Kimberly Young

From Frank Ortega '78:

I don't know where to begin to share my grief in discovering this belated news about one of my greatest friends, mentor and fellow student, Christian Kortlang. He had grown up in many places, as I had, and we got along instantly. It felt like being with a European friend, but in Kenosha, Wisconsin. When I was with him I felt I was in the company of someone like Rilke. Deep thinker, deep ideas, heart of a poet. He admired and respected Sister Virginia, and I would often hear them conversing in fluent German as intellectual equals. He was so generous in every way, and we had many adventures together while in high school, including driving from Kenosha to Ontario, Canada with his good friend Ron and myself during winter break--through snowstorms--in his little orange VW Bug, and then hiking with a week's worth of food to a remote cabin with no electricity or road to spend our "vacation" there. Though I wasn't drinking coffee yet, he sure was, and we would often meet at The Ranch after school and sit at the counter to discuss life, books, ideas and the world. He even loaned me his VW Bug so I could take a solo farewell driving tour of Wisconsin, visiting everyone I knew before I left for college. He embodied the motto of treating life as an adventure, and we have never given that up. None of us ever should. He remains an inspiration to me.

Happy Birthday Gary

Happy Birthday Peter!

Posted on: Apr 24, 2022 at 8:21 AM

Happy Birthday to my favorite paperboy. You disappeared from Facebook. Hope all is well.