Island charity eyeing a New Mexico ranch
What started as a vacation home in Magdalena, New Mexico, for Frank and Chrystyna Kestler of Shelter Island — and a place where her son Joey Theinert could hunt, a sport he loved — could become a rest stop for returning troops and their families and Gold Star families who have lost loved ones to war.
First Lieutenant Joseph J. Theinert’s days hunting elk in Magdalena were cut short when he died in Afghanistan on June 4, 2010. Had he survived his combat wounds, he would have been a triple amputee, similar to some of those his mother hopes might find respite at the ranch.
Channeling their grief, Ms. Kestler and Dr. Kestler have decided that their 900 acres in New Mexico could best be used to serve veterans from Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Korea and World War II, especially those with injuries or post traumatic stress syndrome. She also sees it as a place where veterans and their families can reunite as well as a retreat for Gold Star families struggling with loss.
Money contributed to the Joseph J. Theinert Fund has paid for scholarships for seniors graduating from Shelter Island School as well as scholarships for students at SUNY Albany, Valley Forge Military Academy and College and cadets in the Reserve Officer Training Program, Mohawk Battalion, at Siena College. It has also helped support programs for returning troops.
Past contributions have amounted to about $70,000. But now the Kestlers and their supporters are hoping to raise $4 million to create the Strongpoint Theinert Ranch in New Mexico. The couple is leasing the land to the Joseph J. Theinert Fund for $1 a year. The 16-unit ranch they envision there would belong to the foundation.
Dr. Kestler first visited Magdalena while he was stationed at Fort Bliss in Texas, a decade ago.
“He fell in love with New Mexico then,” Ms. Kestler said. But she wasn’t convinced. Not having seen the area, she envisioned desert land that offered her none of the wonders of Shelter Island.
She first saw the area in 2005. “The views were spectacular,” she said. The following year, the couple began buying land there.
Over time, they acquired five parcels and built a house she now describes as “our mental health center.”
With Joey’s death in 2010 and their experiences visiting troops at Walter Reed Medical Center, the Kestlers began thinking their land could become something more than a personal oasis. But their own house isn’t handicap-accessible.
“Let’s build something,” Ms. Kestler had suggested. She contacted Wounded Warrior Project officials and asked what was on their wish list. The answer was a setting for troops and their families as well as Gold Star families — a place that could accommodate up to eight troops at a time, each with an escort.
Matt Rohde, an Iraq veteran who became friendly with Joey Theinert and remains close to the family, and his wife Shelley are closely involved with the foundation and its fundraising efforts.
“You’re all supposed to come back together,” he said, a touch of sadness in his voice about the troops who didn’t return home with him from Iraq and about the loss of his friend, Joey Theinert.
“Soldiers make a connection for life,” Ms. Clark-Rohde said, noting that while her husband came home physically intact, he has struggled with post traumatic stress syndrome. It’s something the government has only recently given needed attention to, she said. For Mr. Rohde, his Iraq service was in 1990, at a time when there was little attention paid to the emotional and psychological needs of returning troops.
“They don’t want pity,” Mr. Rohde said. “They just want understanding.”
As difficult as it was for him to return home after involvement in what he called the “100 Hours War” during Operation Desert Storm, today’s veterans are experiencing multiple deployments and even greater “culture shock” when they come home, he said.
He sees the Strongpoint Theinert Ranch as a chance for returning troops to offer support to one another as they re-enter civilian life.
Architect John Kirkpatrick of Los Lunas, New Mexico drew up plans at a very low cost. Ms. Kestler has spoken to the builder who constructed their house and who is interested in tackling the project, also at a low cost.
What’s holding up the project is money — the $2 million she expects it will cost to build the structure and another $2 million to cover staffing and operating expenses for the first couple of years. She said she would love to see the center open by June 4, 2014, four years to the day after her son died.
She doesn’t want to take government funds because of the restrictions that would be tied to the money, she said. She wants it clear that she and Dr. Kestler aren’t looking to run a rehabilitation or medical facility, just a guest house. There would be no charge for those who stay there and Ms. Kestler is exploring ways to provide transportation for guests to and from the ranch.
“If we can help one soldier, our job is done,” Ms. Kestler said.
Contributions to the Joseph J. Theinert Memorial Fund for either the ranch or ongoing scholarships can be made at rememberourjoes.org. Contributions are tax-deductible, Ms. Kestler said.
