Hutchinson Leader - Deaths - Comments

Dear Family of Kelly, I was

lynnet — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 06:29:27 -0500

Dear Family of Kelly,
I was shocked to hear of Kelly's passing. We used to "hang out" in our teen years and I worked at her mother's drive in way back when. I remember her as a fun and kind person. May you find strength in this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Lynnet (Janssen) Chapman
Windom, MN

Dear Showalter Family and

cindyjohnson — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:19:45 -0500

Dear Showalter Family and Friends;
I am very sorry to hear of your loved ones passing. May God be with you at this time of need. I will keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers.
My Dearest Joe: You be strong my friend for your family. You have a special place in my heart and always will. If you need anything please call me, I will be there for you and your lovely family. Take care. Love always, Cindy J

I met her when my daughter

flowerladytoo — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 21:38:15 -0500

I met her when my daughter had her come visit her classroom when she was in grade school. She gave each child a copy of her book, and what a joy it was to read. Stewart has lost a treasure. Rest in peace Daorthe.

Thanks for these two posts.

justbethankful — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 12:27:43 -0500

Thanks for these two posts. They were really nice to read...I feel like I missed out on meeting a very interesting lady!

In 2004, I had the privilege

Terry Davis — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 12:00:57 -0500

In 2004, I had the privilege of interviewing Darothe about Stewart history as part of the Leader's "Twenty Towns" special edition that came out Oct. 14, 2004. Her story ran on the front page of the Leader as kind of a kick-off for the entire section.

She was 92 then and her memories of how Stewart was decades ago were still very clear. It was a joy to talk with her and see her almost 800 dolls she had throughout the neatly kept house on the north side of Stewart. Her father was the postmaster for 30 years, assisted by his wife. Darothe went into teaching, serving at country or small town schools for several years.

Here is a quote from Darothe talking about the rivalries that existed on either side of the Milwaukee Road railroad tracks in Stewart. The south side was considered the other side of the tracks. "The north siders thought they were better. The south was mostly railroad workers and older people who had moved in from the farm."

Stewart at one time could boast of a busy downtown. "It was an attractive retail district," she said.

Darothe enjoyed her town. "We have a lot of new people here, but they are still nice people and they keep their houses up," she said with proud emphasis.

(Terry Davis is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at davis@hutchinsonleader.com.)

She was a great person. If

tobybryan — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:06:06 -0500

She was a great person. If you needed to know anything about the history of Stewart you would ask Darothe. She wrote many of her remembrances down through the years and would submit them to the Stewart Tribune. Here is one of my favorites:

A light heart dearly earned
By Darothe Sunde

The old drug store had a new attraction even though didn’t resemble our present day gum ball machines. I always think of my lesson in honesty when I see those contraptions. Grandpa Eynon, our druggist, had installed a little glass box outside the door of the drug store. Inside was a little clown with hands outstretched. Somewhere inside, where we couldn’t see them, were little wrapped squares of gum that the clown would toss to us if we put a penny in the slot.

Now, when I was perhaps three or four, certainly before I started school, pennies were slowly come by. That didn’t stop me from gazing at the marvelous clown quite often. One morning I stood on the steps trying to figure out just where the gum came from when Grandpa Eynon came out. “Did you get some gum, Darothe?” he drawled. I answered, “No,” which in truth I didn’t. He went back into the store and came back with a penny which he put into the slot saying, “Well sometimes it sticks.” It didn’t dawn on me he thought I had put a penny in the machine till he handed me the gum. I didn’t know what to do or say when he said, “That’s alright. We’ll get the money when we open the box.” So rather than say anything more, I put the gum in my mouth and went home.

Mom noticed right away I was chewing, asked a few questions and finally I blurted out the whole story. She stopped her work, sat down and told m I had to take a penny over to Grandpa Eynon and explain what had happened. I did as I was told, pretty slowly I’m sure because I just didn’t know how I’d explain. I really thought I was off the hook when I found the drug store closed and Grandpa home for dinner. Not by a long shot! My mother was waiting for me and sent me to Grandpa’s house! He lived only a block and a half away, but that was the longest, hottest, most miserable trip I ever took in my whole life.

