Remembering Kristy
Kristyanne DeVries, née Beenfeldt, was born on January 11th, 1950 in Glendale, California, joining older brother Eric as the second child of Barbara and Earl Beenfeldt. From a young age “Kitty” demonstrated a love of animals that would last a lifetime. Horses were her particular favorite, and the stable her happy place, where she would spend hours training, grooming, and riding her beloved horses over the years.
The family moved to New Jersey where as a teenager the blond beauty participated in equestrian competitions and was a member of her high school cheerleading squad. Young Kristy dreamt of being a wife and mother, and in her early 20s married Michael Sprinker, whom she’d met while completing her bachelor’s degree in English at Northwestern University.
The marriage, however, was tumultuous. Despite her deep desire to be a mother the pair never had children, and after many trials and tribulations, decided to divorce. Kristy, then in her early 40s, found “a little apartment and a job” at OHSU, and settled into what she thought would be the rest of her life. “I thought my life was over, I really did,” she would later say. Little did she know much of the best was yet to come.
It was during this period that Kristy’s niece Megan found her way from Maine to her Aunt "Kit's" doorstep. The two would go on to develop a close-knit bond, with Kristy becoming a loving mentor to Megan, and later a doting great-aunt to Megan's son, Max and as well as her nephew Dan's boys, Ren and Kai. After never having had children of her own, "Kit" found herself madly in love with being an aunt.
And love would strike Kristy again, this time in a most unusual of places - the emergency department at OHSU. It was there that the then registrar met a "tall, handsome" former paramedic-turned-emergency communications specialist named Dirk DeVries. Never one to back away from a challenge, Kristy flirted her way into the unsuspecting Dirk's heart, until eventually the two became one at a small civil ceremony on March 19th, 1999. After a challenging and unhappy first marriage, Kristy often marveled out loud at how fortunate she felt to have met and married Dirk, whom she considered her "best friend" and the love of her life. It was with Dirk that Kristy realized her dream of owning a home in the country with space for the horses, and in early 2000 the couple made their homestead on a few acre plot in Amity, OR.
For a woman who had never intended to have a career outside the home, Kristy happened upon one that suited her greatly. After joining Dirk in the Emergency Communications Center (ECC), Kristy went on to codify the center's standard operating procedures and taught herself to code in order to create the intricate database that would become the backbone of the ECC. Along the way, she also collected additional degrees in Electrical Engineering and Statistics.
On the windy evening of December 21st, 2015, Kristy was driving to work when her compact car was hit head on at highway speed. She was transported to OHSU where despite the valiant efforts of her heartbroken colleagues, Kristy died in the emergency department she had been an integral part of for 25 years. She was a couple of weeks shy of her 66th birthday, and 6 shifts away from retirement. Winter Solstice was in fact the darkest day of the year for those who knew and loved her.
Kristyanne DeVries was smart, tenacious, genuine and hardworking. She was kind, youthful, and generous, and whole-heartedly encouraged others to make the most of their days and chase their ambitions. In the wake of her death colleagues would exchange stories that often ended with the phrase, “Kristy was such a badass!” and chuckled that they could hear her chiding their tears, saying “Oh, stop it now, all of you!” with her sparkling laughter.
She was a feminist, vegetarian, animal rights advocate who loved gardening, chocolate, and CrossFit. Most of all of however, Kristy was a devoted wife, daughter and sister, and an adoring aunt who loved her family best of all. As her husband likes to joke, “She loved her horses, but I think I was her favorite animal.” Kristy is survived by husband Dirk DeVries, niece Megan Orton, her husband Mark and their son Max, nephew Dan Ericson, his wife Nanae and their sons Ren and Kai, and her horses, Darcey and Flicka.
Celebration of Life
A memorial service honoring Kristyanne DeVries was held March 19th, 2016 in the BICC Gallery at OHSU. There ceremony, lead by Rev. Katherine Jesch, included a live musical performance by Kristy's neice and nephew-in-law, Megan and Mark Orton, a moving eulogy written by Megan and read by Denise Delehant, and original poems by Rolf DeVries and Mary Kloety.
Approximately 75 people - family, friends, fellow equestrians, Mcminnville CrossFitters, and dozens of past and present OHSU colleagues - gathered to mourn Kristy's loss and celebrate her life and lasting legacy.
"For Kristy" - Written by Mary Kloety
On December twenty first, winter solstice,
The longest night of the year,
A light was extinguished, tragically
A life taken from us too soon, far too soon
For no good reason.
We lost a good friend,
A part of ourselves that night
A beacon,
A shining star by whose light
We could see who we really are.
It gives me a small measure of comfort
To think that the eternal part of her
Has been transformed
From a shining star brightening our lives
Into a shining star in truth.
Though she would likely disagree,
I like to think she is still there, somewhere,
Remote but still burning bright
Keeping silent watch over all of us,
Guiding us still.
And I, for one, in my darkest hours
Will look to the sky, look to the stars,
I will look for her light
And I will remember
Rest easy, Kristy,
You are loved and greatly missed.
3/15/2016
