Wafflehead_Fred Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 It is with a heavy heart that I must tell everyone that Ken Kurowski, aka milehiiu, passed away Monday, December 14th, 2020. He fell down the basement stairs of his home and hit his head, rendering him unconscious and hemorrhaging in his brain. Medics from the fire station were only a couple minutes from his home and were able to get to him quickly. He was immediately sent to the hospital for operation, but they were not able to save him. He was pronounced dead around 7 PM MT. He was 74 years old. I had spoken to him only hours earlier. He asked how the job hunt was going, if I liked the Lou Malnati’s pizzas he had sent to me, if my girlfriend (a nurse) was going to get the COVID vaccine this week… nothing about him, just concerned about everyone else. Then we discussed the basketball team, the OT loss to FSU and how they were looking this year. I never imagined that would be the last conversation we would have… I suppose not very often you do. I've debated how much to write on this topic as he and I were close and it would just end up getting lengthy, but I’ve decided to keep it relatively short and focus on what this online community meant to him. I used to be heavily involved in our online community from about 2008-2014, migrating with everyone from site to site, but seeing the same ‘ole handles with a growing number of new ones gave a semblance of community. milehiiu was always there and had been long before me. He was a pillar of our online community and I can’t begin to tell you how important this community was for him. I would spend holidays with him and his family and would occasionally stop over after work to watch an IU game with him as my work was close to his home. My life has gotten busier so my dedication to posting on the site(s) has diminished considerably, but every time we’d see each other, he always asked if I had logged in lately and had I seen such and such posting. Generally, the answer would be no, and he was always delighted to fill me in on whatever he believed I missed. And before I’d leave his house, he would always ask if I could log in and post something as he told me that it would mean a lot to him and to the board (some of you older posters who know me). He was upbeat, cheerful and always ready to talk anything IU, definitely anything IU BB, and he was always proud of this board and the community it had become. To anyone interested, I am putting together a fundraising campaign for his wife. Not only has she lost her partner, but also his retirement income and is now saddled with hospital bills. Mods, please let me know if I can provide details in a post or if it’s something that needs to be communicated through direct messaging. I’m more than happy to abide by the rules of the board. GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ken-kurowski?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1 If anyone wishes to send his wife and family a card, she has given me permission to provide the address: Jo Kurowski 5778 S. Kenton St. Englewood, CO 80111 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IU Scott Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 What horrible news and my prayers with his family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stlboiler23 Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 Omg that’s terrible. RIP Mile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parakeet Jones Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 I am gutted. I can’t say anything else right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosierinbham Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 So sad to hear. Always loved the passion he had for this board and IU. Prayers for his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lostin76 Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 All I could hope for as I clicked on this link was that it was a typo or a joke. Couldn’t imagine the subject line being true. Fred, I am so sorry. This must have been hard to write. Am just stunned and so sad. What a sweet guy he was. His enthusiasm and goodwill towards everyone always came through in every single post. Man, I f@*#ing hate 2020. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosier_exotics Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 At a loss for words. Unbelievably sad news Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IU Scott Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 He made everyone feel welcome to this board and never had a bad thing to say about anyone. This should put things in perspective that you never know when your time comes. I guess this shows that what we discuss on here or what we argue about is not important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach McDingle Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 I never met him but I will genuinely miss him. He sent me a PM once when on the old board after I posted about my acceptance to IU. He was very kind and always upbeat in his posts. I will pray for him and his family. Extremely sad news. Live your life to the fullest and try to have some love and compassion for those around you. RIP MILEHIIU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 Shock is all I can feel right now. He was a genuinely nice man. My heart goes out to his family and friends... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgambill Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 I thought 2020 couldn’t get any worse. Just prayers and prayers to his family. Losing a love one is the hardest thing....losing them over the holidays is almost too much to imagine. Thank you for letting us all know and for being a friend to him and his family. From all of us to his family please send our condolences! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IU Scott Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 I think it is time to go into hibernation until this pandemic is over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluegrassIU Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 I have no words. HSN, we have lost two pillars to our community in a short period. Eric and Ken LOVED HSN. Let's carry on in their honor. HSN, I love this community. RIP mile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
13th&Jackson Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 Unbelievably tragic. First CC and now Mile. Mile was such a welcoming person. RIP. Prayers to his family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inequality Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 Completely heartbroken 💔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go_iu_bb Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 I only knew him from his posts on this board but he seemed like a kind, welcoming guy who loved IU. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OLDIUFAN Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 This is terrible news! RIP Mile! I always read his post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuhoo Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 Bluegrass just notified the BtownBanners board. Incredibly sad news. Ken was a gracious man to his very core, and an unparalleled IU fan. RIP to one of the greats. In Ken’s honor, treat every day as a special one, every friend as a cherished treasure, and every IU game as a joy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H00sier Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 Damn, surprised and saddened to hear this, no doubt the “pillars” that have made this and the previous two forums have been weakened. Condolences to his wife/gf and family, and to all of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluegrassIU Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 1 minute ago, H00sier said: Damn, surprised and saddened to hear this, no doubt the “pillars” that have made this and the previous two forums have been weakened. Condolences to his wife/gf and family, and to all of us. Ken and Eric would both tell us our members are the true pillars. They are correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefftheref Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 I am heartbroken 😭. I have know Ken for such a long time and pm'd with him quite often. I had an open invitation to his home but I was never able to make it out there Condolences to his family and friends. Mile, I loved you my friend! You are irreplaceable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loviubb Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 THIS YEAR CAN NOT END SOON ENOUGH!!! WE HAVE LOST 2 OF THE BEST!!! SO SAD!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IU Scott Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 4 minutes ago, bluegrassIU said: Ken and Eric would both tell us our members are the true pillars. They are correct. Without those two this board wouldn't have survived all the moves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsidehoosier Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 His family is in my thoughts and prayers. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FritzIam4IU Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 This is just terrible news. I think Mile was the first one to welcome me on the old board (last board). He always made everyone feel welcome and had such a positive energy about him. My condolences to his family and friends, both online and in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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