Michael Keith had a unique ability to converse with anyone. Whether he was talking shop while trading police patches in Bermuda or helping a stranger-turned-friend with directions in Washington DC, he had the gift of gab.

“He could walk up to a stranger and give them a hug like he knew them for 20 years,” Michael Keith’s daughter, Mandy, said. “No matter what he was going through, he always had a smile on his face, and it lit up the room.”

While Michael Keith’s son, Kevin, admired his father’s outgoing nature, he said his father bordered on being “too personable” and was sometimes oblivious to social cues.

“He would make conversation with people, but there were times people didn’t want to talk, and the concept of personal space never really connected in his brain,” Kevin said. “I always had to be on guard so I could turn around and be like, ‘I don’t know this guy!’”

Mandy remembers being mortified during a class trip to the FBI building where her father was giving tours.

“When we pulled up on the bus, I texted him that we were there. He comes up on the bus in full police uniform, rips me out of my seat and drags me off the bus in handcuffs. I’m full flush red embarrassed, and everybody’s looking at me,” Mandy said. “That was my dad. There’s never going to be another Michael Fultz!”

Despite the embarrassment, Mandy and Kevin loved their father’s goofy personality and the fact that he did not take things too seriously. They also enjoyed eating their father’s culinary creations – particularly chili, lasagna and hot dogs with sauerkraut – and accompanying him to a buffet was a special experience.

“The man could eat! When we went to a buffet, we would take two cars because we would get tired of waiting three hours for him to finish,” Michael Keith’s wife, Pam, said. “I swear Chesapeake Bay Seafood House closed because he ate them out of business!”

Michael Keith’s weapon of choice while making a dent at buffets was a salt shaker, and “if he did not see white on his food, then it wasn’t enough,” Pam said.

Perhaps the salt enhanced his beautiful voice. It was a frequent occurrence for Michael Keith’s family to hear him sing songs loudly and on repeat – especially Adele’s “Hello.” He sang in a barbershop chorus and met Pam through the Alexandria Harmonizers, where her father was the director. He was talented enough to sing all parts in a quartet – tenor, lead, baritone and bass – but he especially enjoyed hitting the high notes. Michael Keith was honored to sing “Butterfly Kisses” at Mandy’s wedding.

Also powerful was Michael Keith’s contribution as a police officer. He retired in 2008 after 25 years of service, where his generosity was on display through his work and his everyday interactions.

“There was a hot dog stand ran by a homeless couple, and instead of accepting the free drinks they tried to give him because he was a police officer, he would always make sure they had coffee money, and he would buy them food,” Mandy said.

And then there was the time he made a prom experience one to remember.

“Two young ladies were going to prom together but didn’t have dates. Mike offered to chauffeur them. He dressed up in his tux and drove them in a fancy car to the dance. He made a big production of getting out and opening the doors for them,” Pam said. “I’m sure the girls have fond memories from that.”

Michael Keith was popular among Mandy’s friends, especially when he played hair stylist.

“He’d do my hair in a million teeny tiny braids, and then he would pick me up, hang me upside down by my feet and spin me around. We called it my spider ‘do. My friends would be like, ‘Mr. Fultz, can we have spider ‘dos?’ He would braid everyone’s hair, flip us upside down and swing us back and forth until his knees couldn’t take it anymore,” Mandy said.

His popularity continued with Mandy’s children, Skylar and Ian, who loved their grandfather’s Eskimo kisses, tickling and the infamous claw, which would make them take cover and scream with delight. Michael Keith could often be seen rolling around on the floor with the kids, which sometimes made Mandy second guess that her father was, in fact, in his 50s.

Michael Keith’s family holds onto the memories, especially when they think back to April 2016. Michael Keith was riding his bike and was struck by a distracted driver.

