Thankful people: Bollinger County family is safe and healthy after house explosion

On a Sunday in November, surrounded by his family in their new home, Isaac Wittenborn looks a lot better than he did in April.

He's wearing a hunting cap and camo pants instead of the soggy ballcap and hoodie he'd worn then, picking through the wreckage of his family's home the morning after it exploded.

That night, April 9, he and his wife, Amanda, with their two children, had almost been there.

They had been out of town at a wedding and were tired after the long drive back to where they lived in Bollinger County north of Marble Hill, Missouri.

They'd been in the process of moving to a new home nearby, closer to Amanda's parents, and were staying there.

Amanda Wittenborn and her daughters, Payton and Jazmin, spend time outside at their new home.BEN MATTHEWS

But they still had belongings at the old house.

They'd even thought about stopping by to grab another load, not knowing that while they had been away, the house had filled with natural gas for some reason.

If they had stopped by, the fire marshal told them later, turning on a light switch could have triggered an explosion.

Instead, they were safe in their new home when the furnace kicked on that night, causing a blast that destroyed the house and shook the area for miles around.

Wittenborn said at first, he didn't believe the call when first responders told him what had happened.

Vintage signs and heartwarming messages fill the dining room wall at the new Wittenborn home.bmatthews@semissourian.com

How does a house just blow up?

But it was real enough the next morning.

Sifting through the heap of debris, seeing the storm door in a tree across the street, it didn't much matter how it happened.

"Just knowing that there was a chance we could have been out there at the house and that there would have been a bad outcome if we had been over there," Amanda said, trailing off. "We're going to be a little extra thankful this year."

Wittenborn said he has been able to move past the event for the most part, even though they're still caught in a back-and-forth with their insurance company over the old house.

Isaac and Amanda Wittenborn enjoy a Sunday afternoon with their daughters Jazmin, 10, and Payton, 5, in their new home. In April, the Wittenborn family lost their home after a gas leak led to an explosion.BEN MATTHEWS

"I have a habit of shoving things in the back and not thinking about them," he said.

But that's understandable, considering the explosion came just days before he was scheduled to undergo surgery to deal with cancer.

"It's been a rough year," he said, but smiles.

He's cancer-free and has been able to put that behind him as well.

"Obviously it's still emotional," he said, adding most of the things they lost were those that held sentimental value, such as photos and collectibles. The sense of loss lingers and tends to come at unexpected times.

"We just recently realized most of our heavy winter clothes were gone now," he said.

But the girls are safe and happy. The couple's daughters, Jazmin, 10, and Payton, 5, said they like the new house.

"There's a lot more room to run around in," Jazmin said. "Acres more."

And it's closer to Grandma and Grandpa's -- which Amanda said also helps serve as a reminder to stay grateful.

"My dad was always preaching the good, positive thinking," Amanda said. "With all the good stuff we've had going on, it's been a bit more important. We're all safe, and we're all healthy."

tgraef@semissourian.com

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