Laserfiche WebLink
Wayne's Resting Place <br />I cannot convey in words the devastation that overwhelmed me when my twin brother <br />died after his fall down the Mary McKinney mine shaft in 1986. I spent the next 20 years <br />stumbling alone down a spiral of self - destruction to rock bottom. It has only been in recent years <br />that I came back from the abyss where my life began to get back on track and make sense again. <br />My brother was a free spirit; generous, hardworking, had a wonderful sense of humor, and was <br />passionate about this country. He loved to hike and explore across different states, and was on <br />one of these adventures after he moved to Colorado, when he died. At 23 he had his whole life <br />ahead of him, and his loss has left a gaping hole in the lives of all our family (parents, 3 brothers, <br />and a sister), as well as extended family, and numerous friends. The ripples of this devastation <br />continued out to his fiancee and all of her family. <br />It was an added blow to us at the time of Wayne's death that there appeared to be no safe <br />way at the time to recover his body from this disused mine. We had to make peace with the fact <br />that his gravesite would be where his bones lay, and a memorial plaque was set covering the <br />mineshaft that we could go back to visit and to pay our respects. We had no choice in the <br />location of my brother's grave -site; it is where he died, where his bones are, and where they were <br />unable to be recovered inl986. <br />A burial place is considered hallowed ground, particularly by the family and friends of <br />the deceased. In order to properly honor and respect my brother, his grave marker should be <br />close to the resting place of his spirit, either where he died or with his remains. At the moment, <br />this is the same place. <br />The only 2 respectful options that would honor and respect Wayne for his family and <br />friends are: <br />1. Return his remains to the family for proper burial on consecrated ground with a grave marker, <br />Or, <br />2. Find a way, even if it is more costly, to work around his gravesite leaving his present marker <br />and resting place intact. <br />The present plans of the Cripple Creek & Victor mining company offers us no option of <br />visiting Wayne's remains or resting place, and feels like a large corporation desecrating my <br />brother's grave in the name of industrial profit. <br />Thank you for your kind consideration in this case. I hope that with your help we can reach an <br />equitable and fair solution that will allow job creation for the local population with the Cripple <br />Creek & Victor Gold mining company, but also respectfully honor the memory of my brother, <br />who must rely on his family to give him a voice. <br />Brian Ward Tease <br />d) 0 <br />r <br />�t <br />