"Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives." -- Clarence, Angel Second Class, from "It's a Wonderful Life."

A week ago, Le Mars lost a unique and special man. Rich Janssen, who had lived here for nearly 40 years, passed away after a uniquely Janssen-esque struggle against leukemia. Much like George Bailey, the reluctant banker portrayed so memorably by Jimmy Stewart in the Frank Capra classic movie "It's a Wonderful Life," Rich touched and changed so many lives, including mine and my family's.

A decade ago, my family and I were looking for a house to call home here in Le Mars. Even before I was offered a position here at the Sentinel, we began weekend trips from our home an hour away to look at houses in Le Mars.

After doing some curbside shopping, we decided to contact the real estate agent that had the majority of the houses listed that we were interested in looking at and finding more information about.

That's when I met Rich Janssen.

When we were first looking at houses, I wasn't sure if I would get a job or not, so I told Rich that we may or may not be coming to Le Mars, and I may or may not be getting a job at a firm that I couldn't disclose. Those of you who knew Rich can imagine how he took it all in stride, slyly asking questions while filling in the awkward gaps in the conversation. You never had to worry about silence when you were around Rich.

It became a twice a week ritual as we looked at 14 houses in Le Mars before settling on the house we now occupy. At the time, my daughters were eight and 14 years old and truly enjoyed the adventures of looking at prospective homes with "Uncle Richie." A consummate professional, he remained upbeat and patient as we went through the sticker shock of moving from a town of 222 residents to a city of nearly 10,000. His patience paid off and we finally chose a house and agreed on terms.

Shortly after we moved here, our youngest daughter need a grandparent for grandparent's day. The closest grandparent, my wife's mother, was very ill and "Uncle Richie" graciously consented to be my daughter's grandfather for the day. They had a great time, and I imagine my daughter wasn't the last child that got to "borrow" Rich for grandparents day. He and his wife Linda made our family feel welcome here, something I will forever be grateful for.

After I got to know Rich better, he shared his cartoons with me. The man had a gift of making light of nearly everything, including his battle with leukemia. Then there was the Chicago sports teams -- the Bears and the Cubs, and the Hawkeyes. He took their changing fortunes with the classic suffering fans line "there's always next year."

As I sat at his funeral on Monday at his church that he spent so much time working for and promoting, the memories of those days and the fun we would have came washing over me. Pastor Fett did a wonderful job eulogizing Rich, and a line in the obituary concisely captured Rich: "Anyone who met Rich was not a stranger for long, and he was well-known for his quick wit and humor."

Those 21 words captured the essence of the man. Anyone who spent any time with Rich left the conversation feeling better. He had that unique and special gift of being humorous without being hurtful, something we could use more of today. The photo we ran with his obituary has the classic Rich raised eyebrow and puckish grin, and you wonder what is about to come out of his mouth. You know, whatever it is, it will more than likely make you smile. He must have been quite a 5th grade teacher.

To say he will be missed is a gross understatement. To say he enriched the lives of everyone he met, either as a teacher, coach or friend would also be a gross understatement.

As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@lemarscomm.net, telephone 712-546-7031, x40 or toll free 1-800-728-0066 x40.

Thanks for reading, I'll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.