2 days ago
Father and daughter hikers found dead in Maine state park were ‘especially close'
A New York father and daughter whose bodies were found in a Maine state park last week following extensive search efforts were 'especially close,' according to their joint obituary.
The disappearance of Ulster Park residents Esther and Timothy Keiderling, 28 and 58, respectively, sparked large-scale searches in Baxter State Park early last week, state park officials said previously. The pair was last seen hiking up Mount Katahdin the morning of Sunday, June 1.
Several law enforcement agencies began looking for the Keiderlings after their car was found still sitting in the day-use parking lot on June 2, officials said. Timothy Keiderling's body was found on June 3 near the mountain's summit, and his daughter's body was found the next afternoon in a wooded area of the state park.
Weather conditions are believed to have been a factor in the Keiderlings' deaths, Baxter State Park Director Kevin Adam said last week. Temperatures in the park on June 1 were 30 to 40 degrees, and there was freezing rain, fog and even some snow, he said.
Timothy Daniel Keiderling was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, to Ulrich and Ellen Keiderling on Sept. 22, 1966, according to the joint obituary. He grew up in Connecticut and New York with his seven siblings before graduating from Kingston High School in Kingston, New York, in 1983.
Timothy Keiderling went on to study computer science at Sullivan County Community College, though his friends say baking was his favorite subject, according to the joint obituary. After graduating high school, he also joined the Bruderhof community — an Anabaptist Christian community of German origin that has spread across the world over the last century, taking his membership vows in 1988.
'Endowed with unquenchable energy and enthusiasm for life, Tim served his community in many capacities: as an elementary school teacher, a financial administrator, and, over the last ten years, as a traveling salesman for Rifton Equipment,' the joint obituary reads. 'As a teacher, he will be remembered most for his infectious energy, his patient kindness, and his ability to pull together the most rambunctious groups of children.'
Read more: Father, daughter found dead after days-long search in Maine state park
Timothy Keiderling taught world history and geography, according to the joint obituary. He was also an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed leading hikes through the fields and woods of the Hudson Valley, in addition to camping and beekeeping.
'As a salesman for Rifton, a manufacturer of adaptive physical therapy equipment, he was passionate about helping children and adults with disabilities. But he was equally passionate in selling the good news of the Gospel, which he did with unabashed and cheerful vigor,' the joint obituary reads. 'His ability to re-tell stories from the Bible was legendary, and he held both children and adults spellbound with his creative recounting of events from both the Old and New Testaments.'
Over the years, Timothy Keiderling and his wife of 31 years, Annemarie Keiderling, raised four daughters — Esther, Sophie, Heidi and Katherine Keiderling — and two sons — Karl and Timothy Keiderling, according to the joint obituary. Timothy and Annemarie Keiderling were also grandparents to two granddaughters.
But Timothy Keiderling was especially close to Esther Keiderling — his eldest daughter, according to his obituary.
'What drew both him and Esther to high places was always the view — the broad expanse of God's handiwork, laid out below them,' the joint obituary reads. 'The unbearable tragedy of their passing aside, it is perhaps fitting that they went Home from a mountain top: a place of danger and solitude, but also, a place close to God."
Esther Louisa Keiderling was born Jan. 20, 1997, according to the joint obituary. She graduated from The Mount Academy — a Bruderhof seminary in New York — in 2015.
Like her father, Esther Keiderling earned a living working for Rifton Equipment's sales department, according to the joint obituary. She was also a frequent contributor to Plough magazine — a Bruderhof publication focusing on faith and spiritual life.
Read more: Weather 'definitely a factor' in death of New York hikers in Maine park
'Quieter than her father, Esther was a sensitive, deeply-thinking woman who loved reading and writing, with a particular interest in the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins and Edna St. Vincent Millay. (In her last Substack post, on May 31, she urged her readers to read 'all' of Millay's 'Renascence', fittingly written in Maine.),' the joint obituary reads.
'Her friends remember with great fondness how attentive she was to the needs of those around her, noticing when someone needed a word of encouragement or a small gift of some kind. Such gifts often included her own heartfelt poetry.'
Timothy and Esther Keiderling are survived by their aforementioned family members and many other beloved friends and relatives, according to the joint obituary.
'The family takes comfort in knowing that Tim and Esther are now with Jesus,' the joint obituary reads.
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