KASSON, Minn. -- The annual Thanksgiving Lunch at Sunwood Manor in Kasson was almost full to capacity on Thursday, but there were four people missing. Two elderly residents, plus the daughter of one, and the son of another, were sorely missed.
"Shock, we were all pretty much in shock because we heard no news; all I knew was Betty, Pam, Joyce, and Russ were on that bus," Sunwood worker Mary Iverson said.
Joyce Sievert and her son Russ Denzer were injured when a bus crashed just outside of Austin, MN on Wednesday (both were treated and released from the hospital). Almost two dozen people were returning to Rochester after a day trip to an Iowa casino when the tour bus crossed lanes of traffic before landing in a ditch.
Sunwood Manor's Betty Holmquist was seriously injured. Iverson heard she had broken vertebrae. Betty's daughter Pamela, also on the trip, was one of two people killed in the crash.
Betty rarely ate lunch without her daughter Pamela Holmquist by her side. "I don't know what to say, she was outgoing, outspoken, a lover of life," Iverson said when asked about Pam.
"She is a real nice sweetheart, that's what she is. This is going to be really tough on her," Jeanie Jensen said about her friend Betty. Jeanie was supposed to be on that bus with friends Betty and Joyce, but opted out at the last minute.
East of Rochester, another family grieved the loss of a loved one. Rhonda Hill of Plainview was also killed in that tragic crash. Family members say she was alone on the casino trip. She leaves behind an 18-year-old son. "She was a good mom. She did everything for us and she has always been there for me. I can't imagine life without her," son Levi said at his father's home near Wabasha.
Both Holmquist and Hill are expected to be laid to rest next week.
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