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Editorial: The day Big Timber fell
Op-Ed · June 25, 2015
The news that Mayor Mark Worrell had died moved swiftly through West Branch the night of June 15. But even after the visitation and funeral, we still find it difficult to believe the 52-year-old small-business owner, former football star, former firefighter and former city council member is gone.
In the days after his death, we found ourselves doing a double-take at every black pickup truck that passed by, certain to find “Big Timber” written on the side and the driver wearing one of the mayor’s iconic cowboy hats.
Worrell seemed to be everywhere. In the week before his death, he attended a meeting about the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and a tree-planting ceremony honoring Ray and Clara Millett for their support of Scattergood Friends School & Farm.
At the Hoover Park meeting, he provided ideas about the future; at Scattergood, he reflected on the past. And people listened.
Worrell’s lifetime in the West Branch area, his years running a small excavation and grading company, his training and time with the West Branch Fire Department, his 17 years with the West Branch City Council and his two years as mayor taught him quite a bit. At his funeral, a niece, Missy Hodge, took the podium to read a list of the people who influenced him, starting with his parents. And when he applied his parents’ lessons and life lessons to that knowledge, he spoke with courage and conviction, and that made people want to listen.
He also treated people with respect, even when they disagreed with him. He wasn’t perfect, but he earned people’s respect in return.
That’s why when Big Timber fell, the reverberations shook through the lives he touched.
That’s why the news of his death came as such a shock: Someone still relatively young and so valued by the people around him — how could he suddenly be gone?
The Times’ city council reporter noted that it is the mayor’s responsibility to direct the city clerk after each agenda discussion to “Call the roll” — to record the vote of each council member — and that one of the songs Worrell chose for his own funeral was “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” by Johnny Cash:
“Then when all of life is over and our work on earth is done
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.”
How appropriate.
Family and friends began posting condolence messages to Worrell’s Facebook page soon after the news of his death. They talked about his life, both public and private, from hunting to fishing to his love for his family. One group of friends posted a picture of themselves raising their glasses in a toast. We think he would have liked that.
And when some 17 motorcyclists, two fire trucks and two police cars joined the procession, we’re sure he would have liked that, too.
That list of people who impacted him — what a great idea for each of us: To stop and reflect on those who made our lives better, to be thankful for them and realize how much they have helped us.
I wonder how many people making such a list would include Mark Worrell. Ours would.
For that, we’d like to tip our hat to him.
And speaking of hats, perhaps one day we will see one of Worrell’s cowboy hats preserved in the Heritage Museum.
That also seems appropriate, because he certainly left his mark.
And we realized that most ... on the day Big Timber fell.
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