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closeFriday, Dec. 18, 2009
Touchet mourns missing Mt. Hood climber
By Drew Foster, Herald staff writer
TOUCHET -- There's no movie theater, shopping plaza or skating rink in Touchet. No fitness center, art gallery or arcade.
But this rural town of some 400 residents off Highway 12 between Pasco and Walla Walla puts community above commerce, benevolence above bustle. It's small, tight-knit, and with few other distractions, residents rally around school functions, the fair and their neighbors' well-being.
When 29-year-old Katie Nolan, a Touchet High School graduate from a family with deep community roots, went missing while climbing Mount Hood last week, the town collectively prayed, hoped and wished for her safe return.
After rescuers ended the search Wednesday saying there was little hope she would be found alive, the town collectively mourned.
"The mourning isn't so much for the death, it's for the suffering of the family," Touchet Postmaster Mary Jamison said Thursday.
Jamison, who lives in Walla Walla but works in Touchet, greets her patrons personally. She knows most of their names, jokes with them at the counter and offers hot cocoa or cider before they leave.
She almost always smiles. Almost always.
But her eyes glossed with tears when asked about the Nolan family. Jamison said Darla Nolan, Katie Nolan's mother, welcomed her to the community when she began working at the post office just more than two years ago.
Jamison thought of her own family as she spoke of the tragedy on Mount Hood that's left one climber dead and two others missing and presumed dead.
She wasn't sure she could be as strong as Darla and David Nolan. "I'll tell you, the faith of that family certainly sustains them."
David Nolan, speaking Thursday at a news conference, said his daughter loved Mount Hood and "would like to be buried up there."
"Right now, she is," he said.
Katie Nolan and 24-year-old Anthony Vietti of Longview remain missing and are presumed dead. On Saturday, mountain rescuers found the body of their friend Luke Gullberg, 26, of Des Moines, Wash., who died of exposure. The missing climbers are believed to be on a slope near the top of a peak that rises more than 11,000 feet.
Jamie Romine, a friend of the Nolan family who lived in Touchet for 12 years and now lives in West Richland, believes the family's faith in God is providing solace.
"There's no doubt in my mind they are at peace," Romine said.
Like Jamison, Romine said the Nolans made her feel like part of the community when her family moved to Touchet in 1993. She said the Nolans often comfort others in times of grief, and she plans to do the same when the Nolans return home from the Mount Hood area.
A community memorial hasn't been planned, but Romine and Jamison expect something to emerge.
"We're still processing it," Romine said. "Collectively, we all have a broken heart."
In times of tragedy, Touchet residents are there for each other. Taped everywhere to windows, stuck to countertops and hanging from bulletin boards Thursday was a flier with information about a local man's memorial service next week.
"I won't have anyone in here Monday," Jamison said, noting residents will be at the service.
Laurie Durfee, a neighbor, friend and co-worker of Darla Nolan, said residents have talked about holding a formal memorial for Katie Nolan, but nothing has come together.
"It's all too soon," she said.
Stuart Durfee, Laurie Durfee's husband, spent time with the Nolan family near Mount Hood when Katie Nolan first went missing. He's spoken to many residents on the family's behalf, relaying news and sentiments back and forth.
"We're going to continue to pray for them and support them in any way we can," he said. "We're there whenever they want to talk."
Durfee said his family and the Nolans are grieving, but "we believe she's with her Lord and savior right now. Sad for us and glad for her."
Despite bad weather on the mountain and cancellation of the rescue efforts, Laurie Durfee is maintaining some hope Katie is still alive.
"The reality is," she said, trailing off. "You have to be realistic, but you still have to hope."
Jamison, working behind the only cash register in the small post office, wore a frail smile as she accepted packages from customers. When the room cleared, she pressed a tissue to her red, watery eyes.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this article.
-- Drew Foster: 585-7207; dfoster@tricityherald.com
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