Whitney Ulvestad

Whitney Marit Carr Ulvestad, age 33 of Excelsior, Minnesota and the World, passed away peacefully at sunrise on May 8, 2020.  She is survived by parents Nancy and Rolf Ulvestad and sister Lauren K Ulvestad.

Whitney brought joy to everyone she met.  Her enthusiasm for life and all its possibilities, her curiosity and adventurous nature took her all over the world and introduced her to cultures and people that became life-long friends. She was a wonderful, patient instructor, a confident, innovative and curious colleague, loving friend, sister and daughter. Whit had a dry, clever humor that she generously shared with those around her while always remaining positive, encouraging and genuinely thrilled with the success and accomplishments of others.

An avid swimmer all her life, she lied about her age to try out for a local swim team at 4 years old.  She qualified and continued swimming for the next 30 years.  Whitney loved swimming competitively, was competitive with herself, striving to do her best, supportive and encouraging of her teammates, and so thrilled when they did well, and as captain of her swim teams, led by example, supporting a teammate with a tough day as well as a teammate reaching a personal best time, and she was well-loved.

She loved long distance swims, whether swimming in her beloved Christmas Lake, Excelsior to Wayzata, or Lake Superior, had a beautiful stroke, and it seemed she could swim forever!  Her endurance was evident in and out of the water, and in all aspects of her life.

Whitney was also an avid triathlete, certified in scuba and night diving, wonderful snow and water skier, dabbled with paddle boarding, kite boarding, and log rolling, and willing to try anything. She volunteered for many years with the Courage Kenny adaptive snow and waterskiing programs.  The participants and their families were amazing, and the dedicated instructors a solid group of good supportive friends.

Whitney loved the mountains almost as much as water.  She climbed several mountains, including Rainier, Baker, Hood, and of course Mt. Whitney. She traveled to Patagonia for several months of mountaineering and kayaking, followed by time spent in Chile before returning to complete college a semester early.

She was fluent in Spanish and interested in many languages and cultures, but Latin culture was her life blood.  Latin music dominated her playlist, and she often mixed up Spanish and English words, which we all enjoyed teasing her about.  She studied classic Arabic for several months in Morocco traveling throughout Morocco and Egypt as her class schedule and cultural sensitivities would allow.  Discouraged to find out that outside of her classroom, no one spoke classic Arabic, she set about learning “real” Arabic on her own, confident that any stumbles she had in conversations would be simply another opportunity to connect and learn.

Teaching and living in southern Spain, she would sit on her roof in the evening and look out across the water to Gibraltar, trying to figure out how she could make her dream of swimming the strait possible. Whitney found very creative ways to work in parts of the world she was interested in, and of course curious about.  She really loved guiding in Belize and Costa Rica, followed by several years leading kayaking trips in the Apostle Islands for Wilderness Inquiry. She loved the individual and family trips, the variety of activities available, culinary challenges and successes, and when the weather didn’t cooperate, found creative, interesting, and memorable local experiences for her groups.

While working in Napa she developed a keen interest in wine.  Whether working the harvest or hospitality, helping out with the farms CSA, delivering produce or livestock to local restaurants, her enthusiasm for wine and drinking good wine was a real pleasure.  Her knowledge came through in her smart and humble confidence.  She had a great palate and enjoyed great wine - its ability to create a shared moment, add to a celebration, enhance a meal; but she also loved being able to taste and appreciate the connection to the earth.

Whitney’s sense of fun, great smile and infectious laugh were generously shared with those around her.  She had the ability to genuinely engage and invest in the moment – regardless of how long the moment or new the friendship.

People just gravitated toward her – literally - the whole world over.

A year spent in Ecuador, evaluating and reporting the sustainability of seed pods and materials used to make jewelry, and the effect and benefits on the indigenous people of the Amazon provided cultural, ethical, and new vocational opportunities for so many people she met and worked with in the region. Whitney was very moved by this experience.  She traveled widely while in Ecuador and fell in love with the people she met and worked with. She planned to return to Ecuador, however her health care needs prevented that return.

Diagnosed with a brain tumor at Christmastime 2013, she took charge of this unexpected development, learning all she could about various treatment options, and while the diagnosis informed her decisions, it did not shape who she was.  She completed a Masters degree in Holistic Health Science and her continued study influenced her own of integrated healthcare.

Whitney wanted to take up fly fishing, and in the summer of 2015, the first annual Mother Daughter fly fishing trip on the Namekagon brought her back on the water she loved, with so many new things to learn and experience.  Fly fishing became a vehicle for quiet intentional time spent together, and distinctly apart from the pace of medical treatments and busy lives.  Fly fishing, she came to understand, was about much more than catching fish.

She continued to travel despite recurrences and treatments. Following a year of chemo, Whitney traveled to Iceland in 2017, to hike the Laugavegur trail.  She traveled alone, and as is her nature, met people from all over the world and started friendships that continued to develop long after the hike was completed.  She described it as one of the most fabulous trips she had ever taken.  A family trip to Norway following her hike connected her to the heritage she had grown up celebrating and provided more treasured experiences including climbing Pulpit Rock, and the best fish soup at Skagen in Stavanger.  That shared family trip continues to inform so many of our memories.

In 2019, the optimal treatment became immunotherapy, combined with a personalized vaccine, only available in Germany.  Through the generosity of family and friends from far and near, she was able to raise funds for her testing, vaccine development, travel and treatment in Germany.  The resources she received were not only equaled, but exceeded by the continuous encouragement, support and love from family, friends, and colleagues.

Whitney continued her medical treatment in Minnesota and traveled to Germany monthly from August 2019 until her last trip in February of 2020.  Despite her superb collaborative medical treatment, her brain tumor continued to aggressively spread.  In consultation with her medical teams, Whitney made the decision to stop all treatment the first of April and transitioned to a slower, more reflective time spent with family and friends.

We want to thank her medical teams and Ecumen hospice.  A special thank you to her team in Germany.  The medical team and researchers in Germany provided such hope, innovation, and integrated medical expertise and care for Whitney and our whole family.  Whitney looked forward to her time with the German medical team, even with the strain of travel.

Whitney is well loved. Her resilience, determination, interest and care of others, and strength of character lives in our hearts and memories.

There will be a Celebration of her amazing life at a later date.

Suggested memorials:

Wilderness Inquiry

Wilderness Inquiry’s mission is to connect people from all walks of life to the natural world through shared outdoor adventures and to encourage people to open themselves to new possibilities and opportunities.  Please note that gift is made in memory of Whitney Ulvestad.

www.wildernessinquiry.org

Courage Kenny Sports and Recreation Department

Memorials can be made in two ways:

Online giving page: www.allinahealth.org/Give2CourageKenny

Mailing Address:

Courage Kenny Foundation

Sports and Recreation Department

[Optional: Designate to either Water Ski or Ski & Snowboard Program]

3915 Golden Valley Road

Mpls, MN 55422

For either option, please indicate that this gift is in memory of Whitney Ulvestad

www.gofundme.com/f/kick-whitneys-ass-trocytoma