Kevin Kooistra died on December 16th 2024 in the early morning hours. He was a great supporter of Billings TrailNet and often volunteered as a photographer at Ales for Trails, Tour de Fleur and other events. For those of you who did not know Kevin, here’s a brief account of how he impacted the life of one of our Board members …

 Kevin was my friend … and I miss him. 

 Kevin was always up for an adventure … or at the very least talk about adventure. If you know Kevin at all, you know that you should probably set aside an hour or so if you decided to stop by for a chat. Not don’t worry. It’ll be entertaining. Most of his stories had hints of history in them as well as a little self-deprecating humor. If you aren’t careful, you’re bound to learn some new tidbit about a particular bit of Montana landscape while you laugh. Later, after our children were grown, Kevin remained my go-to guy to find odd bits of Americana if I was traveling in the state … like the Ringing Rocks by Whitehall … a place where he encouraged me to make music (they sound like chimes) by hitting the rocks with hammers that he conveniently had in the trunk of his car (really!). Apparently it is only one of two areas in the US where this phenomenon occurs (example of a Kevin tidbit). We stopped there one year on our way to the Butte Folk Festival (another Kevin find). The trip over was almost as good as the Festival. Kevin regaled us with tales of his Montana Inauguaral Snipe Hunt when he first arrived in Bozeman. He is the only person I have ever known who not only went on a Snipe Hunt, but also went back out after his initial failure to secure the elusive Snipe because he refused to give up trying to catch a beast that was obviously so gullible that it could normally be captured so easily. 

 Fortunately, Kevin loved to take photos and most of his adventures are fully documented. His unique outlook on life served him well in his photographic endeavors. His perspective and fascination with people gave me a window into his latest doings and I’d often live vicariously through his pictures when I was stuck at home and he was out and about. It was also one of the reasons he was often recruited to be a photographer at Billings TrailNet events. In fact, many of the early Tour de Fleur photos that you see on our website are thanks to his keen eye. 

 We lost a good one!

 I still find myself thinking I need to stop by his house on Avenue B, sit on the porch and catch up. I know that I often still refer to him in the present tense … because his presence still feels so real to me. He was at the top of his game … he loved history and was in the enviable position of having his passion define his job instead of having a job that defined his life … and he spent his free time either with his family or adventuring with the woman he deeply loved. 

 He is my friend … and I miss him …

Written by Kevin Odenthal  

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