Rich was born March 4, 1947. He was married to his wife, Phyllis, for 35 years. Together they raised 3 daughters and have 6 grandchildren. Rich was a teacher with Hillsboro City Schools until the time of his ALS diagnosis in April 2003. An avid baseball fan, he played baseball in high school, coached his daughters' school teams, and was an enthusiastic support of "his" Cincinnati Reds until his passing in February of 2004. He was a teacher and mentor to many, and a fiercely loyal husband, father, and grandfather who continues to be missed by many.
Need Help? Call 419.235.1908
Have you, or someone you know, been diagnosed with ALS? Our Hall of Fame honors all men and women who suffer from Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
As an inductee, you and your family will receive assistance provided by the PHAALS Foundation, including guidance through your battle with ALS and access to support groups. Hall of Fame members are also eligible to receive special support with the Diamond Dreams Program, or to receive the Hall of Fame LEGEND Scholarship.
Inductees who pass away because of ALS become Hall of Fame LEGENDS. We continue to support the families of LEGENDS, and we recognize these amazing individuals at yearly PHAALS events.
To become a member, apply here today. Nominees will be inducted during a PHAALS event.
EUGENE VONLEHMDEN
Eugene “Yogi” VonLehmden, 67, was born on November 27 1944 to Alvin and Rita VonLehmden in Ft. Jennings. Oldest of 5 boys, Ronald, Doyle, Duane and Kim.In High school Yogi played basketball and Baseball. Yogi was a second baseman. Gene met JoAnne Polman and they married on July 31 1965, they had 4 children. Cheryl, Mark, Brent and Lori.
Yogi worked as an electrician at General Motors until 2000 when he retired after 37 years. Yogi enjoyed fishing on “Yogi’s Yacht”, hunting, playing cards with his buddies, wood carving and traveling. Yogi enjoyed down time with all 9 grand children and being there at all their sporting events.
Yogi was diagnosed with ALS in 2010. He passed away in May of 2012.
DAN MANGAS
Dan “Orson” Mangas, 51, was born March 21 1961 to Richard and Janet Mangas. Orson is the oldest of 4 children.
In high school Orson played football, basketball and baseball. Dan married Linda Haselman on June 25th 1988. They have 2 children, Nate and Nicole.
Dan served in the United States Army for four years. Upon returning from duty, Dan worked at Louisiana Pacific for 16 years. Dan was the owner of Good Stuff in Leipsic until the time of his ALS diagnosis in 2009.
Dan enjoyed hunting, fishing and watching sports. Dan coached Jr. High basketball and High School football for many years. Dan passed away in November of 2012.
JIM RIEMAN
Jim was born the oldest of 4 children on a farm in Putnam County. Prior to starting his own career in farming, Jim served in the United States Marine Corps. Upon returning to Putnam County after his military service, Jim married Marge Kuhlman. Jim and Marge farmed grain crops; had several types of livestock, with hogs being the specialty, and raised 6 wonderful kids. Jim was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 67, and passed at the age of 70 in the Year 2000. All during Jim’s life, including the time he was dealing with ALS, Jim kept a positive attitude and an infectious smile on his face; a smile which we miss greatly, but lives on in all the people he touched.
NORM ROUGHTON
Norm Roughton, 56, was born on January 19, 1955 to Rex and Connie Roughton. Norm, or as most new him, “Stormin Normin” was the oldest of 4 children. On August 19, 1979 Norm married Peg Ordway. They had two beautiful daughters, Jana, with husband Matt Hiltner and Hillary with husband Jason Daniels. Norm and Peg were blessed with seven grandchildren. Norm retired from GM Powertrain in 2006. Spending time with his family and grandchildren was what Norm loved to do the most. As a child Norm loved to bowl.
RICH WOOD
STEVE HULBERT
Steve was born November 26, 1946. He and his wife Sandra raised three children: Chris (Karen), Shanna Sidle (Scott), and Andrea Damman (Scott). He worked as a power lineman his entire life. Coon hunting and coaching softball were just a few of his hobbies. He started experiencing symptoms of ALS in 1991 and lost his battle with the disease in January of 1997. At that time, he had 2 grandsons and a granddaughter on the way. They were the joy of his life.
On February 6, 1948, John Leonard Karcher was born to Richard and Lucinda (German) Karcher. One of 13 children, he was raised on a farm and attended St. Mary's Catholic School and Columbus Grove High School in Columbus Grove, Ohio.
DAVID SCHNIPKE
Dave was born August 5, 1953 to Ike and Bertha Schnipke. He grew up on a farm where he shared the chores with his 7 brothers and 1 sister. He graduated from Miller City High School in 1972. Dave is married to Deb (Schroeder). They are extremely proud of their four children. Dawn who is a social worker lives in Kansas City, MO. Beth is a Guidance Counselor at Holgate schools and resides in New Bavaria, OH. Melissa lives in Ottawa and is a nurse.
MATTHEW JUNE
Matt graduated in 1990 from Wintersville High School where he was an All-District baseball player. Upon graduation, Matt enlisted in the US Army where he served 4 years. After his service, he returned to his hometown of Wintersville.
