Reaman Joe Uttereyuk (b. Dec 8, 1998) was found lying on the nets right on the shore of the Kun River Friday afternoon, 6 Jul 2007. Taken to the village clininc CPR was performed for 45 minutes before a doctor in Bethel, on the phone with EMT's in Scammon Bay, told them to discontinue CPR.
Reichel John Uttereyuk (b. Mar 2, 1997), Reaman's older brother, could not be found. Search and rescue operations commenced immediately and Reichel's body was finally found on Saturday morning, July 7, at approximately 9:30 a.m. Reichel's body was pulled up from the bottom of the Kun River, about 150 feet away from the place where Reaman's body was found on shore.
Their parents, John and Carolyn Uttereyuk, were subsistence fishing at their fish camp on Black River, 40 miles north of Scammon Bay.
According to State Troopers, they verified what we all had believed-- the boys were playing and Reaman slipped on some rocks by the shoreline. Reichel jumped in to save his brother. He was able to get Reaman’s unconscious body up to shore while two other young cousins helped pull Reaman's body to the shore. Reichel had no more strength and went under.
None of the boys could swim. No one really gets swimming lessons around here as the water never gets warmer than 35-40 degrees.
These boys were the best of kids in this village. They loved one another and they were well behaved. Reaman always had a smile. Both boys were active in church. Their parents taught them to respect their elders and to love their pastor.
Reichel wanted to grow up to be an Alaska State Trooper.
This entire community was touched by the lives of these two boys. These boys belonged to two families that were connected to just about every other family in the village.
At the family’s request, Sunday morning church services were held at the Uttereyuk home. (The audio message delivered can be heard at by CLICKING HERE). No evening service was held out of respect for the family so as not to conflict with the viewing.
The funeral was held on Monday, 8 July 2007 at 1:00 p.m., in the old High School gym because so many people had flown in from all over Alaska. Some flew in from as far north as Koyuk, as far south as Bethel and Napaskiak, and as far east as Anchorage. We also had one missionary couple from Olympia, Washington. (The audio recording of the service is available by CLICKING HERE).
This was one of the largest funeral services that Scammon Bay has ever seen. Following the actual service, during the final farewell that allows everyone to greet the families and express condolences, the line seemed unending. Pall bearers could not take the caskets until 4:15 p.m.
Although I officiated the service, the funeral was attended by three other pastors, Rodney Sawyer, field director for ECC Alaska (ECCAK), Grant Funk, pastor of Hooper Bay Covenant Church, and Wass Mute, pastor of Koyuk Covenant Church (Pastor Mute was my predecessor in Scammon Bay, ministering here from 1995-2005 with his wife, Jean).
It was a tremendous blessing for these pastors to be here because the family, and those boys especially, were very, very close to my family and I.
Rachel was just playing with Reaman and Reichel on 5 July. She loved playing with them because they were so polite and so helpful.
John and Carolyn were so strong in faith. They definitely were supernaturally empowered with the Holy Spirit to have that peace that passes understanding. They were a comfort to others through this entire ordeal.
We believe I had developed pneumonia about Tuesday from a chest cold. The clinicians of Scammon Bay checked me out on Thursday, and on Friday, so did Lenna Funk of Hooper Bay. Lenna is not only the wife of Pastor Grant Funk, she is also a registered nurse. Grant and Lenna flew me out of Scammon Bay to Hooper Bay on Friday evening. From Hooper Bay Bob Widman of Mission Aviation Repair Center (MARC) flew me to Bethel. In Bethel at midnight, Pastor Jack Adkins picked me up and we drove to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Center (YKHC) emergency room. My uncontrollable coughing was nearly gone by the time we arrived. After chest x-rays, Dr. Greenberg of YKHC declared that I had the lungs of a 25-year-old. I was discharged from the ER at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday morning and returned to Scammon Bay on Saturday afternoon.
Lenna Funk believes that this was a bona fide miracle by the mercy of God. So does everyone who saw me this past week. So do I.
As a pastor in a village during a time like this, normally I would have been up at the viewing or with the family every day. It would seem that God didn’t want that. This village doesn’t need to see Pastor Jon’s faith. They know my faith. They needed to see John and Carolyn’s.
There is tremendous triumph through this tragedy. John was raising his boys to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29) and their lives... and deaths reflected just that.
We don’t have anything set up formally, however, if there are any churches, or individual believers, whose hearts were touched by the Lord to help the Uttereyuk family during this time, it may be best to send it to ECCAK:
Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska
c/o R & R Uttereyuk Memorial Fund
P.O. Box 770749
Eagel River, AK 99577
Phone: (907) 694-6348
NOTE: Please make your checks payable to "ECCAK" or to the "Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska"
