“He was a loving, (click here) passionate, bright young man, who should have had a long, bright future,” Mike Okrent said. “He looked to November and said ‘What am I going to do next?’ He said, ‘This is OK for a young man, but it takes a lot.’”
His obituary is below:
Alex S.Okrent, 29, (click here) beloved son of Michael Okrent and Lynn Pollack; loving brother of Abby Okrent; cherished grandson of Susan Okrent, the late Samuel Okrent, the late Marion and the late Alexander Pollack; dear nephew, cousin, friend and colleague of many. Service Monday, 11 a.m. at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, 303 Dodge Ave., Evanston, IL 60202. Interment Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorials in his memory to The Obama for America Campaign, www.barackobama.com, ACLU, www.aclu.org or JRC would be appreciated. Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals -Skokie Chapel, 847-229-8822, www.cjfinfo.com
Published in Chicago Tribune from July 15 to July 16, 2012On the internet there is a large variety of defamation of his character. It should not exist there. It is unusual to have a 29 year old to die of a heart attack, but, it is not strange. I believe I mentioned this phenomena once before when a basketball player died after taking ephedrine cold medicine in a large dose.
Young men, strong young men with a very healthy background and fit body can over tax their cardio-vascular system and have a heart attack. Skeletal muscles of the body at this age can actually demand performance from heart muscles it cannot deliver. Seriously. I have witnessed young, very fit police officers in a cardiac unit on monitoring after experiencing chest pain while chasing a suspect on foot. His fitness caused his heart a loss of the ability to deliver oxygenated blood to itself through it's coronary arteries because he was literally consuming oxygen in his skeletal muscles faster than his heart and lungs could deliver. The heart can also beat so fast it no longer has the ability to push blood out the left ventricle efficiently causing a drop in blood pressure. So, take your pick, which ever causes a loss to sufficient oxygen to the heart causes real damage. I also don't believe everyone can be a tri-athlete if they try hard enough, either.
Yes, they do heart damage that way.
Unfortunately, Alex went to the gym that day, already under stress from a tough campaign and experienced damage to his heart muscle while believing he was being smart about his fitness. There may have been other factors, such as dehydration or nutrient imbalances that could have contributed to his cardiac failure.
Alex kept a low profile in his dedication to his choice in Presidential hopefuls. That is not a crime and it is not suspicious. Some people are simply not demonstrative. Believe it or not, everyone doesn't post to Facebook or allow their lives to be chronicled there. It is attractive to his person and dedication to be also humble in his demand for attention.
I like Alex. I think he was very special and I am sorry he is gone.
The internet content defaming his character and entangling him in some kind of wider conspiracy committed against him should be expunged from the net. Alex's memory is above reproach and it is time the internet displaces that. I would think a court order to his family would permit them to track it down and eliminate the nasty content posted by complete strangers.
