
Oath Keepers is saddened by the passing of our beloved corporate Secretary, Michelle Ketrow. As a lifetime member in Oath Keepers, Michelle remained loyal to our mission until cancer took her from us on Tuesday morning, January 04, 2011.
Michelle died peacefully in her sleep, having fought bravely against the cancer for months. We are told by her mother that she had a peaceful and restful look on her face. She had been released from a hospital to a hospice, and finally to her home, where family and friends were with her constantly.
But Michelle’s greatest strength, her courage and her resolution, was bolstered by a U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam veteran, our corporate Attorney and Board member, the honorable David Rivers, who loved Michelle in a special way. David took close care of Michelle as she fought the illness, and all of the Board of Directors was aware of Michelle’s and David’s love for each other.
I personally got to meet Michelle, along with David, at the July, 2010, Oath Keepers Board conference in Bozeman, Montana, and my memories of Michelle shall always feature their happy faces as they toured the mountains and valleys of southwest Montana with the rest of the Board. They had an enviable happiness, which was contagious and uplifting for all who knew them.
Oath Keepers is a tightly-knit family, and those of us who live in Las Vegas were busy helping make Michelle comfortable. An outstanding role in that care-giving was delivered by Dave Freeman, who took steps to make sure everything was taken care of for Michelle day by day. Dave visited her often, and it was he who would present to Michelle the various honors Oath Keepers offered to her – gifts from Oath Keepers and from the organization as a whole.
Michelle Ketrow was a true Patriot who honored the Oath and gave her all for our organization’s mission. We at the Board are broken-hearted in losing Michelle, and we are standing with David Rivers to console him in this moment of supreme loss.