Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Kalev Juri ("K.J.") Linhein (September 14, 1946 ~ October 30, 2019)

A celebration of Juri's life will be held on Sunday, November 24 from 11am to 3pm at VFW Post 5892, 7620 Lancaster Pike in Hockessin, Delaware. 
The first thing you noticed about Juri was how strikingly handsome the guy was. Swashbuckling good looks with a great head of hair and a beard that flourished with his years.  The second thing you noticed about Juri was his voice, a Shakespearean baritone that would resonate from the stage lights to furthest balcony of a theater, which was not surprising when you learned that his life's passion was acting. 
Kalev Juri Linhein, known as K.J. by some and as Juri by most of his many friends, died peacefully after a short illness on the morning of October 30, his beloved English mastiff Dodge nearby, at his retreat deep in the Landenberg woods.  He was 73.   
Juri was born in a refugee camp in Germany 16 months after the end of World War II. His mother Anita had fled Soviet-occupied Estonia, while his father Karl died at Soviet hands, possibly in Siberia.
He and his mother emigrated to the U.S. in 1949 and settled in Little Silver, New Jersey, where she worked as a housekeeper.  He was adopted by Willa and Whitey Muller at age 8 after his mother died.  He went to local schools, often slipping away to nearby Asbury Park to enjoy the ocean, attended a year of college locally and then enlisted in the Army.   
Juri was sent to Vietnam after Officer Candidate and School and as a second and then first lieutenant was assigned as an Artillery Forward Observation Officer in 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment.  As a so-called Fire Support Officer, he directed artillery fire on enemy positions, an extremely dangerous assignment requiring him to work independently for long periods of time and sometimes behind enemy lines.  Among the medals he received were two Bronze Stars for bravery and although wounded, he turned down a Purple Heart. 
Like many veterans of the horrors of that war, Juri seldom spoke of his time in the Big Muddy save for a few anecdotes, including one about having endured the first several hours of the 1968 Tet Offensive in a whorehouse, where he said he had gone to buy some ice.  Yes, ice. 
Returning stateside, Juri hitchhiked to Woodstock for three days of peace, love and music and then enrolled at the University of Iowa where he received a bachelors degree in general studies, although he already was being drawn toward the theater. 
Over the next several years, Juri worked as a weatherman (the meteorological kind, not the revolutionary kind), storm chaser, used car salesman, and was briefly married.   
It was the late 1970s when Susie Ambry, proprietress of the Malt Shoppe on Main Street in Newark, saw that strikingly handsome guy with swashbuckling good looks and a great head of hair walk by. 
Susie and Juri later met at a party and married in 1982.  They adopted Katherine, their pride and joy, in 1990.  Susie predeceased him in April of this year after a long battle with cancer. 
Juri worked construction and was a proud, card-carrying member of Carpenters Union Local 626, but the siren call of acting grew ever louder.  He appeared in numerous stage productions, Dracula (photo, above) being his favorite role, did some Off Off Broadway acting, and played small parts in several B-movies, including Deer Crossing, a 2012 crime-drama-horror.   He would never compare that with Casablanca, which he was about to watch for the umpteenth time when we last chatted two days before his passing. 
Juri did not go quietly -- quiet was not in his kitbag, although he became more contemplative over the years -- and was properly exercised about the state of the nation that had called him to arms 50 years earlier.   He was proud of his Estonian heritage. 
A crossword fanatic, he could do the Sunday puzzle in under 30 minutes.    
Most of Juri's Facebook posts were well-aimed jeremiads against the Fool on the Hill, but he was adept at making a deeper point while turning a phrase, like this FB entry from the other day: 
Well . . . "well" . . . what a sweet word, "well"; it has many meanings . . . I was jes' gonna say "well" as in well it's been a darn fine day . . . or well the damn dog got caught up in the electric fence and shed a shit load of puppies, himself having been a stud dog before this happened.  He ain't well.  This should have never happened, but I guess the wires got somehow crossed. Oh well . . . Life ain't like this, but it's okay!  The dog is well . . . This did not happen..
I first met Juri not long before Susie espied him from that shop window.  We were fast friends and philosophical soul mates no matter where we went or what cards we were dealt in life.  I will miss him like a brother.

24 comments:

Nancy Willing said...

So sad to hear of Juri's passing. Many lovely memories.

Anonymous said...

Oh dear, you got him.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing, Shaun. So sad, and so close to Susie’s passing.

Anonymous said...

Ah, God, the dear boy. Thanks, Shaun.

Katherine Mueller said...

Thank you Shaun. Wonderful words.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this, sorry to hear the news, my thoughts are with Kat.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful eulogy for an amazing human. This is such a shock, because I just had a FB message from him on Wednesday at 2 a.m. and he was cautiously optimistic. Those of us who became friends with Juri in elementary school forged a bond early that has remained. Noel (Pick) Winkler

Joe Costello said...

