KRISTINE ANN OKINS
July 18th, 1979, Wilmar, Minnesota - June 28th, 2005, Portland, Oregon.

Many moments of silence are being observed today in memory of Kris Okins.

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A year later and the stumbling onto an old email from her, or a photo, or something she made for me tucked away in old stuff, will tear me up.

A year ago today, little Kris passed away due to injuries received in an accident the day prior while on her bike messenger route downtown. She was surrounded by her sisters, boyfriend Billy and Portland friends.

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I met Kris in 1999 in Minneapolis. She was a student at the school I was attending. Later that fall we crossed paths again, resulting in a deal struck with her older sister Melissa, who inked a deal with the DDC Girlstuff Dept.

Over the next five years I got to know her well. A designer too, we always had something to rap about. We shared that. She’d visit in California, then Portland, finally moving herself out to Portland to join her sisters.

At her passing, the word is that she was “really getting somewhere” with her bike messenger gig. It’s not an easy business to break into these days. Competition is tough I hear. But, of course, ol’ Kris made it work for her, just like everything else in her life.

Been thinking about you a lot Kris…

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About Kris:
01. She was small, but with a big spirit.
02. She wore the tiniest, little jeans.
03. Very, very inquisitive, in all matters.
04. I had to limit her to “10 Questions A Day.”
05. Billy and Glen were her greatest boys.
06. She was amazingly frugal.
07. She loved all animals, big and small.
08. She wasn’t afraid to tell me to go to hell.
09. She was a good helper-outer that summer at Snowboarder Magazine.
10. She drove me completely crazy approximately 43 times.
11. She introduced me to Melissa.
12. She took her sweet ol’ time, no matter who was waiting.
13. She hopped a fuckin’ freighter in Minneapolis and rode it West. Wow.
14. She’d whip around Portland on her bike, real fast.
15. Crafty, all around.
16. Vegetarian, then vegan, then vegetarian, then vegan…something like that.
17. She could be downright stubborn. Her way or the highway.
18. She was handy with a needle and thread.
19. She was very thoughtful, and made amazing gifts.
20. Had a nice stack of records.
21. Had a full head of beautiful red hair.
22. Loved her family.
23. Took a mean photo.
24. Had great handwriting, using microscopic pens and pencils.
25. Is missed around here.

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A Kris set on Flickr.

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Kris’ boyfren Billy devoted his latest bicycle to her.

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I built her a little site for her the day she passed, for thoughts and condolences. It’s still on my site, albeit static.

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Some words about Kris at GravelTech.

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Just keep her in yer thoughts. We do.