"Ollie and Me...May 2010..."

Orville Krahenbuhl 1917-2010

Orville "Ollie" Krahenbuhl, 92, of DeKalb, Ill.,

passed away Wednesday, June 23, 2010,

at DeKalb County Rehab & Nursing Center, DeKalb.

He was born July 8, 1917,

on a farm near Bristol, Ill.,

the eldest son

of John and Gertrude (Gittleson) Krahenbuhl.

He married his college sweetheart, Lillian,

on Sept. 19, 1942,

at Calvary Lutheran Church in rural Lee.

They were married for almost 65 years

before her death in 2007.

Ollie was a graduate of Rochelle High School, Class of 1937.

He also was a graduate

of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

Ollie, a three-sport star for Northern Illinois

from 1937-41

who was inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame

in 1985.

Krahenbuhl earned 11 letters in football,

men's basketball and baseball for the Huskies,

playing for

legendary Huskies' football head coach

George "Chick" Evans.

A fullback and punter for the

Northern Illinois football team,

Krahenbuhl was named

to the "Next 100" of the Huskies' All-Century Team.

He was a first team Little 19 Conference fullback

in 1938 and 1940,

helping the 1938 squad to its first Little 19 Conference title.

Krahenbuhl still owns

two of the longest punts in Northern Illinois history

as his 90-yard boot versus Illinois State

in the game that would decide the Little 19 title

stands as the second-longest punt in school history.

His punting was said to be a key factor

in the Huskies' 2-0 victory that day.

He added an 80-yard punt versus Central Michigan

in 1940

which ranks third on the all-time list.
The four Huskie football teams Krahenbuhl played on

posted a combined record of 20-8-5

and

never had a losing season.
"Ollie Krahenbuhl is the greatest punter I ever saw,"

Evans told the DeKalb Daily Chronicle

in 1968.
Krahenbuhl also earned

a Little 19 Conference Championship

on the basketball court as a member of the 1940-41

Huskie hoops team

under head coach Ralph McKinzie.

That squad won the league crown

with a 15-3 record

with Krahenbuhl serving as the team's co-captain.

In his three years as a basketball letter winner,

his NIU teams never had a losing season.

The 6-0 guard was named to

Northern Illinois' All-Century Basketball Team

in 2001.
Krahenbuhl was also a four-year letter winner

in baseball from 1938-41,

with the team's most successful season

during his tenure in 1940 with a 14-12 record.
Ollie served in the Navy and the Army in WW II.

Following the war,

he returned to the area and served as athletic director

and coached four varsity sports

at Harlem High School in Rockford

and was a coach and teacher at

Shabbona High and Malta High Schools

while also running his family farm

near Lee and Steward, Illinois.

An avid golfer,

he was a longtime member of Kishwaukee Country Club,

as well as the

American Legion and Rotary International.
He was a longtime member of Calvary Lutheran Church,

teaching Sunday School,

holding a position on its Administrative Board

and serving for many years as an usher.

He and his wife, Lillian,

traveled widely around the United States,

often on visits to or for activities involving their children and grandchildren.

They spent their winters in Arizona from 1981-2001.

He is survived by his five children,

Gary (Richey) Krahenbuhl of Tempe, Ariz.,

James (Jean) Krahenbuhl of Earp, Calif.,

Scott (Peg) Krahenbuhl of Surprise, Ariz.,

Debra (Jan) Hueber of Steward and

Doug (Sue) Krahenbuhl of Steamboat Springs, Colo.;

15 grandchildren;

16 great-grandchildren;

and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Lillian;

his parents;

and his brother, Eugene.

♥

An emergency flight to Illinois the evening of

June 22nd

landed us well after midnight

but

enabled us to see Ollie and be with him

in his last hours.

We felt very, very blessed.

♥

Yesterday would have been Ollie's

93rd birthday.

We celebrated it with smiles and tears of joy

but also

with a big hole in our hearts.

I absolutely know he was smiling down on us

"with love from above".

♥
"Perhaps they are not stars,

but rather openings in heaven where the love

of our lost ones

pours through and shines down upon us

to let us know they are happy."
~Eskimo Proverb