Local pastor Wayne Uppendahl and his wife, Lorie, a secretary in the Marshall school district, buried their 26-year-old son, Jeff Uppendahl, this week, days after he died in an avalanche on the south side of Quandary Peak in Colorado during spring break.
He is the third person to die in an avalanche in Colorado this winter, according to an article on DenverPost.com. It is the second death this month.
Uppendahl, a special education teacher's aide and freshman football coach at Liberty High School in Colorado, was climbing with a friend in a gully called Monte Cristo Couloir about 12:30 p.m. last Thursday, when the snow high on the flank of the 14,265-foot peak slipped, according to the newspaper's Web site.
"He was a real outdoorsman, loved to hike, ski and do things outdoors. That's what he was doing skiing and mountain climbing. He was doing what he loved," said Dr. Orin Littlejohn, a member of Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Marshall where the senior Uppendahl is pastor.
"He was carried about 2,000 feet down the mountain and injured along the way," Littlejohn said.
Littlejohn said Uppendahl's friend, who was hiking with him, was a little further behind and was able to ski back down the mountains and get help.
About 40 rescuers with five dogs responded to the scene, DenverPost.com reported.
One dog, a golden retriever owned by a member of Brekenridge ski patrol, found the victim's body four hours later buried under seven feet of snow, the Web site indicates.
Littlejohn said his heart goes out to the young man's parents.
"They're fine, Christian people who love the Lord," he said. "They've been a good part of us for a number of years."
Littlejohn said he only met Uppendahl, who was a youth minister at Ridgeway Church in Colorado, once but he found out a lot about him through his father.
"He talked about both of his kids. He loved them both," Littlejohn said.
Uppendahl is their older child. Their daughter Kristen Uppendahl lives in Nebraska.
"They're strong Christians and know he's in a far better place," Littlejohn said. "But, they know they'll miss him. It's hard on them tremendously."
Uppendahl was a psychology major at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
He is survived by his wife, Renee Uppendahl, a science teacher at Liberty.
Contact staff writer Robin Y. Richardson via e-mail at: ryrichardson@coxnews.com; or by phone at (903) 927-5964.
(c) 2005 Cox Newspapers, Inc. - Marshall News Messenger
