This week we are saddened by the loss of the father of one of our River of Hope Foundation Board Members…

Proud Grandpa

Ken Darwood Waltner left our home here on earth to take his place in heaven on February 17, 2012 following a noble two year battle with brain cancer.

Ken was born on July 24th, 1952 and was raised near Freeman, SD.  Ken was baptized in 1969 at Salem Mennonite Church where he was a lifetime member.   He attended Freeman Academy High School, graduating in 1970.  Following a year at Freeman Junior College, Ken volunteered for a two year service project at Kamp Kachese near Seattle, Washington. Upon returning in 1975, Ken began a 33 year career with Grand Laboratories (Novartis Animal Health) in Freeman, SD.  Ken continued to work at Novartis in Larchwood, IA until his own health left him unable to continue.

On October 28th, 1978 Ken married his soul mate, Cindy Wollman.  Soon after, Ken and Cindy moved to Larchwood, IA where they would start and raise their family.

Ken’s love for his wife, kids, and the outdoors, shined through in everything he did.  When Ken wasn’t out fishing or hunting, he was spending countless hours in his basement preparing for his next fishing or hunting trip.  Ken enjoyed reading about hunting and fishing and listening to music, Hawkeye games and Twins baseball.  Ken spent many years playing fast pitch softball where he made numerous and lifelong friends.  He supported his children in all of their activities and endeavors.

During their 33 years of marriage, Ken and Cindy lived a perfect example of what marriage should be.  They enjoyed many fishing trips, ball games and afternoons of watching birds in their backyard together.  Ken’s love for Cindy was immeasurable and unending.

Welcoming Ken to his heavenly home is his grandson, Alexander; father, Gene; and his beloved black lab, Bo.

He will be missed by his loving wife, Cindy of Larchwood, IA; son, Brett (Sarah) and granddaughter, Kendal of Tea, SD; daughter, Jenna (boyfriend Chris Thomas) of Sioux Falls, SD; mother, Joyce; siblings Steve (Ginger) Waltner and Kristi (Jeff) Miller; and in-laws Harvey and Peggy Wollman, Curt (Kim) Wollman, Cletus (Susanne) Wollman, Cheri (Matt) Scharffenberg, Christi (Chad) Tieszen, as well as many nieces, nephews and other extended family and friends.

A visitation will be held at Seeds of Faith Methodist Church in Lester, IA (located at 408 Main Street, Lester, IA) on Monday, February 20th.  The family will be present from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. with a short memorial service commencing at 7:00 p.m.  Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, February 21st, at 2:00 p.m. at the Salem Mennonite Church in Freeman, SD (located at 28103 443rd Avenue Rural Freeman, SD-approx 27 miles West of the Worthington Exit off of I-29, then one mile South).

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in memory of Ken Waltner to the River of Hope Foundation.  Donations can be made through the family or by making them directly online at www.riverofhopefoundation.org.

Ken’s passing has left a huge hole in our lives.  If we live our lives by the example he set for us, we will be with him again one day.

Please keep the Waltner family in your thoughts and prayers as once again a family member has been taken from us far too early because of this disease that discriminates against no one and has no boundaries.

We started off the Spring season in great form at the 22nd annual Lawn and Garden Show in Sioux Falls. The days of preparation and construction paid off as we showed the River of Hope story off to nearly 10,000 people throughout the weekend. One of the best things about the show was raising nearly $1000 through our putting contest “Holes for Hope”, silent auction, and “Guess the Fish” contest. Of course the weekend would not be possible with out the great support from our friends at Rock Garden Nursery, Combined Pool and Spa, James Dugan, and Backyard Broadcasting.

While waking up to an inch of snow on the ground put thoughts of winter back into our minds, it was only a brief thought. I was quickly back to thinking about all of the nominations that we have that we are working very diligently to be able to provide healing environments for this year. Our projects average about $5500 each and with over 40 nominations already in and funding tight we are left to figure out how many we will be able to do this year. The River of Hope Foundation truly does only exist with your support. If you or someone you know would like to become a partner, sponsor a project, or contribute financially please contact us for more info. We are making a difference in the lives of those affected by cancer, but to continue helping as many people as possible we need your help!

Thank you,

Nathan

Be sure to stop out to the Great Plains Golf Expo February 26th and 27th. For $5 you can play 9 holes of mini golf on a custom designed course with all proceeds going to the River of Hope Foundation.

Click for Website

Our first new episode of River of Hope of the new year will re-air this Saturday at 5:30pm on MyUTV and Sunday at 10:30am on Kelo. Michelle’s story of her fight with colon cancer will re-air. Thank you for watching, and helping us share our mission!

Although the name suggests you may need money to participate, today is simply a day for all to step outside of ourselves even if only for one day. That’s right, in a world so content on blaming everything on a “down economy” we can all go out of our way to do a random act of kindness even if we have nothing to give. Today is a day when age, race, popularity, social status, or lack thereof have no relevance. Did you see that person with the hood up on their car along the side of the road and say “oh I’m sure they have a cell phone” or did you sacrifice having time to get your coffee to make sure they had someone they could call to help? Was the person walking up to the door more than 10 feet away and going to end up opening the 2nd door on their own anyway? Or was it a great opportunity to say “good morning, I hope you have a great day”? Do you really need that coat that’s been in the closet just in case the zipper breaks on your other two, or is there someone downtown in a hooded sweatshirt hoping the weather man is off by a few degrees? I think it’s safe to say that the list could go on for much more than one day.

Granted it’s easy to say what’s the world coming to that I have to be told to do something without expecting anything in return on a specific day. Or, maybe you already did your good deed for the year yesterday. Maybe you are one of the people who does something everyday, and I applaud you, but please take time to reflect on the meaning behind this one day and see how it compares with the rest of your life.

My father-in-law is a very giving man. He gives his time, talents, and treasures on a daily basis and I’ve never once heard him say “well I just helped someone yesterday.” In fact, most every Sunday afternoon you can find him walking in and out of the nursing home and assisted living center making the rounds, stopping by to visit. You may not think that sounds so great, I visit my grandma there every now and then, but in his case he’s not visiting family, he’s just stopping by to say hi to anyone who may need a friendly face. Random act of kindness, or a way of life?

So today, give if you have something to give, pay for something for someone if you can, but at the very least, stop and give a heartfelt hello with a smile without fear of having to actually have a conversation with someone who may have a story you don’t want to hear.

Movember will be in full swing this Friday night at the Attic Bar and Grill in Sioux Falls! The Attic will be hosting it’s 2nd Annual Stache Bash on Friday November 19th 8pm-close, and this year it will be benefiting Team River of Hope’s Movember team! We will be there collecting donations, and the Attic staff will be selling signature cocktails with the proceeds going to Team River of Hope.

Movember

Guys grow your staches, ladies grow what you can!! The Attic will also have Hamms cans for $1 all month, along with 5 for $10 High Life Buckets, and it’s All Jacked Up Month with $3.75 Jack Daniels. On November 19th, the Rat Pac will be playing from 8pm-close. We will have judging for the best and worst staches with prizes from Jack Daniels, Miller High Life, and Attic Bar Tabs. If you weren’t here last year, you gotta be. Check out last year’s pics in the Photo Album. The best part is all of this fun will be helping raise cash and awareness for men’s cancer!