Date: Fri 27-Mar-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Rich-Rauner-post-office

Full Text:

For Rich Rauner, Life Isn't Hard -- It's Wonderful

(with cut)

BY STEVE BIGHAM

April 1 will mark the anniversary of his girlfriend's death, and he recently

buried his mother. His heart skips a beat occasionally and doctors say it

could stop for good at any time. Earlier this month, his failing health forced

him to retire from the job that had given him so much joy.

For Rich Rauner, however, life is wonderful. True, he's had his share of hard

times, but the Newtown resident prefers to laugh and share his zest for life

with the rest of the world. His heart may be faulty but it's big.

"God has been kind to me even with all my tragedies," he said during an

interview at the Sandy Hook Diner Tuesday. "It's up to me to give back."

And he has. In spades.

Mr Rauner stepped down from his job at the post office earlier this month

after 12 years worth of hard work and smiles. He was the guy at the "window"

who helped Newtown residents with their postage needs. He was the guy who

helped old ladies wrap their packages. He was the guy who whistled a tune,

shared a bit of advice, and went that extra mile to improve someone's day.

"I'm probably one of the most visible people in town. I'm like a practicing

bartender," he said. "I'll go into a store and people will say, `I know you.'

I'll say, `You know me from the waist up.'"

Mr Rauner has undergone major heart operations and suffers from pneumonia

almost constantly. Taking care of himself is easy, though, especially after

spending the past several years caring for his dying girlfriend, Deidamia

Whitman, who suffered from Huntington's Disease. The nightmarish ailment stole

away his friend's personality, her independence and finally her life. The

disease made her confused and sometimes violent. She became compulsive and

would often show up at the post office in a daze. "Whit's" weight sank well

below 100 pounds and the man she loved often had to carry her around the

house. Mr Rauner would come home from work and break out in a sweat as he

struggled to make his way up the stairs due to his own health problems. With

his heart pounding, the postal clerk would finally make it inside -- only to

find Deidamia in a horrific state.

Mr Rauner continues to be an advocate in the fight against the deadly, genetic

disease and is a member of the Governor's Task Force on Huntington's Disease.

Soon after Whit died, the state legislature passed a bill to fund the

establishment of a Huntington's Disease center in Connecticut.

With so much still to do, there's little time for Mr Rauner to worry about the

fact that his health is grave. But it has reached a point where Mr Rauner must

now "take it easy." His friends at the post office have planned a retirement

party for their popular former co-worker this weekend.

"I'm going to miss the people that I worked with. I had a great feeling and

respect for all of them," said Mr Rauner, a member of the Shady Rest

Association and Newtown Methodist Church, where he sings in the choir.

The Newtown resident was born in Pecksville, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town

near Scranton, and after a three-year stint in an intelligence unit of the

Marine Corps, moved to Newtown in 1963. He served as a deputy sheriff, but

went home in 1983 to undergo triple bypass surgery. He returned to Newtown

after a strong showing on the US Post Office's employment test. He took the

job because of its good insurance plan. He sure did need it.

In 1993, Mr Rauner was forced to undergo quadruple bypass surgery, which he

bounced back from once again. However, on his way home from work one

snow-stormy evening, he defied doctors' orders and helped save four accident

victims whose car had crashed into a brook near his house in Shady Rest.

Not feeling well, Mr Rauner, a showman at heart, still made it out to sing and

dance at a variety show the next night. The following day, he was diagnosed

with congestive heart failure and pneumonia.

"People have kept me going," he said, waving to a friend at the diner.

"They're the ones who give me the strength to keep smiling."

With his life becoming more and more precious with each passing day, Mr Rauner

continues to reach out in his efforts to help find a cure for Huntington's

Disease, and put a smile on everyone's face.

Mr Rauner was once featured in The Bee 's weekly Snapshots column, which

included his personal philosophy on life: "This is my day; it belongs to me;

no one will spoil it; it will end as I choose it to end. This day is my gift

-- I woke up this morning. I better do something good with it because I can't

get it back."