Site search
sponsored by
News
Three communities. Five tragic deaths. Thousands of mourners.
Since the third week of May, two fatal accidents have affected the lives of thousands of people in Fallon, Clovis, Calif., and Lovelock. Human nature tends to keep us in our own world until something catastrophic occurs. Then the communities pull together when one of their own is suffering.
Such is the case with the small plane accident that killed Naval Air Station Fallon’s Cmdr. Luther H. Hook III and his three daughters on May 22 near the Fallon airport, and on May 19 when a U.S. Navy helicopter crashed into the Pacific Ocean, killing all five on board including Naval Air Crewman Sean M. Ward, 20, of Lovelock.
In a broader aspect, a community is an area where people call home. In a much more specific context, we view a community as a group of people coming together as one during times of need.
The Fallon community rallied behind the three families affected by the accident.
From the outpouring of condolences, our residents showed a genuine expression of love and concern for Commander Hook and his daughters, 15-year-old Kaitlyn, 12-year-old Rachel and 9-year-old Mackenzie. Likewise, our community expressed sorrow for the Ward family as they struggled with the loss of their only son.
The residents of Clovis also responded with kindness and a deep sense of community responsibility. More than 1,700 people attended a memorial service Monday night for the sisters at the Peoples Church sanctuary. The girls lived with their mother, Brenda, and stepfather Patrick.
During the service family members read eulogies for each girl, and the bands and choirs from each girl’s respective school performed music.
Last week, friends and classmates held a car wash to assist the family with funeral costs.
At Sean Ward’s memorial service on Monday in Lovelock, NAS Fallon Chaplain Michael Bigelow said Lovelock is like many small communities across the country. He said the glue that holds a community together is the people.
Approximately a third of Lovelock’s 2,000 residents attended the service for the 2006 Pershing County High School graduate. Flags fluttered in front of every Lovelock business on Monday, giving an almost surreal feeling to those arriving to the memorial service from out of town.
Mourners packed the football field stands and 300 folding chairs to pay their respects to a young man who had led Lovelock to a state high school championship in 2005.
Unfortunately, tragedies unite a community quicker than most events. Tears and heartache affected a wide range of people — from those who knew the five individuals personally to those in the community who learned of the news through news reports to those of us who reported on the accidents and memorial services.
Chaplain Bigelow also said the heart of a community lies with its people.
And that’s what has made Fallon, Clovis and Lovelock so special during the past two weeks.
A strong, beating heart and sense of compassion and support should make the residents in these three communities proud of who they are.
We are.
Editorials are written by the LVN Editorial staff and appear on Wednesdays.
Since the third week of May, two fatal accidents have affected the lives of thousands of people in Fallon, Clovis, Calif., and Lovelock. Human nature tends to keep us in our own world until something catastrophic occurs. Then the communities pull together when one of their own is suffering.
Such is the case with the small plane accident that killed Naval Air Station Fallon’s Cmdr. Luther H. Hook III and his three daughters on May 22 near the Fallon airport, and on May 19 when a U.S. Navy helicopter crashed into the Pacific Ocean, killing all five on board including Naval Air Crewman Sean M. Ward, 20, of Lovelock.
In a broader aspect, a community is an area where people call home. In a much more specific context, we view a community as a group of people coming together as one during times of need.
The Fallon community rallied behind the three families affected by the accident.
From the outpouring of condolences, our residents showed a genuine expression of love and concern for Commander Hook and his daughters, 15-year-old Kaitlyn, 12-year-old Rachel and 9-year-old Mackenzie. Likewise, our community expressed sorrow for the Ward family as they struggled with the loss of their only son.
The residents of Clovis also responded with kindness and a deep sense of community responsibility. More than 1,700 people attended a memorial service Monday night for the sisters at the Peoples Church sanctuary. The girls lived with their mother, Brenda, and stepfather Patrick.
During the service family members read eulogies for each girl, and the bands and choirs from each girl’s respective school performed music.
Last week, friends and classmates held a car wash to assist the family with funeral costs.
At Sean Ward’s memorial service on Monday in Lovelock, NAS Fallon Chaplain Michael Bigelow said Lovelock is like many small communities across the country. He said the glue that holds a community together is the people.
Approximately a third of Lovelock’s 2,000 residents attended the service for the 2006 Pershing County High School graduate. Flags fluttered in front of every Lovelock business on Monday, giving an almost surreal feeling to those arriving to the memorial service from out of town.
Mourners packed the football field stands and 300 folding chairs to pay their respects to a young man who had led Lovelock to a state high school championship in 2005.
Unfortunately, tragedies unite a community quicker than most events. Tears and heartache affected a wide range of people — from those who knew the five individuals personally to those in the community who learned of the news through news reports to those of us who reported on the accidents and memorial services.
Chaplain Bigelow also said the heart of a community lies with its people.
And that’s what has made Fallon, Clovis and Lovelock so special during the past two weeks.
A strong, beating heart and sense of compassion and support should make the residents in these three communities proud of who they are.
We are.
Editorials are written by the LVN Editorial staff and appear on Wednesdays.
