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The day before Father's Day, my colleague and occasional running
partner Peter Ostertag was involved in a serious biking accident during the “Flying Wheels”
bicycling event on June 18th. As a result of his accident Peter suffered
extensive damage to the areas of his brain that govern personality,
speech cognition, memory, and motor skills. He had remained comatose,
and had shown only minimal reflexive response since.
On the evening of June 29th, the Ostertag family decided to have
Peter removed from life support. This decision was made after lengthy
consultation with the neurologists who have been caring for him. The
feeling was that his prospects for recovery were extremely remote, and
that his quality of life would not be what he would want. It is
consistent with wishes Peter had expressed to his family and friends
prior to the accident.
Peter passed away peacefully at 4:36am on June 30th.
Peter was all about living a full and active life. In the brief time I
knew him, he taught me a lot about the power of determination in both
the athletic and professional worlds. The joy he derived from
pursuing his dreams, and including his family and friends in the
experience, was infectious and a great example to the rest of us.
We will miss him a great deal.
Peter's Celebration of Life held at the Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville
WA on August 12th. Peter's wife Trish, his father, his two
children, and some close friends paid tribute with moving words, music,
and pictures. His ashes were scattered the following morning on
Rattlesnake Ledge, in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains where Peter
spent lots of time.
Below are links to various articles about Peter, preserved here for
us to remember him with.
- A July 2, 2005 article from
the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
- The obituary written by the
family that appeared in the Seattle papers on July 8, 2005.
- The obituary that
appeared in the July 22, 2005 issue of the Micronews, the weekly
Microsoft employee newsletter.
-
The Runner Mumbles - newsletter of the Eastside Runners, Summer
2005 issue with memorial articles from friends, and one written by
Peter too.
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