Daniel Ostlund

Daniel was an incredibly special man (yes, of course, I am biased). Gregarious. Smart. Witty. Gifted. Contemplative. Thoughtful. Loving. Fit. To look at him, you would have thought, as many people did, that he worked out hours a day, and was a contender for the healthiest, fittest man of the year! In many ways he was what he appeared to be- incredibly active, strong, athletic, energized and energizing. Yet, his heart health did not obviously match his outer fitness. He worked too much, too hard, too long. He loved to work, to see the result of his work, to share the products of his labors, to do for others. He was also the sort of person who loved to be the center of attention. He had myriad stories and jokes to tell to anyone of any age in any part of the world. Before I met him, he had traveled all over Australia, South American, and North America. During our time together we lived and worked in Asia and in the Midwest and traveled to various other places. He loved to travel not just to see the beauty of the world, but to experience new cultures, to meet and interact with new people in those cultures, to entertain children, to regale friends and strangers with his stories.

Daniel relished the smiles, the moments.

When we were living overseas, we often took the el train to various cultural and entertainment venues, as well as to parks, monuments, memorials, historical sights. The trains were generally filled with people of all ages, and mainly people who did not speak English- or spoke only choppy English. Daniel always had a bag of M&M’s in his shirt pocket to share with little children, if the parent gave the go-ahead nod. If the train were not too crowded, he would often pull out a long skinny balloon to blow up and twist into a dog or giraffe to the delight of the child. Daniel relished the smiles, the moments. He was not one to sit and look at his cell phone or read the paper on the el. He would do everything in his power to interact with people. He was so alive in the moment. He is so alive in my memories.

Daniel would do virtually anything to help another human being; he was filled with love for life and people. Even in death, he wanted to be of help to others. He had no reservations about being an organ, eye, and tissue donor. He wanted to help where he could. If his organ, eye, and tissue donation has is some way helped anyone or made things better for anyone in any way, he will surely be smiling from his place in heaven, happy to have been able to help.