Kevin was in second period physics class when he was unexpectedly called to the office. He knew something was wrong. When Pam told Kevin that his father was in the hospital, his mind went back to earlier that morning when he and his father exchanged the “I love you” gesture in sign language. On the drive to the hospital, Kevin texted family and friends asking them to pray for his father. Mandy dropped everything to make the trek from Maryland to Ohio.

When they arrived at Miami Valley Hospital, a physician took Michael Keith’s family to “a little side room, so we knew the news was not going to be good,” Kevin said. On April 15, 2016, Michael Keith passed away. In his last act of service, he gave the gift of life through organ, eye and tissue donation. During his honor walk, police officers were present to give him a final salute.

“The nurses at Miami Valley Hospital and the staff at Life Connection of Ohio were very gentle, kind, caring and compassionate. I can never say enough good things,” Pam said.

Getting used to life without Michael Keith was painfully difficult.

“The nights were the hardest because they were quiet,” Pam said.

If Pam slept on her side of the bed, it felt too empty, so she surrounded herself with numerous pillows and slept in the middle. She had to get a second job and found YouTube videos that taught her how to power wash a deck, fix a leaky sink and unclog a garbage disposal – tasks previously handled by her husband.

“We get home, and there’s one less person in the house. We were struggling. We were sad all the time. I went through a period of time where I was really mad that my dad died, and I felt like there was nothing to celebrate,” Kevin said. “But then we got involved with Life Connection of Ohio and realized the good things that came from organ donation. We felt welcomed and understood and cared for. We could really feel the love, and that was big for us.”

Pam said she joined Life Connection of Ohio’s volunteer family to “force me to get out and not stay at home depressed.”

Michael Keith’s decision to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor inspired Mandy to do the same. The first birthday she had after her father passed, she went to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and changed her donation status to “yes” in his honor.

The magnitude of what that “yes” meant was evident for Pam and Kevin at the 2018 Donate Life Transplant Games of America, an Olympic-style competition for transplant recipients.

“Thinking about walking in the stadium still gives me chills. A team was holding a ‘thank you, donor families’ banner. Watching these recipients live their best lives thanks to transplantation is just amazing and brings such a sense of peace,” Pam said.

Kevin experienced a similar feeling at the Games.

“There is something that will always stick with me. There was a guy bawling his eyes out when we walked in the stadium. He was yelling, ‘Thank you! You saved my life!’ That put everything in a different perspective for me. Instead of me losing my dad, I realized someone was able to gain something. In that moment, I could turn the lens around,” Kevin said.

Kevin is proud of his father’s donation decision and that he made his wishes known.

“That meant we didn’t have to deal with the burden of making the decision at the hospital,” Kevin said. “At the end of the day, it makes me feel proud and it’s something to lean on because I know that there’s part of my dad that’s still alive. Thinking of somebody metaphorically leaning on my dad is really cool.”

An unexpected plot twist: Michael Keith’s life-saving legacy led Kevin down a new career path. Since December 2021, Kevin has served as Life Connection of Ohio’s Community Education Coordinator in the Toledo Regional Office.

“I always knew we would be connected to Life Connection of Ohio, but I never thought of it being a career opportunity. Now, I feel like it was meant to be. I’ve turned it into a lifelong goal to get the awareness out there,” Kevin said.

Michael Keith is missed and remembered every day by his wife, daughter, son and two grandchildren – soon to be three as Kevin and his wife, Alli, are expecting their first child – but knowing that his generous spirit lives on through organ, eye and tissue donation is something that brings them peace.

“Even in a tragic, difficult time, there is hope. These bodies that we’re given were created by God, but when our soul is released, we don’t need these vessels anymore, and if there is something that still works from what God made, pass that on,” Pam said. “Knowing that your loved one has saved or bettered lives makes your worst day not as bad as it could have been.”

Kevin encourages everyone to register as organ, eye and tissue donors.

“I don’t think there’s a good enough reason for someone not to register,” Kevin said. “Think about this decision being a guiding light of peace for your family to lean on after the fact. Think of the people you would leave behind.”