TEAYS VALLEY, W.Va. — Check out the comments on the Facebook page of Teays Valley-based River Ridge Church and you’ll find post after post remembering how John Gillenwater was the first to welcome them when they visited the gathering.
Gillenwater was that kind of guy. River Ridge Executive Pastor Chad Cobb said he “raised the joy level” of any room he entered.
“He loved well. He laughed easy. He laughed easy at himself and he was one who never met a stranger,” Cobb told MetroNews Thursday less than two days after Gillenwater’s tragic death following the explosion that took place at the Optima chemical plant in Belle in eastern Kanawha County Tuesday night.
Gillenwater, 42, of Hurricane, had the gift of making people feel at ease, Cobb said.
“He had a way, even though he didn’t know you, that you walked away feeling or maybe even knowing, that he saw you, that he recognized you and you felt calmer and he was about to pass along that joy that was inside him. He was an incredible individual,” Cobb said.
Gillenwater suffered severe injuries when chlorinated dry bleach and methanol exploded. Three other workers suffered less serious injuries and were not kept at the hospital.
According to Optima, the explosion occurred when a 1,200-gallon metal dryer overpressured during a chemical drying operation. Kanawha County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Director C.W. Sigman said they’ve learned Tuesday was the first time the process was used.
“Tuesday was the first time they ran that product at the plant, chlorinated dried bleach, it was the first day they used it and the explosion was about 10 o’clock that night,” Sigman said Thursday on MetroNews “Talkline.” “I’m sure that’s going to play into the investigation.”
Several agencies will conduct investigations including the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, state Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Gillenwater loved missions. He had a heart for Haiti and took a handful of trips there in recent years to deliver the gospel to those in one of the poorest countries in the world. But he also had a key ministry at his home church.
“John’s impact on this body was huge and there are a lot of us that are rallying around each other trying to fill a void that John’s passing has created,” Cobb said.
Members gathering of the last few days are remembering one of Gillenwater’s most favorite analogies that he would use when teaching the Bible. It had to do with the brevity of life, Cobb said.
“He would take this 100-foot rope and he’d put a piece of duct tape on the end of it, a couple inches long, to give a glimpse of the life that we have and the eternal one that awaits us,” Cobb said.
River Ridge is mourning and will mourn, Cobb said, but it will be done with hope.
“He was so impactful for the kingdom of God that I think it raises those questions even more of ‘Why could something like this happen?’ Scripture talks about grieving and that we grieve as ones who have hope,” Cobb said. “Hopefully what it does is drive us to look to eternity and be able to mourn with that kind of hope that awaits us.”
Gillenwater is survived by his wife Tina and two children. A benefit account for the family has been established with City National Bank in Putnam County. River Ridge has also set up an account through the church website.