Memorial services honor Boy Scout killed in tornado

Funerals to be this week; several still in hospital

Boy Scouts Eric Klos, from left, Matt Garder, Noah Carpenter and Aidan Schieuer, members of Troop 565 in Omaha, Neb., walk to Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church on Saturday for a memorial service for 13-year-old Josh Fennen, who was killed Wednesday by a tornado at Little Sioux Scout Ranch near Little Sioux, Iowa.

? Dozens of Boy Scouts turned out Saturday to remember one of their peers killed when a tornado swept through their camp in western Iowa.

A memorial service for 13-year-old Josh Fennen was conducted in Omaha, with his funeral scheduled later in Texas.

Fennen was the son of Charles and Dorothy Fennen of Omaha. He had one sister and had recently finished eighth grade at Andersen Middle School in Omaha.

Those who knew the teen said he loved trains and was welding a model big enough for him to ride in. He had an uncanny ability to understand knots. He sang in the school choir and was known among teachers for his leadership.

Others killed in Wednesday’s tornado at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch were Aaron Eilerts, 14, of Eagle Grove, Iowa; Ben Petrzilka, 14, of Omaha; and Sam Thomsen, 13, of Omaha.

All four of the dead teens were found near the collapsed stone chimney of the multipurpose building where Scouts gathered to socialize, said Lloyd Roitstein, an executive with the Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Funeral services are scheduled Monday afternoon in West Point for Eilerts. Services will be Tuesday morning in Omaha for Petrzilka and Thomsen.

Several Scouts remained hospitalized Saturday, including three at Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City, Iowa. A fourth Scout who had been hospitalized there was transferred to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where he was listed in fair condition Saturday, according to hospital representatives.

The National Weather Service said the deadly tornado was an EF3 on the 1-to-5 Enhanced Fujita scale of intensity. The twister cut a path estimated at 14 miles long.

Dozens of the Scouts, ages 13 to 18, were hailed for their bravery and resourcefulness in the moments after the tornado flattened their 1,800-acre camp.

“There were some real heroes at this Scout camp,” Gov. Chet Culver said earlier this week, adding that he believes the Scouts saved lives while they waited for paramedics to cut through the trees and reach the camp a mile into the woods.

The 93 boys, all elite Scouts attending a weeklong leadership training session, had taken part in a mock emergency drill with 25 staff members just a day before the twister hit.

Cleanup at the Little Sioux camp began Saturday, with 50 volunteers from the Mid-America Council retrieving Scouts’ belongings.