Following the death of a longtime Oklahoma Memorial Union Starbucks manager, those who knew him say he’ll be remembered for his strong passions and genuine care for others.
Chris Kaeser, a 2004 OU graduate who worked as a Housing and Food Services employee for over 15 years, died Jan. 7, 2022. His friends say he was a fixture at the university who brought light and humor into every setting he entered.
Kendra Tooman said she met Kaeser in the fall of 2017 during a job interview for The Bookmark. She was nervous about applying for the job, but she was comforted by Kaeser’s calm demeanor.
Though the two worked at different restaurants on campus, Tooman said she would see Kaeser for training every summer.
Kaeser was consistently kind and helpful, and Tooman said he made work fun. The two had sarcastic styles of humor that meshed well. Kaeser had a garden and would bring flowers for Tooman and her coworkers.
He was also the “king of coffee" and loved discussing the origins and tastes of different roasts, Tooman said. He hosted several coffee tastings in the Union that Tooman said she attended.
Director of Diversity Enrichment Programs Dorion Billups also met Kaeser in the fall of 2017 during a get-together at one of the OU volleyball coaches’ houses. Billups was a former team equipment manager, and Kaeser, who’d played intramural volleyball in college, had been a strong supporter of the program for years. Billups said he was immediately struck by the intentionality of his conversation with Kaeser.
“I think he's a very curious person,” Billups said. “And he just provides people the honor of when he's engaging with you, that's all that he's really doing.”
After their first meeting, the two’s relationship continued to revolve around volleyball. Billups said all the coaches had Kaeser’s number, and Kaeser would Facebook message him about changes on the volleyball team and coaching staff. He said he wasn’t ever sure how Kaeser got the information, but he appreciated it nonetheless.
The two also sat together at volleyball games, Billups said. He said neither were usually prone to cheering, but during one particularly intense game, he remembers both of them being fired up.
On a college campus that is always changing, Billups said Kaeser was a constant. Billups also said he’s typically a quiet person, and he always appreciated Kaeser’s perceptiveness in understanding that.
Billups said he believes Kaeser’s intense support for volleyball and ability to make newcomers on the team feel welcome will be part of his legacy.
“I think there's something to be said about how someone can, through all the years, kind of remain that steady presence,” Billups said. “And Chris certainly was able to do that with volleyball.”