TIM ROETTKER
Tim was born November 11, 1957 in Columbus, Ohio. After graduating from Gallia Academy High School in 1975, he served three years in the U.S. Army. Upon discharge, he worked many years as a restaurant manager for both Wendy's and Ponderosa.
BERNARD WILKER
BERNARD WILKER
Bernard was a farmer, plumber and pipe fitter at Celina Lake Contracting. He served his country in the Army during the Korean War. He played baseball as a child for the Motezuma Ducks as a catcher and also played while in Korea. Bernard Wilker was born on March 7, 1933, in St. Mary's, OH to Julius and Gertrude (Kramer) Wilker. On November 5, 1955 he married Marceil Brunswick, they had nine children, four boys and 5 girls.
PATRICIA WESTRICK
Patricia Westrick is a life-long resident of Henry County. She graduated from Holgate Schools and has been employed by SM Heller Hospital, the NW Signal, Holgate Schools, and Drs. Flora, Elliott, LaLonde, Bilen, and Hasselschwert.
MALCOLM HELBERG
Malcolm was born December 26, 1932 and raised on a farm in Napoleon. He graduated from Napoleon High School in 1951 and married Rosella (Gerken) on January 5, 1952. They raised four children; all of which graduated from Napoleon High School...Vicki (Mike) Saneholtz, Peggy (Steve) Mossing, Bruce (Kathy) Helberg, and John Helberg. Sonny worked 40 years in construction for C.F. Gerken and the City of Napoleon. He took early retirement due to his ALS diagnosis in 1995. He suffered from ALS for 13 years before passing away on January 14, 2008.
CARL WEBKEN
Carl was born on November 24,1925 to Martha and Joseph Webken. Carl served his country in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. On April 22,1953 Carl married the love of his life Marietta “MAE” Warnecke. They raised a family of eight children, 3 girls and 5 boys. Ann and her husband Kevin Miller, Marge and her husband Denny Heitmeyer, Dennis wife Kelly, William wife Cindy, Robert wife Lisa, Joan and her husband Kevin Vennekotter, Roger wife Sandy and Michael wife Kelly. Carl was a dedicated grain and livestock farmer.
PAUL KING
Paul was instrumental in the development of high school and American Legion basedball in the city of Fremont. Sparky filled the role of general manager or coach of the Fremont Post 121 Baseball Team for over 20 years. Paul also spent time as the Fremont Ross Little Giant Junior Varsity Coach under Head Coach Chuck Lindsay. Paul was best known for being one of the top high school baseball umpires in the area, eventually being inducted into the Ohio High School Athletic Association Officials’ Hall of Fame in 1998.
TIM KAHLE
Tim was born June 4, 1958 in Kalida. Tim is the youngest of Herman and Imogene (Wyant) Kahle’s eight children. He attended grade school at St. Michael’s and graduated from Kalida High School in 1976. In May of 1982, Tim married Lois Wischmeyer and they now have 3 children, Travis, Matt and Rachel. Tim worked for Marathon Oil Company in Midland Texas from 1982 to 1988 when he moved his family back to Pandora where is family presently resides.
ROBIN MOWER
Robin is married to John and between them they have 4 children and 3 grandchildren. Robin has always enjoyed camping, running, singing and being with her family. Since Robin’s diagnosis with ALS in September of 2009, she has made it her mission to raise ALS awareness, help others dealing with ALS and raise funds to find a cure. This past fall Robin and her husband traveled over 7,800 miles across the US in their RV.
JOE DENKO
Joe was a 1985 graduate of Central Catholic H.S. He received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Toledo in 1989. Joe was a field underwriter with Mutual of New York where he provided financial consulting services. Joe was the proud father to Kendall Joseph Jenko, a freshman this year at Central Catholic and Alexa Ann Denko a 6th grader at Christ the King School. Joe’s battle with ALS was a courageous one. He had a way of teaching all that knew him.
WILLIAM CROY
Bill was a 1967 honor graduate of Ottawa-Glandorf High School where he played football, basketball, and track and the clarinet in the band. He was a 1971 graduate of Ohio Northern with a B.A.
DONALD NIESE
Don was a proud parent to 9 children. He served in the Korean War and drove an ammunition truck. He later started his own trucking company. He was a very caring person and is still greatly missed.
SCOTT EVERS
Scott has been living with ALS for 15 years. A former athlete and avid sports fan, Scott now enjoys watching his four boys play baseball and has a partial season ticket package for the Minnesota Twins. Scott, his wife Kristi, and four boys (Erik - 18, Zach - 16, Craig - 13, and Kenny - 8) reside in Eden Prairie, MN.
ANETTA KASTNER
Anetta first became symptomatic in October 2009 and underwent an unnecessary cervical spinal fusion. She was corrected diagnosed with ALS in May 2010. She retired on disability as a Drug Education Specialist at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Marion, Illinois. She moved to Iowa to be with her husband who works for the Veterans Health Administration, in August 2010. The disease progressed rapidly and after getting a g-tube and super pubic catheter in January 2012, she underwent a tracheotomy and now lives at home on a ventilator.
We would like to hear from you with any feedback about our website or our organization.