This is the second in a series of stories of SMU faculty and staff who have suffered serious damage because of recent flooding. We hope that these stories bring to light how many people, in how many areas, were deeply affected. Please continue to keep everyone who is fighting to put their lives back together in your prayers.
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Ray Pampuch and his family say their trailer, under 8 feet of water, was a total loss. His trailer, pictured in this photo, is near the center, with a shed attached.
Ray Pampuch
Assistant Director
Campus Safety
Ray Pampuch stood outside in the pouring rain on the early morning hours of Aug. 19. He directed traffic on campus, alerting flood victims where to park, and how to get to the Red Cross emergency shelter inside the SMU fieldhouse.
But his mind was frequently elsewhere — worrying about his daughter, who was visiting friends in Stockton, and his wife, who was at home in Rushford — and news was quickly spreading that both towns were in trouble.
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Pampuch knew the weather was bad as he drove in to work the evening security shift at SMU. “It was raining so hard, I could hardly see,” he said. “In the low areas, water was splashing over my hood.”
He debated whether to even come into work, but knew that finding an overnight replacement is sometimes difficult.
By 12:30 a.m., he was alerted to open the RAC. When he asked why, he was told that Stockton and Minnesota City were flooding, and people were being evacuated to the SMU shelter. “I was thinking of my daughter,” he said. “But then my wife called me and said there was quite a bit of water standing in the trailer court (in Rushford.) I told her what was happening in Winona and told her that if it got any worse, she should tip our canoe over and get out with the animals. She thought I was kidding.”
Throughout the evening, Pampuch searched inside the RAC for his daughter, April, who is 18. She arrived around 4 a.m., but Pampuch had no idea what happened to his wife, Linda.
Tired from a long night, he tried to drive back to Rushford Sunday morning, but he wasn’t allowed into town. He located his wife at her mother’s house. Linda had walked out in the middle of the night, in waist-deep water, with their dog; two cats had to be left behind.
Pampuch doesn’t have photos of his home, but they’re easily available on the Internet, where many photos of a flood-ravaged Rushford have been posted. In one photo of mobile homes, with only the very top of their roofs sticking out above water, Pampuch points out his home in the middle. They estimate water reached 8 feet in the trailer court.
Remarkably, one of their cats was found alive; another remains missing. Pampuch agrees that it is a miracle that no one in Rushford died in the flood. One of his neighbors was trapped in his trailer, but rescuers used Pampuch’s canoe to get him out. A neighborhood dog floated to safety on a mattress.
Pampuch is thankful his family, also including 14-year-old son, Taylor, are safe. And he is grateful to the many SMU community members who have helped flood victims, especially those in Rushford.
The Pampuch family is still living at the Alverna Center, but hopes to purchase a home in Peterson soon, so that Taylor can graduate with his classmates.
Ray and Linda were married this past summer. Ray jokes about their vows of “for richer, for poorer.” The family had insurance, but will never be able to replace all of their belongings. The trailer court, flooded with water, sewage and contaminated liquids, was considered a total loss.
The family left with very little, but did manage to pull some precious and sentimental jewelry from the muck. Ray washed off a watch he had purchased for his wife. It’s still ticking.
Furniture, rare books, a Harley motorcycle, Linda’s car, televisions ... “You name it, we lost it,” he said. “You think of things. Some of it you can’t replace. It just went so fast.”
