Letter to the editor

Hello Kimball, This letter is in response to the awesome support that we have received since finding out that our daughter, Kate Stewart-James, has leukemia. The prayers, hugs, cards, visits, donations and gifts of labor that we have seen have been overwhelming. “Thank you” seems like such a small thing, but I don’t know how else to say it. We are so, so thankful to all of you for all that you have done. It makes an impossible situation much more bearable. Some of you know and I’m sure most of you can imagine how life-altering news like this can be. I don’t want to say devastating, because that implies a lack of hope. We are not there – we have tons of hope. There are people praying for Katy in Kimball and all across the country, and that is the greatest gift of all. But it most certainly changes your life and your list of priorities. My priority suddenly changed from worries about work to worries about my daughter. There was no question but that I would take time off to be with her on this journey. The community of Kimball has made both that initial shocking news and the resulting lifestyle change at our house so much more bearable through all the gifts of labor, friendship and love. Roger was going to fix a leak in our laundry room ceiling and found that our walls were full of mold. Suddenly, our house was full of people and building supplies to fix the mold problem before Katy came home. Help came from: Theisen Building Supply (Craig Theisen) Pat Messer Home Improvement Peglow Construction (Jason Peglow) Mark Hurrle Heid Brothers Harvesting (Peter Heid) Ryan Bolman Kyle and Anna Albrecht French Lake Curb Co. (Mark Johnson) CentraSota Sheet Metal (Jeff Bechtold) Kim-Built Propane (Jeff Orbeck) United Products of St. Cloud Bargain Buys of Kimball DuWayne Orbeck Theresa Reddeman Gordy and Heather Sullivan  Diane Sheldon, Debbie and Jeff Bechtold, Judy James, Verna Lea Salmela, Eric (Debbie’s friend), Jimmy Kelm, Ronnie and Wanda Stewart. I’m sure I left people out and spelled names wrong. Please forgive me if I left you out. We would also like to thank the following residents and businesses of the community and, again, I apologize if I am missing anyone: Gohmann’s Foods, Land O’ Lakes Oil, Arnold’s Implement. JB Liquor, Bumper to Bumper, Triple R Bar and Grill (Deb Reinert), American Family Insurance, Dale’s Rapid Lube, Styme Industries, A.M. Maus and Sons, Arnold’s Auto (Sharon Ashfield), Thomes Insurance, Kuechle Underground, RM Johnson, Hendricks Sand and Gravel, Hendricks Bus Service, Tri-County News, Schmidty’s Conoco and Luxumberg Texaco, Kimball Community Playhouse, Leo’s and BLT Club, Watkins VFW, State Bank of Kimball, the teachers of Kimball Schools and the Penny Drive, Paulette Hauge and the sale of the leukemia bracelets, Sue Berschied, Shane from Maine Street Pub, Beth and Bernie from Stanley’s, Karlee Beehler and Erin Diffley, Dave Mackereth and Kris O’Brien, Carl and Irene Hoffman, Darwin and Arlene Duermeyer, Elaine (and Kelly) Johnson and everyone else who has come forward to help us through this difficult time. We are more grateful than you could ever know. Thank You! Candy, Roger, Sammi and Kate   www.caringbridge.org/visit/katystewartjames