The Fox Valley has lost a war hero – not the kind who fought the enemy with military prowess but who waged her battles with a fierce faith in God and a heart that beat with joy and compassion.
Rene Koehler, who filled a plane with desperately needed supplies and flew with them to war-torn Ukraine in 2022, died early Sunday morning at age 64 after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer.
Just a few months upon her return from this humanitarian adventure, which included volunteering in a refugee center near Liev, the Oswego woman was hit with that cruel diagnosis. But Rene faced this uphill climb with the same indomitable spirit that defined her, filling her days with smiles, prayers, good deeds and with adventures, especially after tests offered up hope that the disease had been halted.
Throughout this tumultuous medical journey, Rene continued to live life to the fullest. That included trips with her three adult sons – two of whom are in the military – and other loved ones, especially Vickie Drendel, an Edward Hospital nurse who was not only her beloved sister but also her BFF.
“She knew the value of time,” says Drendel. “She was hard to keep up with but always fun. She always had that next adventure to go to … someone to see, somewhere to go.”
And of course someone to help.
Whether it was raising money for a local homeless woman about to give birth or working for Crisis Response International – she volunteered at its base camp in Virginia even after her diagnosis – Rene was always championing for somebody’s cause.
In a beautiful tribute from Crisis Response International, Rene was acknowledged for her many deployments with this nonprofit, including hurricane relief efforts in Florida and most recently Hurricane Helene.
“To know Rene is to know a fighter. Resilient, selfless and deeply compassionate,” the post read in part. “She has walked through both beautiful and difficult seasons with a heart full of gratitude and trust in God.”
It was in March of 2022 that readers were introduced to Rene Koehler, who had gathered some 1,500 pounds of donated medical and other items from people in the Fox Valley to help people in war-ravaged Ukraine that were loaded onto a small airplane at Aurora Municipal Airport in Sugar Grove. One of her gifts, noted Vickie Drendel, was her sister’s remarkable ability to “connect people together.”
Indeed, a couple hundred of them gathered on that morning to cheer her on, applauding and waving as Rene and her cargo lifted into the sky on the first leg of a remarkable humanitarian flight that took her to New York and on to Krakow, Poland, with her final destination an old abandoned hospital in Ukraine being used as a haven for women and children after the Russian invasion of the country.
There, the single mom who enjoyed a career in sales that included 18 years with Nicor, did a little of everything: from repairing walls and ceilings to assisting with medical rounds to teaching English and Bible classes. But the message Rene wanted to send back to us was the remarkable gift she received from these Ukrainian citizens displaced by war but who continued to express so much joy and resilience.
Those characteristics can certainly be applied to Rene, even after getting that stage four cancer diagnosis not long after her return from Ukraine.
Her focus was on getting better, of course. Rene underwent chemotherapy and radical surgery, but she also tried to do all the things many of us put off because we always think we’ve got plenty more years left.
“Quality time would be an understatement,” insists Drendel, of the way her sister approached each day. Among their many adventures: a trip to Spain where the siblings enjoyed the city of Marbella that offered a medical treatment not available in the United States.
“Being told she had to go back on chemotherapy was devastating,” says Drendel. “She just loved her boys and loved her people. She loved life so much.”
That attitude was contagious. That’s why I relished every conversation with Rene, especially the sit-down we had in January of 2024 when she shared recent CAT-scan results showing no more evidence of pancreatic cancer, which has a five-year-survival rate of about 1% and had already hit her family hard.
If anyone deserved a miracle it was this woman. Yet, even after the disease returned, she remained ever so grateful for those 17 cancer-free months.
Rene was in the hospital on Palm Sunday. But the previous week, she and Vickie attended services at Resurrection Church in Oswego, where both were buoyed by the love and support that surrounded them. That night, says her sister, they “took a ride down Reservation Road with the convertible top down and stopped to get chips and guacamole,” then went back to Rene’s house to play games and enjoy the dinner Drendel’s husband Jon made for them.
Rene entered hospice care during Holy Week, a time when the faithful reflect not only on suffering but the hope that comes when we put trust in the Lord.
In addition to the nearly year-and-a-half reprieve she was given, Rene knew she was the recipient of Easter Sunday’s miracle. That deep faith is why loved ones prefer to say she passed “through the veil” separating this world from eternal life.
Rene had not spoken in days during this transitioning. While at her bedside Vickie kissed her sister’s face, reassuring her it was OK to let go and that soon she will see the face of Jesus.
“Clear as a bell,” recalls Vickie. Rene uttered her final two words: “I know.”
Editor’s Note: Visitation for Rene Kohler will be held at noon Thursday, April 16, until a funeral service at 4 p.m. at Dunn Family Funeral Home, 1801 S. Douglas Road in Oswego. Donations can be made to Crisis Response International.
dcrosby@tribpub.com
