Weber, Randy, Amy and Tyler

WEBER, SHUMATE, HARDY

Posted By: Marthann (email)
Date: 5/15/2007 at 22:43:51

Weber, Randy, Amy and Tyler
Denison Bulletin/Review
4/26/2007
posted with permission

Randy Lee Weber, the son of Leland and Janet Kay Weber; his wife, Amy Lynn, the daughter of Thomas Shumate and Debra Martin Hardy; and the couple's son, Tyler Thomas, died together, Saturday, April 14, 2007, in a private aircraft incident near Farmington, Missouri. Randy was forty-nine, Amy thirty-two, and Tyler nine years old at the time of their deaths.

Randy was born in Audubon, Iowa, and received his education in the Audubon Community Schools, graduating with the class of 1975. He continued his education at Northwest Missouri State University where he received bachelor's and master's degrees in animal science and ruminant nutrition. Amy was born in Dunlap, Iowa, receiving her education in the Dunlap Community Schools. After completing high school, she continued her education at Western Iowa Tech and Morningside College, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2002. Tyler was a student in the third grade at the Charter Oak-Ute Community School.

The couple was united in marriage January 11, 2001, in the Bahamas, and settled in rural Charter Oak, south of Ricketts, Iowa. They were blessed with the birth of one son, Tyler. After completing his education, Randy was employed by Talbots Labs in Audubon, then DeKalb Feeds in DeKalb, Illinois, later transferring to the Wyoming, Iowa plant. He was currently employed by Liquid Feeds and Commodities of Fremont, Nebraska. Amy was employed at the Maple Heights Nursing Home in Mapleton for three years before taking a position at the Dunlap Care Center where she was currently employed.

The couple had a mutual enjoyment in vacationing in the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Flying was a particular source of enjoyment for Randy who had a pilot's license since he was 16 years old. Amy and Tyler enjoyed flying with him. In addition, Randy occupied some of his leisure time hunting and roping. He was a member of the Iowa Cattlemen's Association, and served as a liaison between the producers and the state association by identifying issues associated with the industry. He was a member of the Mapleton Airport Board of Directors and the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity. Amy enjoyed rock and country music, reading and bike riding, swimming and cooking in the kitchen while Randy grilled outside. Tyler enjoyed math, reading, and was especially fond of books about airplanes and ships. He enjoyed playing with animals, swimming and scuba diving, magic tricks, horseback riding, video and table games, such as cribbage. He tinkered with things, taking them apart and putting them back together again.

Survivors include: Randy's parents, Leland and Janet Weber of Panora; Amy's father, Tom Shumate and his wife, Laura, of Dunlap; her mother, Debra Hardy, and her husband, Elton, of Dunlap; Randy's sister, Nanette Schmidt and her husband, Lloyd, of Johnston; three brothers, Kent Weber and his wife, Shirley, of Marne; Craig Weber and his wife, Carol, of Elk Horn; Bradley Weber and his wife, Ronda, of Audubon; Amy's two brothers, Thomas Shumate, Jr. of Missouri Valley; Michael Sandbothe and his wife, Sue, of Newton; three sisters, Lisa Dieter and her husband, Michael, of Denison; Melissa Meisel of Cheyenne, Wyoming; and Lacey Summerfield and her friend, Ryan Michel, of Woodbine; her maternal grandparents, Albert and Colleen Mehring of Pisgah. Tyler is survived by his grandparents, aunts, uncles and many cousins.

Funeral services were held at 10:30 A.M., Thursday, April 19, 2007 at the St. Paul Lutheran Church, Hanover Township, Charter Oak, Iowa. Rev. Eugene Ernst officiated the service and grave side rites held at the church cemetery. Organist, Shirley Stull provided the organ accompaniment for soloist, Dan Martin singing "Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound" and for congregational hymns "My Faith Looks Up to Thee", "What Wondrous Love Is This" and "Jesus Loves Me" Those serving as pallbearers were: Robert Mlnarik, Mark Jackson, Brett Kimball, William Magill, Tad Shumate, Don Martin and Mike Dieter. The family invited everyone in attendance at the service to join them in fellowship and lunch at the Charter Oak Community Building, served by St. Paul's Ladies Aid. The Huebner Funeral Home in Charter Oak was in charge of arrangements.

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Iowa family dies in Missouri plane crash
ASSOCIATED PRESS
April 16, 2007

An Iowa couple and their son were identified Sunday as the victims of a plane crash Saturday in southeast Missouri.

Pilot Randy Weber, 49, of Charter Oak, his wife, Amy, 37, and their son, Tyler, 10, died immediately in the crash, said Washington (Mo.) County Coroner Brian DeClue.

The single-engine Piper Cherokee was en route from Jefferson City, Mo., to Muscle Shoals, Ala., when controllers lost contact about 8:45a.m. Saturday. DeClue said the family was to head later to Florida.

