A Son's gift

Roger Kellmann

1961-2009

20x16 oil on canvas

Last month I was contacted by the step-son of my fellow officer Roger who passed away in November of 2009. I had painted a small memorial piece back then. The son wanted to commission a piece for his mother (Roger's wife) as a gift during his surprise visit home during Thanksgiving. The son relayed that he grew up to love Roger as his own father. He was flying in from Germany where he was stationed serving in our Armed Forces. Since this was a spur of the moment trip, I only had two weeks to get the image and send proofs an changes back and forth to the son. In the end, I was honored to have been asked to be a part of a precious gift from such a loving and thoughtful man and Cindi is truly blessed to have the love of a special son. I told both Cindi and her son I wanted to capture Roger's twinkle in his eye. He always seemed to know something that amused him and he was a brilliant comet in our life. Hugs to all my friends and family during the holiday season and all through out the year.

Roger Kellmann 1961-2009

Roger Kellmann died last week and his funeral services were today. Roger was an all around good guy, good officer and great husband and dad. We were on the Hostage Negotiation Team together when I was working at the Department. Roger was also a CSI and a Field Training Officer. He died from suspected heart failure which is a common side affect of the job stresses. He will be missed.

8x10 oil on canvas