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Keith Schramm
April 13, 1950 - May 5, 2026
Keith was a dreamer, an equestrian, an actor, a boatsman, runner, a tinkerer, a brother, son, father, husband, and friend to many. He traded in wonder and tenderness, creating lasting memories with his beloved horse Tyzak, his son George, his boat the Sea-Love, his ex-wife Susan, and the list goes on.
He attended the University of Oregon and continued his schooling at Southern Oregon University in Ashland where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in General Studies in 1977. After graduating his focus shifted to the equine world, where he excelled in the art of dressage with his beloved Tyzak, his proficiency such that he qualified for the 1984 US Olympic team, and would have attended if not for Tyzak sustaining an unfortunate injury. His love of horses continued, however, and he became the eventing instructor at the Lake Oswego Hunt Club, where he was affectionately known as "Mr Hunt Club" for his presence and expertise there. He continued teaching and met Susan, a fellow instructor who ran the School Horse program, an equine program tending to aspiring riders. They married in 1989 and had a son, George, who along with Susan survives his memory.
Keith continued teaching and although the marriage didn't last, his love for his life and son and ex-wife did. In between instructing his students and running in 5k races, routinely topping out in his age group, he spent many curious hours rummaging through the cabinets of life with his son Goerge, tinkering with engines and electronics projects, inspiring his son the way his father did with him, to be curious. In later years he volunteered as a qualified EMT for the track program at Lake Oswego High School, where he also coached.
His health turned for the worse in his 60s, when the unfortunate cloud of dementia began its descent. Even in sickness, his kindness and softness always bore light and his character never wavered. Over the years his condition worsened, and he was moved to a care facility by his loved ones, where at the unfortunate age of 76 he succumbed to a fall which expedited his demise.
We remember with joy the light he cast upon the world, and his memory remains strong. His many friends and loved ones he touched throughout his life remember Keith and let him Rest in Peace.
Riverviewabbey.com
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Glenn Priest (1968)
Keith was a kind, generous, and loyal friend for the 60 years I knew him. Whether I had seen Keith recently or not, I knew he would do anything to help, support, save, or at least humor me. While I worked with SONY in multimedia education, the Oregon office was a repurposed bedroom in Keith’s home on Iron Mountain Blvd in Lake Oswego. And when I needed expert assistance for a complex installation, Keith was ready to help. Sally and I moved to Portland from Puget Sound just after Keith was admitted to the memory care facility. The move enabled us to visit Keith regularly as his illness progressed, including the day before he passed.
Keith’s son George hosted the memorial service for his father at the Riverview Abbey in Lake Oswego. A piece of his tribute, on its own a poignant poem about grief and the big love that carries us through it all, follows my notes. Several of Keith’s University of Oregon fraternity brothers offered up kind remembrances. The memorial was followed by a reception on a deck overlooking Lake Oswego, a few miles from the Lake Oswego Hunt Club, Keith’s second home and favorite haunt. More stories were told. Juli Mehl (now living in Bend, Oregon), Ian McNeill (Danville, California), and I brought a South Pasadena touch to Keith’s celebration.
Rest in peace, Keith. Glenn Priest (’68)
From George Schramm's comments at the memorial:
“First I want to say, I did not plan this recital of words. I did not think I needed this structure in a time of such immediacy. I never saw that in my father and I don’t feel it in his child’s body, but here I speak before you. The love of Keith Schramm has brought us here, a final homage for our friend. So here we sit. And we grieve. And we wet our eyes with remembrance, sadness of course, but most importantly love, and shared affection. He has affected us all, in his briny, willowed way. His footprint lives in all of us. I've been told many times his smile resides in mine, and I am grateful to be able to smile with you all today, even though at times it is muddled with tears…those tears hold so much more than the brine within them. They hold the memory of his gravity, the way he touched us all. A Superhero. I always understood him as my Superhero. Sometimes absent as the father, but always present as that hero.” - George Schramm -
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