| Graduation Year | Class of 1995 |
| Date of Passing | Oct 02, 2006 |
| About | Aaron Blankenhorn (29) died in his overturned car after it struck an above-ground high-pressure gas line Aaron Blankenhorn (29) Date: Oct 02, 2006 Cause of Death: Overturned Single Car Accident Location: FORT WAYNE, Indiana Senior Pastor Fred Hasecke of Trinity English Lutheran Church was looking for somebody who could speak to the younger generation when the Rev. Aaron D. Blankenhorn was called to the West Wayne Street church as an associate and youth pastor three years ago. On Tuesday morning, police found Blankenhorn, 29, of Arlington Avenue, dead in his overturned car after it struck an above-ground high-pressure gas line on the side of Kress Road in southwest Allen County. Hasecke said kids took to Blankenhorn – the youngest member on the staff – right away. Blankenhorn spoke their language and was a “big kid” himself. He could connect with a middle schooler as well as he could connect with those in their 20s. He is survived by his wife, Sondra, and two children – Jonah, 2, and Rachel, born this past summer. “The grief that they must feel is almost incomprehensible,” Hasecke said. Trinity, 405 W. Wayne St., will remain open into the evening for the rest of the week to accommodate those who want to pray or receive consolation. Blankenhorn was driving north near the 8300 block of Kress Road about 9:15 a.m. when he apparently lost control of his black 2003 four-door Pontiac Grand Am, Allen County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Stone said. The accident occurred on a gravel portion of Kress, which alternates between gravel and paved surfaces between Lower Huntington and Branstrator roads. The car flipped onto its top and sustained severe damage. “Going from a hard surface to gravel surface, if you’re going fairly fast it’s fairly easy to fishtail and go off the road,” Stone said. The cause of the accident is still officially under investigation. Officials had the gas turned off by 10 a.m. It appeared the car began to go off the east side of the road before Blankenhorn overcorrected and crashed on the west side of the road, shearing the gas line. Max Turnbow, of the 8600 block of Kress Road, saw the car on its top shortly after the crash. He said he could hear the hiss of gas from more than a block away. Three fire engines from the Southwest Fire District responded, as did members of the Allen County Sheriff’s Department and the Allen County Fatal Crash Team. Blankenhorn spent Sunday with children and residents of Lutheran Homes at 6701 S. Anthony Blvd. putting together packets to be sent to military personnel overseas. Hasecke said several children and adults came to the church to grieve after news of the accident spread. Blankenhorn, who grew up in Mansfield, Ohio, came to the church after graduating from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. He earned his undergraduate diploma from Capital University, also in Columbus. Hasecke said though Blankenhorn had all the abilities to become a senior pastor anywhere, at the time of his death he was deeply rooted in youth ministry. He said Blankenhorn used many illustrations during his sermons that he personally didn’t understand, but that the young people in the congregation picked up on immediately. Along with youth ministry, Blankenhorn specialized in dealing with young singles in their 20s as well as young married couples, Hasecke said. “He had a tremendous amount of maturity, but his heart was in youth ministry,” Hasecke said. “I don’t think (becoming a senior pastor) was completely out of his mind, but his love at that stage was the kids. He just really cared for them, and I think they knew that.” |