I rapped at the door. His daughter answered and told me Grandpa was eating dinner and that he’d be back at the store at one o’clock. Now I was in a pickle. I couldn’t go home till I explained to Grandpa and gotten rid of this terrible burden. Evidently he had heard my plea and good old Grandpa Eynon came out of the house before I had gone more than a few steps. I gave him the penny and told him the gum wasn’t mine. His grizzled old head nodded a few times and his kindly eyes smiled with love. He did not say it was a very bad thing I had done but he did say it was alright and an honest mistake. He took the penny and said “That’s a good girl. You never want to be afraid to admit a mistake or to tell the truth.”

I turned and almost flew home. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and my heart was light as a feather. The new attraction may have been just a gum machine but it sure was the source of a powerful lesson!

My prayers go out to the

hernandez82 — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 09:27:03 -0500

My prayers go out to the family of Marliene, may she rest in peace and her family be comforted by Christ.

Does anyone have more

alexkost — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 06:49:31 -0500

Does anyone have more information on what happened?

Just My Thoughts...THANK

neighbor — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 10:26:48 -0500

Just My Thoughts...THANK YOU!!! You couldn't said it any better! My heart goes out to the family and friends dealing with this tragic loss. You are in our thoughts and prayers.

I have read each and every

justmythoughts — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 10:04:00 -0500

I have read each and every one of the comments on her article. I am a family member and my father happens to be with this family trying to hold them together, trying to keep an open mind, trying to help them grieve... this is an emotional time for all. These comments are part of a process - whether or not you know this family personally or not - it is a loss that effects everyone, it brings feelings to the surfice in everyone - connected to it or not. The feelings expressed in these comments are not wrong - for any of you. But please try to keep in mind, that her immediate family is going through a different type of process, they NEED to be angry, they will be angry at many different people through this, we as friends, family, community members need to let them - it does not mean we need to fuel this fire, but we do need to let them be angry. Before my mother returned home, she witnessed first hand the anger toward the police. They did not hold this against her husband, they understood he needed to do this. There are 100's of life situations that could of or should of or if it were me or if it were my... or any other IFs in the world, it does not change what happened and will not bring her back. I have read the "I was told" "I heard" "I know" that each of you have written about... what we are forgetting is the compassion for what was inside of her head - there is no "logical" reason for it to most of the outside world, but for someone who suffers from depression, there was - to THAT person. I DO know this as I suffer from depression as well, I also have first hand experience with someone VERY close to me that had suicide as an only option, by the grace of God he woke up the next morning still alive, not knowing why or even how - he had 1 small moment of clarity and from that day forward - quit drinking. To most of society, this is a completely foreign concept, but for someone suffering from depression AND the effects of alchol it is not. Alchol is patient! The most patient thing you will ever come across. She did not choose to DIE - she did the only thing (to her) to make her suffering stop and none of us will fully understand what that suffering was. It is not 1 thing or 2 things...or even things known to ANYONE it is a disease, maybe a different type of disease, but none the less a disease. I have attached a copy of something I came across yesterday about grief and wanted to share... Just please, I ask that you LET this family grieve the way each of them needs. I ask that we all stop blaming and going over the what-ifs and go do some research on depression or suicide, find someone close to you - hug them, tell them you love them, mend a broken relationship... do something good and remember No One wanted this to happen, but it did - and it will have lasting effects. And no amount of arguing, anger, hurt, mis-understanding, NOTHING will make it not real.

A Different Grief
Survivors of suicide – the family and friends of a person who completes suicide – feel the emotions that death always brings. Adding to their suffering is the shock of a sudden, often unexpected death. As well, they may feel isolated and judged by society, friends and colleagues.

Some people compare the emotional stress to being trapped on an endless roller-coaster. Survivors may feel:

guilt, anger, blame, shame, confusion, relief, despair, betrayal, abandonment
disconnected from their loved one because he or she chose to die
consumed by a need to find the meaning and reasons for the suicide
an exaggerated sense of responsibility for the death
the suicide was malicious, or a way for the deceased to get back at them.

My sympathy to Lily's

gjarfigueroa — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 12:25:17 -0600

My sympathy to Lily's family. It has to be hard to lose someone so young and innocent. God Bless you all.