never knew how many people were coming for holiday dinner or how many dinners Keith would want to take to his friends who had to work that day. A close friend related a story about Keith demanding out of town friends be invited to a party. When told they could not possible come Keith replied, "They would want to be asked to know that they had been included". About 300 of those friends showed up for his funeral. He had 25 pall bearers (all were included) and a funeral procession that was over 12 blocks long.
