Grim reaper claims two former B-B-E students

In the past week, the grim reaper has claimed two adults who were once part of the B-B-E high school community.

On Tuesday this week (January 16), Mike Ward passed away after a lengthy illness going back to this past summer. He had a blood-related disease that ultimately took his odds of survival, and he moved to a nursing home last fall for end-of-life care.

Ward was part of B-B-E high school as a member of the Class of 1995. He was a student at Brooten elementary school in the 1980s just a year above my grade. More recently, he was a real estate agent in central Minnesota who overcame a serious motorcycle accident in 2006 that landed him in a wheelchair. Through his struggles, he never lost his zest for life. Quite simply: to know Mike was to love Mike! He was one of a kind.

On Friday, January 19, Class of 2011 graduate Shawna Jacobson was killed near St. Bonifacious in a car-semi accident. You can read more about her and the accident by clicking over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://rb.gy/04iyp6. This article has gone completely viral. Within a span of three hours, it received over 1,600 views on Saturday night.

All of this has weighed heavily on me. May God bless their memories, and I ask that we all pray for their families. They have a difficult road ahead.

Publisher's note: in the upcoming Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper issue, we wish to publish a short number of special memories from Shawna's childhood in Brooten and B-B-E schools, especially from her high school peers and teammates. Only 3 or 4 would likely be printed, and nothing would be published without permission. Her family is hurting, and this would be a small but kind gesture to help ease their pain. Please email the publisher if you are interested: lifeinbonanzavalley@gmail.com.