OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

Of all the people I've interviewed for a story, one elderly man left an indelible mark in my memory. On Saturday night, I came across the story I had written about him. On Sunday, even though I was trying to catch up on my work for this edition of the Mascot, I felt compelled to visit the gravesite of this man and his wife outside of Paynesville.
How this man and his wife died left an even deeper indelible mark in my memory.
Eleven years ago, a reader of the Senior Perspective that I've written for since 2012 suggested I write a story about this 90-year-old man from Paynesville who was so proficient at ping pong, that even younger players were unable to conquer his skillset.
It was a bitter cold and windy day in November of 2014 when I took off from my home in Willmar to Paynesville for the interview.
When I finally arrived at the home of Willie Scheel, he was removing deep snow off his driveway with an oversized scoop shovel.
"Want some help?" I asked him as I got out of my vehicle.
"Nah, I'm almost done, and besides, I need the exercise," he said without even breathing hard.
We went into his home which was nestled in a wooded area with a babbling brook running through the property. I felt so comfortable there that I jokingly asked Willie and Gloria, his wife, if they could adopt me.
Willie told me that they had no vacancies because their grandson, Gregory, was living with them. He explained that Gregory was a troubled youth and they felt by bringing him into their home, they could get him back on the right path.
As we sat in their living room which had a perfect view of the wildlife passing by the windows, Willie answered my questions, his voice reduced to a loud whisper following larynx cancer 17 years before.
Before the majority of his responses, though, he would give a wisecrack answer and follow up with a laugh each time.
"He does that all the time," Gloria remarked. "You'll get used to it. He still makes me laugh a lot."
Willie talked about recently deciding to stop downhill skiing in Colorado, Canada and the French Alps because he felt he was getting "a little too old," but that he still takes his wife dancing.
He then told me that he had turned 90 on Oct. 28 (2014) on a farm near the small town of Rice.
"I'm so old that I was born before there was history," he quipped. "I'm half German, one-quarter English and one-quarter Norwegian, but most people think I'm full of Scotch."
Because Willie was so well liked in that area, friends held a birthday party in his honor and over 250 people turned out.
When I mentioned to him that he is doing things that men half his age aren't capable of, he smiled and said "I don't believe a word of what you are saying."
In fact, the entire interview was like a vaudeville show. He was much more comfortable utilizing his exceptional quick wit than he was talking about himself.
If only we all enjoyed life this much.
I tried to leave the Scheels' home several times, but Gloria kept bringing out coffee and baked goodies, while Willie brought out one scrapbook after another to showcase his life story. I ended up staying there for over six hours.
At the conclusion of my story about him that appeared in the December 2014 edition of the Senior Perspective, I wrote: "Not much slows Willie down. Not a bout with cancer, not the cold weather, and certainly not Father Time."
On my way home, I called my friend, John Lauritsen of WCCO-TV and told him about Willie to see if he wanted to do an on-air segment. Lauritsen liked the idea and showcased Willie in his “Finding Minnesota” program a few weeks later.
On March 21, 2018, Willie and Gloria were murdered in their home by their grandson, Gregory.
I was devastated when I heard the news. I was sickened when I heard how they died. I had enjoyed my time with them so much that I felt Willie and Gloria were my own grandparents.
I called Lauritsen to see if he had heard the news and he was silent for several moments as he, too, was sickened by the tragic news.
Gregory, the Scheels’ grandson, had placed a plastic bag over Willie's head and tied it with a ligature. Willie died of asphyxiation. The grandson then strangled Gloria with an extension cord. Gregory took the lifeless bodies and placed them in the back seat of their Toyota Prius, covered them with a piece of carpet, and drove them out of town. He then stopped the vehicle northeast of New London, doused the carpet with gasoline and lit the car on fire.
The Scheels were expected at a friend's home that day and when they didn't show, friends went to the home to check on them and then called the police.
The vehicle and the lifeless bodies inside were found by authorities in Colfax Township in Kandiyohi County. The fire had burned itself out before doing much damage.
Authorities found Gregory walking on the road one-half mile from the vehicle. In court, Gregory admitted guilt and said his actions were drug-related. He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.
As I looked at their gravesite this past weekend, I felt as though I had gone back in time and could hear Willie's jokes and see the smile on Gloria's face. Tears streamed down my face. They were simply the best.