I had the good fortune to visit with Wesley Malenke in 2023 at his home in Charles City, IA . It was a cold Iowa winter, and I had just left the funeral of camper Dan Kollasch, in Bancroft, IA.  Wes had been a good Camp Courageous supporter, and I wanted to personally stop and thank him for his support. When I asked Wes, during that visit, why he was supporting Camp Courageous, he explained that Charles City had a camp that he loved, but it closed, and he chose to support another Camp and Courageous was the lucky one. We talked about my visits to Charles City when I was young, to visit my dad’s 1^st cousin, Dr. Robert Huber.  Wes credited Dr. Huber with saving his life.  We also talked about the tornado that went through Charles City in 1968 and the many campers that came from Comprehensive Systems in Charles City to Camp Courageous over the years.

Wesley Paul Malenke, 93, passed away about a year later, July 25, 2024.  Had the opportunity to attend his memorial service in Charles City.  Wes was a fascinating person.  He served in the United States Air Force, then spent many productive years working at General Electric and Salsbury/Solvay Laboratories, where he contributed significantly to his field. While at Salsbury/Solvay he met his future wife, Lucille Neir. They later married on June 5, 1976.  She preceded him in death.  Wes gave Camp a gift from his estate.  A special thank you to Wes’ financial advisor, Mark Anderson, with Northwest Mutual out of Rochester, MN for helping Wes and Camp through the process.  Wes’ gift will go into Camp’s Perpetual Fund and will provide support to Camp Courageous forever.