Wrather, Ryan Kyle 1974-2022

WRATHER, HAJEK, HUTCHINSON, KRAAI, MOE

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 1/25/2023 at 13:31:31

Mr. Ryan Wrather, age 48, of Orange City, passed away on Monday, December 19, 2022, at the Orange City Area Heath System.

A visitation with the family present will be held on Thursday, December 22, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, at the New Hope Evangelical Free Church in Orange City. There will be a funeral service on Friday, December 23, at 1:00pm, at the church with the Rev. Jeffrey Whitt officiating. Interment will follow the service at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. The Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City is in charge of arrangements.

Ryan Kyle Wrather was born in Norman, Oklahoma, on February 20, 1974, one of three sons born to Daniel and Kathy (Hajek) Wrather. He remained a devout Oklahoma Sooners fan for the rest of his life and tried to encourage as many others to join him as possible, buying Sooners paraphernalia for anyone who would wear it.

His family moved to Indiana and then to Orange City when he was three years old. He was the only child to dress as Billy Simms (If you don’t know, Google him) that first Halloween, which most in Orange City didn’t recognize. He graduated from MOC-Floyd Valley High School in Orange City in 1992, cementing his place in history as the kid who made the half court three point shot against Unity to send the game into double overtime. He worked as a sales manager at Kraai Furniture in Orange City until his “retirement,” and was a three-time graduate of the University of Carpet One. His humor and bad jokes impacted everyone around him.

Ryan was married to Sarah Hutchinson at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa, on June 26, 2004. They were blessed with two children, Jacob Davin (born May 4, 2007) and Isabella Marie (born April 3, 2009). He worked hard to serve his family in every way he could and always thought of what they needed.

Ryan was an active member of New Hope Evangelical Free Church in Orange City, where he taught Sunday school, volunteered in the nursery, lead Bible studies, discipled many young men, and was a member of the Missions Team. He was passionate about encouraging others to see God’s glory in all things, after learning that the hope he has in Christ is unknown and not available to millions of people. Having lived with cancer and the effects of chemotherapy for 28 years, he knew that only Christ can satisfy. His hope was in Christ alone.

Those left to cherish his memory include his wife of eighteen years, Sarah, and their children, Jake and Bella, all of Orange City; his mother and stepfather, Kathy and Daniel Kraai, of Orange City; his father and stepmother, Daniel and Jeanne Wrather, of Austin, Texas; three brothers, Matthew Wrather, and his wife, Andrea, of Lincoln, Nebraska; Marcus Wrather, of Orange City; and Kyle Wrather, and his wife, Lauren, of Austin; his wife’s parents, David and Carol Hutchinson, of Boone; her two brothers and their wives, Kyle and Amy Hutchinson, of Iowa Falls, and Neal and Andrea Hutchinson, of Robbins; and seven nieces and nephews that Ryan loved to try and rile up, Drake Wrather, and his wife, Brooke; Byron Wrather, Shelley Wrather, Kate Hutchinson, Calvin Hutchinson, Ava Hutchinson, and Leah Hutchinson; as well as many other dear family and friends.

Ryan was preceded in death by his grandparents; Jake and Belva Wrather, and Albert and Shirley Hajek; his step-grandparents, Merlyn and Gertrude Kraai, and Ray and Phyllis Moe; and a nephew, Gavin Wrather.

Memorials will be given to Global Serve International, Engage Global, and Radius International as they mobilize and train churches and their global workers.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.