Beaverton high school grad killed by swine flu

Father of Kris Kerstiens, a 25-year-old grad student, says vaccine could have saved him

By Rebecca Randall

The Forest Grove News-Times, Nov 12, 2009

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Kris Kerstiens, a Lewis & Clark College graduate student, died on Saturday, Oct. 31, of complications from a two-week battle with H1N1. He was 25 years old.

Kerstiens, of Portland, was admitted to a local hospital early last week with flu-like symptoms, and his condition developed into acute respiratory distress syndrome, which led to his death.

KPTV reported on Tuesday that his father, Kevin Kerstiens, said the vaccine could have saved his son’s life.

“You know, where was the vaccine? We knew about this one month ago. It hit in the spring,” he said.

A Facebook page was started Saturday soon after his death by his good friend Craig Galyon. More than 300 people have joined the group so far, offering their condolences.

Kerstiens graduated from Beaverton High School in 2003 and Oregon State University with a bachelor’s degree in history in 2008. He was in the master of arts teaching program at Lewis & Clark’s Graduate School of Education and Counseling. He planned on a career as a high school social studies teacher.

“In many ways, his peers thought of him as the ideal teacher,” his professor, Scott Fletcher, told KPTV. “There was a powerful discussion about how he affected their own preparation by knowing Kris and what we lost when he passed.”

The Lewis and Clark community responded on Monday with an e-mail to all staff and students. The counseling services and chapel provided support throughout the week.

“On behalf of the Lewis & Clark community, I am conveying our deepest sympathy to Kris’s family and offering any support we can provide in this time of grievous loss,” Interim President Jane Monnig Atkinson wrote in the e-mail.

A memorial is set for Saturday, Nov. 28, at Lewis & Clark College.