Cynthia Louise Olsen Ohlrogge, of Minneapolis, died unexpectedly on Sept. 12, 2014 from complications of medical conditions she’d been heroically fighting in recent years. Those who knew her well know that there has never ever been another woman quite like Cynthia. She was born on Feb. 19, 1947 in Frederic, Wis. to Edward and Beth Olsen. When she was stricken by polio at age six, she became a fighter, spending months of her young life at the University of Minnesota Hospital and emerging as a poster-child for polio therapy, with no significant disabilities. Upon her graduation from Frederic High School she attended St. Olaf College and later graduated the University of Wisconsin at River Falls. She was a school teacher, worked for years at an art gallery, and then brought all her talents to bear as a homemaker-to-be-reckoned-with; in her prime she could manage contractors like a factory foreman, and once ripped out ceiling tiles to get a lower appraisal from a tax-assessor. She was creative with a sophisticated sense of taste, enhanced by her many years as a docent at the Walker Art Institute, and a rapier wit. When she married Kendel Ohlrogge ’69, a friend told him, “You’ve been looking for a smart, classy woman with a wicked sense of humor, and you found her.” She could hold her own in any conversation about art, politics, horticulture, style, or current events, and would happily exchange verbal zingers with anyone. You always knew where Cynthia was coming from – and with her intellect and wry, sarcastic sense of humor, could never wait to see where she was going to take you. Post-polio syndrome slowed her down but didn’t keep her down. With family and friends she kept traveling and seeing the world, using a wheelchair for lengthier distances. Once in London a curb was too steep for the wheelchair, and when she stood up to walk across the street an astonished man in the crosswalk said, “My God, I’m witnessing a miracle.” In a way, he was. Most importantly, Cynthia was loving, giving, savvy, and true – the person we all wanted with us during good times and bad, to celebrate with, to grieve with, and to keep us on life’s course with a sense of honesty and humor, and a touch of class. Her loved ones wanted, needed, and expected her with them for many more years, but it was not to be. She lived a good life, fought the good fight, and leaves them feeling blessed that they had her in their lives. Cynthia is preceded in death by her parents; sister, Elizabeth Coen; and brother, John Olsen. She was deeply loved and will be greatly missed by her husband, Kendel; daughters, Emily Balogh and Julia Ohlrogge; daughter-in-law, Kate Davenport; son-in-law-to-be, Jeremy Barnett; grandson, Julian Ohlrogge Barnett; and so many others whose lives she touched and enriched. Memorials not designated for a specific charity will be used for a bench on a Minneapolis lake walking path, with a plaque to commemorate how she used to love taking those walks.