Kellen, In Memoriam
I received the word of Kellen’s passing at about midnight on Wednesday, April 21st. A mutual friend and ex-work companion messaged me through Facebook. She told me the details as she knew them and having just gone to bed I fell asleep knowing that I wouldn’t see my friend again. It was and always will be a bitter moment.
Kellen was a jolly down-to-earth sort of guy and one of the kindest humans I’ve ever met. He had an easy laugh and was quick with a joke. When you got one over on him, he’d give a deep, good-natured chuckle and wave you off with a scoff. Kellen was easy to talk to and would listen attentively, occasionally offering a word of advice, sympathy, or acceptance. I tend to drone on, but Kellen never showed boredom or impatience with me. He’d always smile and nod his head, with the occasional infectious laugh of approval.
My work friend.
I first met Kellen at RNI, a trucking company that hauled water to and the waste products from oil wells. We both worked in the office. He was in my department and had worked there for about two years when I met him. He knew his job well and got along with everybody in the office. He would often get to work in the mornings, only to be distracted with conversation and a joke or two. Our co-worker Kassie and Kellen would make funny quips back and forth, causing the entire room to laugh.
My first impression of Kellen was dubious. Who was this large, jovial man with this crazy pompadour hairdo? The answer soon answered itself. He was a kind, approachable fellow. He was always happy to answer my questions or chat about this and that after work and knew a good meal when he saw it.
As my tenure at RNI continued, Kellen soon became the office lunch guy. We’d place food orders several times a week, and Kellen would pick them up. He bought a gorgeous dark blue Chrysler 300 in early 2012. I think he used the lunch runs as an excuse to drive it. I can’t blame him. It was a nice car.
While visiting Price a few months after buying the vehicle, another car hit it in a Wal-Mart parking lot. His wrath was palpable and humorous. Even years after the fact, if you mentioned the Wal-Mart in Price, he’d enter a foam-at-the-mouth rant about the idiots that lived there.
Still, he visited Price often. His mother and sister lived there, and he’d go to see them frequently. I’ve never met his sister, but he always expressed a great fondness for her. He always seemed to enjoy his trips to Price or Salt Lake City to go shopping with them. When they visited him in Roosevelt, he was always excited and would plan out the meal he was cooking for them.
The other thing Kellen would talk about often was WoW (World of Warcraft). He’d talk about his character (a gnome warlock) and about the shenanigans that he and his guild would get up to each night, running dungeons and raids or just grinding for materials and reputation. After about ten months of Kellen talking about WoW, I caved and tried it out for myself. I played for a few weeks before revealing that I had started a character. Soon, Kellen had me join up with his guild, and I was leveling a paladin and running dungeons with him and a few of his closer guildmates. Playing WoW is also how I come to meet his brother Sonny, who played with him.
Kellen’s nick on WoW was Turk. A name that his brother would tease him. Kellen’s birthday had fallen on Thanksgiving, so the name was about that. He enjoyed being called Turk, and most of the people online called him that, including Sonny. Sonny would tease Kellen as any older brother would, and Kellen would just respond with an “Oh you!” Though he could give as good as he got.
Despite their ribbing, it was clear that Sonny and Kellen loved and would stand by each other. Kellen worried about Sonny a lot and hoped that his brother would be happy. It was pretty obvious Sonny felt the same way about Kellen.
I played with Kellen and his friends for about nine months, and then my computer had problems running the game. I picked up an inexpensive laptop about six months later and started up again, partly to play with Kellen and in part to play with my new Lady.
For Christmas, the year that I started playing WoW, Kellen gave me a fantastic gaming mouse I used until it stopped working altogether. My Lady and I would play off and on over the years after that initial game with Kellen. However, running characters with Kellen, Sonny, and the rest was some of the most fun I’ve had online gaming. I miss it.
After RNI and D&D
After we were both let go from RNI, Kellen and I kept in contact. Shortly after we were laid off, we started a D&D game with our old co-workers, Randy and Daniel. It was a fun game. Kellen was new to D&D, and Randy was a returning player. We forced Kellen into the pool at the deep end. Our first campaign was a great deal of fun. Daniel DMed for us, and Kellen played a wizard, I played a monk, and Randy played a ranger. Kellen and Randy’s characters were both killed by a dragon many sessions into the campaign. Their new characters were just shaping up before the game went on a permanent hiatus. Our first campaign lasted over a year, off and on.
When it ended few years went by, and we started a new game. This new game was exciting and fun. We gathered in Kellen’s basement every couple of weeks and donned our roles of warlocks and a barbarian. Our games were a chaotic mess and gave no end of grief to our DM Daniel. I don’t think we have any regrets, though.
The game went on Hiatus again after about six or seven months, thanks in part to Daniels workload. For about six months, we stopped playing, but in that time, Kellen became a regular customer for the online service I ran at the local grocery store. Nearly every week, he’d place an order, and I’d take it to him. He’d often be the last delivery of the day, and I’d take a few extra minutes to chat with him and catch up. Our visits were one of my favorite moments of that job.
While fulfilling the deliveries, I started a running joke about subbing out-of-stock items with pickled pigs’ feet. We had stopped carrying those culinary abominations some time ago, but the joke continued to amuse me. I’d text Kellen directly as I was doing the order to let him know about out of stocks and inform him I substituted the items with the pig’s feet. He’d protest adamantly and give me his thoughts on what the actual substitution should be. It wasn’t until several February 12th of this year that I finally fulfilled my plan, thanks to my replacement on the job, whom I let in on the joke early on. Kellen’s texts from that moment are fantastic! I’ll share them here.
D&D continued, and in early 2019 my co-worker (now ex-co-worker) David joined us and played several sessions before moving away to school. We had fits and starts for a few months, and then my Lady joined us playing a monk. She found the game fun, a lot more fun than she had expected, and was soon fitting right in with the group.
His willingness to try D&D was no real surprise. Kellen had a love for fantasy films, particularly Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit films. He’d often have them playing while I stopped with groceries, or we gather to play D&D. They had to have been his favorite movies, though I don’t remember him stating. Kellen would watch enthralled for a moment while we’d chat or laugh out loud at his favorite parts.
Farewell My Friend
I did not waste my time spent with Kellen. Whether it was at work, visiting with him through text or in person, or gaming, I always felt happier having spoken and spending time with him. Kellen was kind, attentive, and fun to be around. He came to my birthday party and 2019, and I’m sure he would have again if I were to invite him to the next one. My family (Lady, niece, and daughter) spent a fourth of July with Kellen and a few other folks in 2015. One of the last times I fully celebrated that day.
There’s so much more I could write about Kellen. His love of old cars and old houses. He had a collection of model-scale cars that were all around his house. Probably hundreds of them. His love of fishing and being up at the lakes. He loved Rockcreek, but he had a passion for the mountains. The love of his father, a man he admired and respected a great deal. He taught Kellen how to fish, hunt, and just love the outdoors.
Kellen was the kind of man that would give you food if you were hungry, a place to sleep if you were tired, and ease your mind with a conversation if you were stressed. There are few folks like him in the world. For him to be gone so young is more than a tragedy.
From now on, in my D&D games, there will be a fat, jovial dwarven in-keep, ready with a hot meal, some sage advice, and a hearty laugh. I think I may play some WoW again. Kellen, my friend, you will be missed.
