Kellee Lynn DeWitt Carlson

My daughter Kellee was lost on November 11, 2004 due to the rupture of a brain aneurysm, causing a massive stroke. We were fortunate to be with her to the last breath and she was talking to us knowing our presence at her bedside. She was pronounced brain dead at 7:00 a.m.

She was happily married to Jay Carlson for over eleven years and he spoiled her more than I did.

She started working after one year of college, in a factory, which she hated for almost 12 years and then the “job of her lifetime” came along – a veterinary assistant at the Clyde Park Animal Clinic. She saved many animals during the six years there by begging the vets to do free surgeries on stray cats and dogs. I don’t think they made a profit during those years. Even her own family grew from one dog, Kramer, to three with the addition of two strays, Chestnut and Bobbie. She had one cat and went to three including two with feline leukemia, Princess Jellee and Charlie Bay. Kellee also had two rabbits, a bearded dragon, and two fish tanks. Kellee was a true animal lover, always convincing her father to stop hunting deer. She and her brother, Scott, loved each other very much. They would fight, make up, fight, make up, but they always made up.

Her stepfather of 23 years, Bob, would say he lost his daughter that day too.
Kellee was and is still my baby. I lost my daughter, my best friend, and my confidence and not having her around is devastating to all who loved her. She was the love of my life and I asked God to keep her in his memory and resurrect her to a new life.

And a special thanks to the Gift of Life people, who by their efforts, kept part of Kellee alive today by finding recipients for her organs. And thanks to Eric Beuker for making the night before surgery bearable with his tenderness and compassion by giving me a lock of her hair and letting me lay on the bed with her to hug her and feel her warmth. Kelle loved life and loved every day to the fullest. All of her family sadly miss her so much.

— Barbara DeWitt Hendges

She was my best friend.
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