A long time friend and union brother. Worked many jobs and had many an Irish whiskey with Juri. I will always remember him as a caring friend and brother that I was always very glad to see. Rest in peace Juri till I see you again. I love you man

Laura Melchiorre said...

He was a fine dog. We will miss him. ❤

Tom Detrik said...

Shaun, my deepest sympathies to you & Kat. Yuri and I worked together on "Deer Crossing" and "The Realignment of Tavish" and I always found him to be one of THE MOST engaging, genuine & eclectic actors/people I have ever worked with. It is/was a pleasure to know him an we are all deprived by his absence.

connie seale said...

Wow, Juri, it was such a treat to know you and an honor to call you a friend. From the Deer Park days to many years later on a Union construction job, hearing your unmistakable voice call out my name. Damn, I'm just glad I knew you.

Patrice Manget said...

Patrice here. Thank you so much, Shaun. I have been crying off and on all day, getting on with stuff and then it would hit me. Thinking a LOT about Kat and her loss of both parents ... Juri called several days ago to catch me up - oh, that voice, that voice, it reverberated all the way down to your bones. Said he was supposed to quit smoking and drinking because of the thing, but he was still smoking and drinking. What's up with that, I asked. Are you being ornery or a fool? A bit of both, he replied. He wanted SO MUCH to beat the thing and be here for Kat. I rang off telling him to tell Kat I scolded his ass good. I love you, Patrice. I love you too ... Ah, shit, Juri. We met years ago in Newark, went out to visit him in Iowa over a 3-day MemDay weekend. I moved to Medford, went to SF, we drifted. He found me 40 years later on Facebook!!! Ah, shit, Juri. I saw him in 2010 at my friend Kathy Cluff's house in Wilmington. He came to dinner with Susie. Johnny G was there too. Gone, all gone. Today is the Angelversary of my ex Nasty McMaster, slide guitarist extraordinaire, hand-capped Philly street kid. Bet he and Juri are crackin' a cold PBR together now and getting on like the gangbusters they are. Ah, shit.

Red said...

Never knew Juri all that well during the late 70's but knew him mostly because of Susie. I found this post most enlightening since nothing of his early years were known to me. Thank you for that and sorry for everyone's loss.

Unknown said...

A good guy.....if we could only count the whispers of our memories how wonderful our lives would be...He knew them all shalomaloha..

mickey Omostly said...

Ah, yes ..Shawn..There are those who's ships I have passed by, then briefly docked beside and had that Deer Park chat or two...and you just KNEW in your bones THAT is an authentic fellow. He was one of those. Can I add Mario Pasaglini here?...I wish I had been best friends with them.. I wasn't...but every chance reunion , it did not matter...being in the present with such souls was like arriving at the Oasis and getting what you needed. They filled you up with wit and charm and generosity and you were grateful they were on the planet.
And YOu( I actually am a miser with flattery and praise..it can be a dangerous addiction )...but YOu really do us all proud with these rememberences. Johnny DiG comes to mind. The comings and goings of our Life Spans and the rememberences of these dear friends...hopefully only deepens our intuiting that Actions matter...choices that these friends made of how to conduct themselves in relationship on this planet...these are our stories. And, as Ry Cooder taught us many albums ago: Bop 'til You Drop. Be True to your truth and that will unfetter our souls.
Finally. I did not know of Susie's passing until this piece. The carpenters I ran with, we ate at The Malt Shoppe . Period. That was where we ate. I loved it...but above all I loved and can still feel Susie's whistling...while she worked, of course. It was beautiful and came from her essence and I miss her, too.

Unknown said...

I'm honored to have met and had the short privilege of calling this man friend. I read that beautiful eulogy through smiles and tears because all who knew him couldn't help but love him.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness Shaun, such a beautiful tribute. He was a true Landenberg icon. Always such a pleasure to meet him in passing. I am sorry for your loss of a friend.

Unknown said...

Great tribute, thanx. I met Juri in 1968, he spent two weeks with us while our C 4/3 artillery FO was on R&R. One day we had gunships bringing boocoo hurt on a group of hooches to our northeast and KJ let me call in and register a 175mm fire mission to our west. We reconnected on Facebook about 6 years ago. In 2017 I went to an old Guard reunion in D.C. and KJ drove to our hotel for a drink. Love his old dog and KJ’s funny ways.

Noel said...

Keep checking for new information on this. Good job Thanks

McClain said...

Wow! Such an amazing and helpful post this is. you're great

Maren said...

I really love it. It's so good and so awesome article. I am just amazed.

Raya said...

A really good post, Very thankful. Write many more good posts like this one.

Arlo said...

Thanks for sharing beautiful info. Keep on sharing

Leigh said...

That’s a brilliant story posted. I'll come back to read some more.