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Ramona

By JESSICA GILBERT

Ramona correspondent

(785) 965-2621

Erich Utech had a phenomenal memory, especially when it came to the weather. "Oh I remember the snow storm of 1979," he'd say and then recount the amount of snow, the high drifts, and the inconveniences it caused.

So it seemed fitting that on Nov. 10, the day of Erich's funeral, the weather was stormy. Umbrellas shielded family and friends as they gathered at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ramona to honor one of its native sons — Erich William Utech, born in 1920, and died Nov. 6, 2004.

The storm didn't seem all that fierce, but right before the processional down the church isle, the electricity went off. The congregation sang acappella, the soloist sang without the organ, standing close to the window to get light to read the words on his sheet music, the Rev. Davis humorously commented that he'd heard of candlelight suppers, but never a candlelight funeral. There was no light in the church save from the windows and the candles on the altar. It was strangely beautiful and particularly reverent.

I smiled to myself — Erich would have liked this coincidence, I think — we'll have another weather story attached to his name.

The Tuesday before Erich's death, his sister, Edna, was sitting with him. Erich wasn't conversing much by this time, but suddenly he said to Edna, "Let's go to the combine."

"He always loved farming," said Edna, as she told me this story.

Erich was 84 and he farmed until this past Spring. "He still put the oats out and that was in March," said Edna.

Back in 2002 my sister interviewed Erich and he was farming the 320 acres of family land and his own 160 acres. He could recite how it was planted: 94 acres of wheat, 37 acres of oats, 51 acres soy beans, 60 acres alfalfa and brome, and 30 acres of idle land for wheat in the fall. "And you won't find a weed on the place!" declared Erich.

How grateful I am for the hours my sister, Pat, spent with Erich, capturing him on film, recording his stories. It's one of the reasons we moved to Ramona four years ago — to record the memories of the "Dirt Gamblers" — the folks who were born and raised here, and gambled year after year on the fruits of the soil.

The day after Erich's funeral, the community gathered to honor another native son, the Rev. Donald Brunner, who grew up in Ramona. Donny died a day before Erich Utech, on Nov. 5. He and his wife, Marlene, were pastoring in Westfield, Wis.

Funeral services were held in Wisconsin, Scribner, Neb., where Brunner pastored for more than 20 years, and finally in Ramona, where he was buried beside his parents in Lewis Cemetery.

The Rev. Davis officiated at the funeral service of his friend and colleague. He commented that he and Brunner had something in common — as youngster they probably seemed like two of the most unlikely candidates for being pastors!

My sister, Pat, remembers Donny's father, Jake Brunner, telling the story about the day Donny told his parents he wanted to be a pastor. He was quite young — not even a teenager. Jake said they immediately began putting away funds in a canning jar, little by little, to save for Donny's ministerial training.

One of the lovely tributes at the Rev. Brunner's funeral was on the funeral program. The Brunner children selected special texts in honor of their father. "The kids gave their dad a framed collection of special Bible texts for his birthday," said Marlene. "So we decided to include those in the funeral program."

Marlene added a tribute of her own, citing I Corinthians 13, which was especially appropriate because it begins, "Love never fails." That just summed up Marlene, for she was beside her husband, loving and caring for him throughout Donny's battle with Lou Gering's disease.

As she stood at the entrance to Trinity Lutheran Church to greet everyone who arrived at her husband's funeral she hugged me and said, "It just seems so strange to be here in Ramona and not have him here and not hear his voice."

Her final tribute written in the funeral program was this: "If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heaven to be with you again. Love Marlene."

The Brunner family stayed in Ramona at our guesthouses for three days. Marlene and her children saw Uncle Tony Meyer, who didn't get to attend the funeral, and they spent considerable time in Tampa seeing Marlene's mother, Alma Meyer and her brother, Dennis.

Tony Meyer missed both his friend Erich's funeral and the Rev. Brunner's. He was in the hospital for several days while doctors kept an eye on an infected toe. He was released from the hospital on Thursday. He's home now and doing well.

Tony could accept his friend's death and even the Rev. Brunner's. "Those deaths were expected," said Tony quietly. "But Terri Thompson. Oh no!" and tears flowed down Tony's face. "I love those little kids and I can't imagine them without their mother."

Tony lives right across the street from the Thompsons and he delights in watching the children play. He, along with the rest of Ramona and surrounding community, was hit hard when word came of Terri's car accident the morning of Nov. 5. Terri Denise Thompson, mother of five, headed off for work in Hillsboro, where she was a certified nurse's assistant at Hillsboro Community Medical Center and Parkside Homes. "She loved helping elderly people and was good at helping people through any crisis," said Jim, Terri's husband.

Terri took off for work in the little Geo she loved to drive. "I had just purchased a larger car for Terri to drive," said Jim, "but Terri didn't want to take the Bronco, so she was driving the little Geo when the accident happened."

At about 5:15 in the morning, Terri crossed the Lincolnville highway intersection and was apparently asleep at the wheel when she hit and severed a light pole just south of the intersection. She died of head injuries three days later. She was just 33 years old.

Terri's smile and laugher were her most memorable traits. A kid at heart, Terri loved all the Disney movies and delighted in watching them with her children. "Charlotte's Web" was her favorite movie in the whole world. "That was Terri. If I went to the video store and brought home a kid's movie, she was excited," said Jim. "She loved watching Sesame Street with CJ and loved guessing riddles."

When Jim looks at his children he sees Terri in Cassie, his only daughter. Cassie is the only Thompson girl-child born in 50 years. "She looks like her mama and works like her too," said Jim. Dallen has Terri's sensitivity, Terren his mother's loving heart, and her oldest, Ben, has her persistence. CJ, the youngest has Terri's sense of wonder. In all of these, her loved ones, Terri Thompson will live on!

When Terri was hospitalized Nov. 5, it seemed like the whole town went into action. Jim was a volunteer fireman and so his friends at the fire department were constantly at his side — especially Alan Bentz and Tonya Stroda — whether going with him to the hospital, taking care of the children, or making funeral arrangements.

Even folks in neighboring towns gave assistance. Since Jim home schools his children the Marion home school group brought "freezer meals;" a co-worker of Terri's got meat donated for the Sunday benefit in Ramona; ladies of Ramona cleaned Jim's two houses preparing for relatives to arrive, while others made evening meals.

The benefit breakfast and lunch held at the Cheers II building in Ramona, Sunday, generated $1,080 in income, according to Jeannie Weber, organizer. Trivent for Lutherans, a non-profit insurance company for Lutherans that supports benevolent projects, is matching up to $1,000 raised!

And the generosity continues as I hear word of people coming up with more ideas of how to support Jim and his children through this crisis.

Since Terri was the primary wage earner for the family, while Jim remodeled their home and home schooled the children, the family is going through many changes and shifts. If you'd like to send a donation to the Thompsons, an account has been set up at First National Bank of Hope.

And that's the news from Ramona where we're weathering some loss, seeing generosity abound, and a traffic jam is two parked cars and a dog in the road.

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