Remembering Craig and Chase Wilkins
by Sue Rolfing

(Editorial Note: Our thoughts and prayers have recently been and continue to be with the Wilkins family after the loss of Craig and Chase. We thank Sue for her touching memorial article and for allowing us to share it here with you.)

My husband and I have long considered the Wilkins to be the “First Family” of the llama world and, more recently, of the alpaca industry as well. They epitomize what many of us aspire to: three generations of a loving family that work and play together with great joy and satisfaction as they live out the dream of small town, middle America .

In a business that keeps some of us on the road for too many weeks each year, visiting with the Wilkins’ at shows and sales provides a touch of home. The first big event of the 2005 season, the Celebrity Llama Sale & Futurity in Oklahoma City April 1-3, was no exception. Mike and Janet were bustin' all their family pride buttons as son Craig, 37, manager of their very successful llama and alpaca operation, had perhaps the best-groomed animals in the showring, class after class. Craig's beautiful wife Stacy had triple duty that weekend: showing animals, keeping track of daughter Taylor, 11, and twin sons Dakota and Chase, 5 (who wear lesser mortals out in no time), and writing insurance policies. Stacy works in Janet and Mike's Wilkins Livestock Insurers agency, providing lama owners a strong and loving shoulder to lean (and cry) on in times of business loss.

Just hours after the Futurity ended, it was we who were offering our sorrowful shoulders from long distance to these special friends.

Steve and I laughed while flying home from OK City Monday morning, recalling the determination of little Chase Wilkins in the showring the day before. As 10th through 1st place winners were announced for his class, Chase was confused when his big stud’s number was called for 7th place. He had obviously expected to be the last one in the ring and to claim the blue ribbon, so was hesitant to leave. I don’t know how the kind woman standing next to the boy explained it to him, but Chase slung the lead rope over his shoulder, pitched all his weight forward, and hauled WLK “The Ritz” out of the ring, incredulous that the judges could get it so wrong! His parents and grandparents were all chuckling on the sidelines. Many of us joined them, privately hoping to enjoy such a scene in our own lives someday.

We were fast asleep at home Monday night when the phone rang about midnight. There had been a terrible accident. On their way back to Nebraska, Craig and Chase were killed Monday afternoon in a head-on collision on I-80. Stacy and Dakota were in the Wichita hospital. Taylor and her girlfriend had been in Mike and Janet’s truck. They were all OK, but had seen the whole thing. Could we please help pass the word?

Oh, God. Could any devil devise a more horrific way to devastate a family?

Calls and emails went out; more calls and emails came in. The details were online in articles and a television news clip, sparing us the need to repeat the terrible story. A 72-year-old man driving the wrong way at 75-80 m.p.h. had sent cars diving into the ditch for several miles, including Mike and Janet and their trailer full of llamas. Craig, caught between a semi tractor trailer and a cement median barrier, could not avoid a collision. He took the blow on his side and was killed instantly. Chase had been seated behind him and was airlifted to a Wichita hospital where he later died. The lone llama in Craig’s trailer also died. It was The Ritz.

Amidst the outpouring of questions and confusion, love and tears, one reassurance was expressed over and over: of all the families known by any of us, the Wilkins family tops the faith list. They speak quite naturally of the sort of personal faith that finds supernatural strength to face even a tragedy such as this, with genuine trust that God will ultimately use it to accomplish his good purpose for those who love him, and love him they do.

That love was felt by all who attended the memorial service for Craig and Chase at their Evangelical Free Church in Geneva, Nebraska, a week later. Stacy, in a back brace from her spinal injury, stood taller than any man or woman present, both literally and figuratively. With a God-given dignity and calm, she talked with us about what a great guy and fantastic father Craig was, and how over-the-top happy he had been doing exactly what he most wanted in life: raising his kids while working the family farm and relishing his hometown’s close-knit community lifestyle that they had chosen to return to when Taylor was born.

With her own parents from Virginia and dozens of Wilkins’ by her side, Stacy courageously faced over 500 people gathered from all over the county and country to help her say good-bye to her husband and little boy. With unbelievable graciousness, Janet and Mike opened their home for the family visitation Sunday and after the service Monday. From bright white fences he put in, to spring green pastures he seeded; from the bass pond he fished, to the four-wheeler trails he rode, the place has Craig’s stamp all over it.

Like a lot of folks in the lama world, the Craig I knew seemed more comfortable around his animals or working on the farm than in a crowd of people. But the multi-media show and those who spoke at his memorial described another side. When it came to camping, boating, fishing, hunting, and four-wheeling, Craig was a wild man and Chase was a “chip off the old block.” In their too-short lives this playful duo provided an abundance of wonderful memories for the family and friends who witnessed their multitude of adventures.

In death, as in life, Craig and “Chaser” remain true sidekicks. Standing before their single coffin, which was topped with Chase’s favorite stuffed animal and a colorful array of week-old show ribbons, one friend shared a touching family intimacy. Chase once said he looked forward to being in heaven with God someday, but he was scared to leave his mom. Craig’s friend wanted us to know that in the heaven-on-earth world of the Wilkins family, Craig was the kind of father who would go to heaven with his son, so Chase wouldn’t be scared or alone.

Prominent in the service was this scriptural promise, to which we may cling in our sadness:

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. John 14: 1-4

An Education/Memorial Fund has been established for Taylor, Dakota, and Stacy. Gifts may be sent to:

The Wilkins Children Education/Memorial Fund
c/o Michael Collins
Charles Schwab, Inc.
725 N. 98 th Street
Omaha , Nebraska 68114