In honor of Raleigh

Raleigh and Kathy Haas had hoped to have the tall, east side of their two-story home painted by Labor Day, but, sadly, that wasn’t to be, Kathy said Wednesday afternoon, as she watched friends of Raleigh climb scaffolding and paint the high eaves. Raleigh, a City of McCook firefighter/paramedic and a well-known and beloved community and church supporter and volunteer, died very unexpectedly Aug. 28. He was 62 years old. Kathy appreciated the help — even on scaffolding and a ladder, she’s too short to reach the eaves, she said with a soft chuckle. Kathy said, too, that friends showed up a week ago Tuesday, and worked in the cold and wet. “Bless their hearts,” she said. Helping with the painting project, in honor of Raleigh, were members of the Knights of Columbus (including above, Bob Burns, Ray Schmiel and Ron Jacobs on Wednesday) and city firefighters. The “ground crew” included Kathy and Lab-mix puppy, Maggie.