David Virchow
David Virchow and His Family Remembered- Los Alamos Monitor April 1987 Article
The Virchow family of White Rock had so much love among them that it had to spill over to other people. “They loved each other and extended that love to love thy neighbor as thyself” said Janice Parker. Parker was a friend of “the family-wasn’t everyone?”
Six of the seven members of the Virchow family - Carl and LeAnne and their four sons, Paul, David, James and Mark – were killed Friday in a car accident in Colorado, leaving friends in shock but also with the legacy of an unforgettable, near-perfect family. The Virchow family is survived by its only daughter, Julie.
“They were living as the Savior would want us to live” Parker said and that embodied them with a “sweet spirit” that touched almost everyone with a hand of caring. “They had a light about them that just shone” Parker said, “You would think you were their special friend, but everyone was their special friend”
Friend Peggy Bradberry recalls a day recently when a teen-age girl decided to be baptized into the Virchows’ church, the White Rock Church of Latter-day Saints. LeAnne, the mother of the Virchow family, hugged the girl after the ceremony and said how proud she was of the girl and how happy she was for her. After Mrs. Virchow walked away, the girl asked who the woman was, Bradberry said. That’s just the way they were making friends new and old feel welcome and loved. When someone new joined the church, Bradberry said, “the Virchows were one of the first families to get right over there, shake their hands and invite them to dinner – that night” The dinner usually included waffles and ice cream, the family’s trademark. Howard Rice was a frequent guest, but he says it was more than the waffles and ice cream that made such occasions special, “The waffles and ice cream were very good, but it was the family that made it special”.
By example and tutelage, LeAnne and Carl Virchow instilled in all their children their values of caring and cooperation. They made it look easy and fun to set aside their concerns to help other people, Parker said. Many people remarked on the way the children went out of their way to help people, to flash a reassuring smile or to put an encouraging arm around a pal or a classmate just when it seemed most needed.
Tom Brown, who coached the eldest son, Paul, in football in high school, described the boy as an “outstanding team player” Paul originally was a quarterback, but when the team needed him more as a defensive halfback, Paul did it willingly and well, Brown said. Paul ended up making the all-district team in his acquired position. Although he dealt with Paul the most, Brown said, “There was no way you could know the individual without knowing the whole family.” Their deaths “are especially devastating because of the numbers involved and the potential of the kids” Brown said, “As individuals they would add so much good to whatever they did and to wherever they lived…They would have been a benefit to any community.”
Rice, who worked with a couple of the Virchow boys through Boy Scouts said the children were special because they were considerate of one another and everyone around them. So was their father, with whom Rice also worked through Scouting, “Carl was quiet and reserved, but always very attuned to peoples feelings and needs.”
Friend Jim C. Devenport wrote a poem about the Virchow family that he read at Sunday services at the White Rock church. It says, in part of the children, “We all wished your kids were ours or at least for ours to marry yours. You seem to raise children like your garden, strong, healthy, nourishing, and full of life.” A couple of people mentioned the goal Carl and LeAnne made when they were first married, and how the accomplishment of that goal makes their lives complete and their deaths easier to take. “Carl and his wife promised each other that they would make their life together special, and they did that” Rice said, “They had a genuine love and concern for each other”.
“Of any family we know”, Bradberry said, “their entire lives were probably as close (to doing it right) as it should be”. “It’s not that the Virchows were perfect” said friend Connie Gartz, “but that they did so many things right. Their family was the most important priority. They worked at making each individual of the family successful”
The faith that bound the Virchow family together has helped their friends accept their deaths. “We really believe we do know where the Virchows are” Parker said, “We receive a lot of strength knowing that all is not lost. We’re parted only temporarily.”
Another part of Devenport’s poem reads, “The spirits will rejoice once you have taught them waffles and ice cream. Just please…save some for us”.
“They were a choice family, both morally and spiritually” Rice said, “If every family was like them, this would be a much finer world. I’m really going to miss them”
“When I was at the Library researching and trying to find obituaries and articles about our lost alumni, I found the above write up in the Los Alamos Monitor. I was not fortunate enough to have met most of the family, but I can remember Dave and his thoughtfulness. In 9th grade, I rode the after school bus home (he played football and I played soccer) and he was one of those guys that just made you feel better about yourself. I can remember how the schools all worked around the services for the family and it seemed to have such an impact on the community. Even though it was a short time that I knew him, I am so grateful that David was part of our class and that I got to ride the bus with him. I hope that more of you will post some of your memories of him and share some stories” – Mindy
Cemetary where the Virchow family rests.
