Keith Kandrashoff

Keith Kandrashoff died suddenly after a long battle with a rare auto-inflammatory disease on Tuesday, October 28th, 2025. He is survived by his wife, Carol Tracy, his son, Michael, his step-children Scott and Trevor, and their families.

Depending upon who you ask, Keith descended from a man fleeing either Soviet persecution or Soviet rule of law. He was born in Brooklyn, NY to Edward Kandrashoff and Rita (née Berggren). Keith spent over 30 years of his life in California, drinking tequila on the sands of Carlsbad and wine among the vineyards of Napa. From 2008 until his death, he called Gilbert, Arizona his home, where he drank mostly Pepsi.

He spent most of his career selling printing presses, taking a flight to a conference or customer site Monday and returning home on Friday. He hated traveling and being away from his family, but through his sacrifice, they were able to live a happy, secure life. He instilled in his child and grandchildren a strong work ethic, fierce whimsy, and a desire to incessantly question everything (and everyone) until they yield.

In his later years, Keith turned in the martini glasses and business class seats for sluice boxes, semi-automatic pistols, and an unwieldy RV he drove across the country for months at a time. He kept the fishing poles his father built, often dragging them out of the garage to stand with him and stare at the expanses of sand, cactuses and golf courses, while he wondered where the fish were.

His service will be held at Gilbert Memorial Park on November 10th, with visitations starting at 10 AM, a service at 11 AM, and a catered reception starting at 12. He loved Hawaii and always dressed as if he was vacationing there. Thus, we ask everyone attending to wear their favorite island garb, be it a colorful Magnum PI style Hawaiian shirt or a breezy summer dress. He loved dogs (mostly his dog) and therefore, in lieu of flowers, we ask that you make a donation to AZ Friends for Life (azfriends.org) in his name.