Randy Weber told controllers he had encountered zero visibility and a strong headwind shortly before the crash, which occurred about three miles northeast of Viburnum, Mo., Washington County Sheriff Kevin Schroeder said. The sheriff said skies were very cloudy and light rain was falling at the time of the crash.
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Community mourns family killed in plane crash
Denison Bulletin/Review
By Gordon Wolf
04/17/2007

Randy, Amy and Tyler Weber were killed Saturday in an airplane accident in Missouri. Photo submitted

The community of Charter Oak and Crawford County was shocked and in mourning after learning of a plane crash on Saturday that took that took the lives of a Charter Oak family.

According to an article in the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil, Randy Weber, 49, along with his wife, Amy, 37, and nine-year-old son, Tyler, died when their plane crashed three miles northeast of Viburnum, Missouri, at about 8:45 a.m. Saturday.

Weber, an experienced pilot, was flying the Piper Cherokee.

The family was on its way south to embark on a cruise.

The Nonpareil article stated the crash happened in a densely wooded, hilly area, and that air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane shortly after Weber indicated he had zero visibility and a strong headwind.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were scheduled to investigate the crash.

At Tyler's school

A somber mood settled over Charter Oak-Ute Elementary School in Ute Monday morning, where Tyler Weber was one of 21 students in the third grade.

But there were plenty of happy memories about Tyler.

Third-graders spent time with the school counselor, a counselor through Northwest Area Education Agency and two local pastors, who talked and listened to them, according to Tina Gress, elementary principal.

She added that Pastor Eugene Ernst, who will perform the funeral services on Thursday, talked to the students about what they can expect when they attend the funeral.

Gress, who is in her first year as the building principal but has been with the school district for 14 years, said Tyler was a kid who loved to be outside.

"He had two dogs he just loved. He loved non-fiction books, magic tricks and science.

"Just a couple week ago his mom was in and said they had science experiments in their kitchen. Tyler liked a lot of hands-on things," Gress added.

Gress said Tyler was excited about the trip his family was taking.

"He had been telling another teacher he was looking forward to it and was telling her all about it," said Gress.

While the students in Tyler's third-grade classroom were having a hard time with news of his death, they were making stories and posters to remember him by and to share with his extended family, Gress said.

She continued with a K-6 school the size of Charter Oak-Ute, everybody knew Tyler.

Gress said, "It's nice to be small and close knit. We all have a story to share about Tyler."

Pastor Ernst said the students were asking what happens at a funeral.

"There were many questions and a lot of sadness and mourning," he stated.

He added, "I can only speak as the pastor of our church community, that the hope we have is in the person of Christ, who sustains us in all moments like this."

Weber in ICA board

Randy Weber was a member of the Iowa Cattlemen's Association board, and Kevin Carstensen, Odebolt, president of the ICA board, recalled Weber's enthusiast work to promote the cattle industry.

Weber represented District #12 on the ICA board, which covers Crawford, Shelby, Woodbury, Harrison and Monona counties.

"Randy was really a huge asset on our board of directors," said Carstensen. "He lived in the heart of cow-calf country and got around to see a lot of the cow-calf guys and feedlot guys."

"It is a big loss for the board. In fact, two weeks ago, Randy called a special meeting to try to revitalize Harrison County's cattlemen's group. They haven't had a strong ICA group, and he was trying to revitalize it," said Cartstensen.

Carstensen continued that Randy Weber was a great speaker on behalf of the cattle industry.

"He spoke at a couple of banquets I attended this year, and he did an excellent job. He was kind of a quiet individual, but when he spoke, it was well thought out," Carstensen said.

"Randy was very active and willing to go out of his way to do what he could to help the cattlemen's association. He always looked at giving back to an industry that had given him an awful lot," Carstensen added.

The two men knew each other outside their work for the cattle industry.

"Randy would stop and talk cattle business and nutrition," said Carstensen. "He had a master's degree in ruminant nutrition, and we would get into long talks about the effects of distiller's grain and co-products in the diet of cattle. Randy had a good knowledge of co-products and what they would do. I tapped into his source of information quite often."

Carstensen continued he and his wife had flown with Weber this winter to a cattlemen's event in Henry County in southeast Iowa.

"The trip gave us a couple of hours to talk," said Carstensen. "I was really surprised when I heard (about the accident). I've flown with several pilots of small planes, and Randy was hands-down the best pilot. Randy used to fly to the ICA board meetings in Ames. He loved that airplane, and he was good at it."

Weber had also talked to Carstensen a couple months ago about the family cruise they were going to take.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Hanover Township, Charter Oak, with burial in the church cemetery. The Huebner Fuhneral Home in Charter Oak is in charge of arrangements where friends may call from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday.