July 23, 1930 - April 13, 2025
Keith Christie, 94 of Algona, passed away Sunday, April 13, 2025, at the Good Samaritan Society in Algona. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, April 26 at 10 a.m. at the Algona Evangelical Free Church in Algona. Service will be live streamed via Lentz Funeral Home’s website. Interment will take place at River View Cemetery in Algona. Visitation will be held on Friday, April 25 from 5 until 7 p.m. at the Algona Evangelical Free Church in Algona. Services have been entrusted to Lentz Funeral Home of Algona. Online condolences may be left at www.lentzfuneralhome.com.
In honor of Keith, memorials may be directed towards the Kossuth County Care Team or the Algona Food Pantry.
Coach Christie has left the field for the final time.
Keith Christie passed away on Sunday, April 13, 2025, at the age of 94.
His beloved “home team” will miss him immensely. They include his four daughters: Jamie (Cal) Christensen, Kim (Tim) Fyfe, Lori Mineart and Julie (Mel) Elsberry, 15 grandchildren, 36 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren. Team members lost in previous seasons were his parents, a sister, a brother, his son-in-law Tony Mineart and the love of his life, his wife Eloise.
First quarter - “The early years”
Keith was born to Clarence and Bertha Christie on July 23, 1930, in Shenandoah and was the youngest of three children. His love of athletics began in childhood as he and his brother organized timed races around the block. While attending Shenandoah High School he participated in football, basketball and track, using a bamboo pole to compete in pole vault in the latter. He went on to play football through his college days at Hamline University and the University of Omaha, where he played alongside his older brother, Dick. After graduating and enlisting in the Air Force, he continued playing football on base until he was deployed to Italy for 18 months as a radio technician during the Korean War. Remarkably, he never broke a bone until two weeks before his death when he fell and shattered his shoulder.
Second quarter - “The home team”
It was in high school that Keith first noticed the beautiful Eloise at the local swimming pool and their relationship began. They were married on June 21, 1952, in their hometown of Shenandoah. She called him Chris and he called her Ellie, and their dedicated and steadfast marriage would endure for 71 years until Eloise’s death in 2023. They would often say that Eloise taught Keith to love music and he taught her to love athletics.
The early years of their marriage included several interstate moves, resulting in each of their four daughters being born in different states (Louisiana, Florida, Missouri and Iowa). In 1960, he accepted a job at Algona Community Schools as a teacher and coach, remaining there for the duration of his career. Each of their daughters brought different gifts and challenges to the home team. One of Keith’s challenges was sharing a single bathroom with five females. In the early years, Coach could be found shampooing the hair of four little girls on Saturday evenings in the kitchen sink, while his trusty assistant coach Eloise handled the pin curls and rollers.
Their family life tended to center around church and athletics. His daughters were so impressed that he was that guy out there coaching, and Eloise was always supportive and a Bulldog/Keith superfan.
3rd quarter - “Coach Christie”
Keith would remain a teacher for over 30 years in Algona, holding various positions. He found great fulfillment in connecting with his students at the time and for decades afterward. Coach Christie, as he was widely known, both assisted and led many different sports at various levels. He so enjoyed getting phone calls, letters and visits from former players and students, even as recently as a week before his death. He never lost the ability to recall with accuracy the details of games, individual statistics and athletic events from long ago, and loved reminiscing about them.
4th quarter - “Grandpa Christie”
During retirement, Keith and Eloise stayed very active in their church and community by volunteering for RSVP and the food pantry, among other places, and of course, remaining loyal Bulldog supporters. They timed their departure for the warmer climate of Arizona by the ending of the basketball seasons of granddaughters. Then, when other grandchildren moved to Florida, they spent some winter months there specifically during high school soccer seasons of those granddaughters. He connected with and supported many family members in their athletic endeavors.
For his grandchildren, seeing Grandpa meant being greeted with a strong hug, followed by rich conversations filled with true connection, love, laughter and words of encouragement. He was interested in their lives and they all felt it deeply.
Overtime - “Legacy”
After moving away from their longtime Elm Street home, Keith and Eloise became residents at Van Buren Terrace apartments in 2015. The relationships they had with fellow residents continued to sustain them, and they helped ease the loss of Ellie for Keith when she died in 2023. His death leaves a big hole for his dear friends there.
Enthusiasm for sports remained for the Christies in their later years. Keith enjoyed golfing as long as he was able to and together they tuned in to Iowa Hawkeye games, along with his Chicago Cubs. When Keith’s vision failed, an iPhone provided much necessary information, such as the time and sports scores and schedules. He asked Siri for the Cubs score not long before he went to sleep for the final time.
Keith needed a lot of assistance to remain living where he wanted to in his final years, and his family is beyond grateful for the care and love of his faithful caregiver Heather Kohlhaas.
Keith’s faith was central to his character and he sowed many seeds of faith throughout his life. He invested in people, and all who crossed his path can testify to the care and focused attention he gave them, asking about and remembering the details of their lives and families, even in the last two weeks of his life.
When Keith wrote his funeral service requests, this is how he asked to be remembered: “I enjoyed life and I enjoyed humor. I loved my family and my grandchildren and great-grandchildren deeply, and my wife beyond measure. Tell those at my funeral that I lived, I died, I live again and await each one of you.”