Friends, family remember Ohrn as friendly, genuine

Family and friends of IU freshman Renee Ohrn remember her as a compassionate and outgoing person who brightened the lives of everybody around her.

Ohrn, 19, of Gary was killed Saturday morning in a fire at Terra Trace Apartments.

“Renee was like my best friend, but she was more than that,” said Renee’s childhood friend and roommate at IU, Natalie Korpak. “She was more than my best friend — we were like sisters. We hung out every day, we did everything together, she was my roommate, just everything.”

The friendship between Renee and Korpak began while they were in kindergarten. It continued when both were accepted to IU and chose to become roommates in
Eigenmann Hall. 

Korpak said Renee’s personality allowed anyone to talk to her about almost anything, and anyone could become friends with her.

“She was understanding, and she could make you feel so good about anything,” Korpak said. “She could make you feel so good about yourself, and she just made every situation a happy and fun experience.”

On Sunday, Renee’s parents, other family members and friends cleaned her belongings out of her dorm room. Her mother, Connie Ohrn, said the students she talked to told her that Renee was the nicest person they had ever met. 

Her father, Mark Ohrn, said several residents of Eigenmann visited to express their sadness about Renee’s death.

“Several of her floormates came by and I asked them, ‘You know, you’ve seen her in the last month, and I haven’t seen her in the last month. What was she like? Did she like school?’” Mark said. “And they said, ‘Oh, she just loved it here. She was just having a great time.’ They all said that she was always smiling and never had a bad day, or at least she would never show it.”

Renee and her two brothers lived with their mother and Renee’s godmother, Paulette Cialdella, in Gary. Mark, who lives in Hoover, Ala., said Renee was his “little princess.”

He recalled memories of Renee when she was young up until her acceptance
at IU.

“She loved to go to the park and play on the playground equipment and she loved the swings,” Mark said. “She was so phenomenally excited to go to IU. She was one of the happiest people that I’ve ever known.”

Renee graduated from Andrean High School, a private Catholic school in Merrillville, Ind., just outside of Gary. While there, Renee was an important member of the women’s soccer team. In 2011, the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association awarded Renee with two distinctions — the Top Player of the Year Award and the All-Academic Award. 

Her brother, Nick Ohrn, said Renee had not yet declared a major and was taking core classes. But because she was so active, he said she was interested in studying exercise and nutritional science.  

In high school, Renee was also voted Prom Queen and her classmates voted for her for the “Best Personality Award.” 

“I couldn’t have asked for a better daughter,” Connie said. “She was everything and then some.”

Connie said she cried for about a month before Renee left for college.

“But when she left,” Connie said, “everything was OK because we were talking the night before, and she said, ‘Mom, I’m going to miss you, but Mom, this is the way you raised me. You know, you got me here.’” 

Father Paul Quinz, the principal at Andrean High School, said a moment of silence was given Saturday at the school’s Homecoming dance. At the start of the school day Monday, Quinz said students offered a special prayer for Renee and her family. 

“My hope is that people will remember Renee as someone who was a little bit goofy but always sincere and always willing to give a little bit of help to whoever needed it,” Nick said. “Judging by people’s reactions so far, I’m fairly confident that that’s the way it’s going to happen.”

Nick said Renee’s Facebook page has seen an influx of posts since her death. Some of these people, he said, credit Renee as the most influential person in their lives.

In one particular post, a high school friend said Renee was responsible for her coming out of her shell and being herself without worries of being judged.

“I’m really glad my sister was able to make that happen, at least for one person for sure, and I know there are many others,” Nick said.
 
Renee is survived by her parents Connie and Mark; her brothers, Nick and James; and her grandmother, Phyllis Porcelly.

A wake will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Nativity of Our Savior, 2949 Willowcreek Road, Portage, Ind. Renee’s funeral service will take place at 10 a.m. Friday at the same location. 

“Remembering my sister is something that is going to be really easy for me,” Nick said. “She was the sweetest, most genuine person I have ever met in my entire life.”