Wahoo High School Loses Two Talented Honor Roll Sophomores in October 18 Car Accident
District and Community Grieve Yet Another Student Tragedy

Students, staff, and community members of Wahoo have once again been forced to deal with the unthinkable.

On Wednesday, October 18, Wahoo High School students Kyle Clark and Nathan Worley were killed in a one-car accident on County Road K, approximately 1 1/2 miles east of Wahoo.

"This is another tremendous loss for our school and community," stated Wahoo High School Principal Chris Arent.

Kyle and Nathan were both honor roll students, and members of the WHS sophomore class.

Nathan is the son of Doug and Donita Worley. He is survived by an older brother Nick, and younger sister Nikayla, who is a fourth grader at Wahoo Elementary. Both of Nathan's parents are employed by Wahoo Public Schools. 

WPS staff and area grievance counselors were available in the WHS Commons area into Wednesday night, and throughout the day on Thursday, October 19, for students.

According to his freshman guidance/career planning questionnaire, Kyle had always dreamed of becoming a baseball player and a jet pilot. His favorite course of study was science, and he wanted to attend the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado to pursue studies in aerospace engineering. Kyle played high school baseball, and was a member of the high school quiz bowl and student council. He had also recently enrolled to take Independent Advanced Placement (AP) English Literature and Composition from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Kyle also enjoyed building model airplanes and was well-known for being a hard worker. 

Nathan's favorite class in high school was geometry. He enjoyed fishing, football, and track. Nathan's goal after graduation was to attend college to study computer, electronic, and information technology. Nathan had numerous jobs, including mowing lawns, helping with maintenance/custodial work at the elementary and middle/high schools, he sold worms, babysat, shoveled snow, and detasseled. Nathan was also known as being a hard worker, and he prided himself in being a "quick thinker."

Visitation was held on Sunday, October 22, from 1:00-5:00 p.m. at the Pruss-Nabity Funeral Home, 911 N. Linden Street, in Wahoo.

A Life Tribute Service for both boys was also held on Sunday, October 22, at 3:00 p.m. in the Wahoo High School gymnasium (2201 N. Locust). The service was led by Rev. Douglas Smith of the First United Methodist Church in Wahoo, who encouraged all family members and friends of both Kyle and Nathan to celebrate the lives of two extraordinary individuals, both of whom leave a wealth of fond memories for many others. Selected relatives of each family offered reflections highlighting the positive personal and academic character of both boys, along with some humorous anecdotes of their lives. The service also included a visual and musical tribute to Kyle and Nathan with a slide show accompanied by some of their favorite music.

Funeral services for both boys were held on Monday, October 23, at First United Methodist Church, 714 N. Beech, in Wahoo.

Kyle's funeral began at 10:00 a.m., and was officiated by Rev. Smith. Musical selections played included "Held", "Homesick", and "How to Save a Life". Honorary Casket Bearers included all of Kyle's classmates, teammates, friends, and cousins. Kyle's Interment Service was at 2:30 p.m. at Logan Park Cemetery in Sioux City, IA, officiated by Rev. Janis Bennet.

Nathan's funeral was held at 2:30 p.m., officiated by Rev. Tom Osborne and Rev. Smith. Musical selections, played by organist Roma Smith and soloist Dennis Worley, included "Amazing Grace" and "How to Save a Life". Casket Bearers were Don Aken, Joey Dietrich, Clint Lamprecht, Dustin Reynolds, Chris Jonas, Robert Malina, Alan O'Sullivan, and Robbie Kotschwar. Honorary Casket Bearers were Dylan Owens, Ron Givens, Dylan Malina, Gage Lamprecht, Christian Owens, Zain Smith-Lamprecht, Rick Dey, Dan Givens, Josh Williams, Jeffrey Malina, Dalton Lamprecht, and Zac Lamprecht. Final goodbyes were said at the Internment Service held at Sunrise Cemetery in Wahoo.

The Wahoo Public Schools cancelled all classes on Monday, but the Wahoo High School Commons was open throughout the day for students and staff to gather. The district provided lunch to all WPS students and staff members between the two funerals.

A memorial fund has been set up for each family at community banks. To donate to the Kyle Clark Memorial Fund, please contact First National Bank of Wahoo, 201 E. 5th Street, Wahoo, NE 68066 (phone: 402-443-4117). To donate to the Nathan Worley Memorial Fund, contact the Wahoo State Bank, P.O. Box 188, Wahoo, NE 68066 (phone: 402-443-3207).

This past weekend WPS said very painful good-byes to its third and fourth student losses in the past ten months. The prayers and thoughts of the entire Wahoo Public Schools faculty and staff are with both the Clark and Worley families, and they continue to be with the families of Ron and Tim Larsen and Nick Peters.

All classes resumed regular schedules on Tuesday, October 24. WPS will continue to go through the healing process and try to return to normalcy, while at the same time remembering those it lost.

"I like the way everyone who is part of the Wahoo Public School family - students, staff, and parents - takes care of each other. We are very fortunate to be together. We had great help from a caring community, and strong support from friends in many other schools," commented Wahoo Public Schools Superintendent Ed Rastovski.