COVID-19 claims 4 Oklahoma siblings in three weeks

KINGFISHER COUNTY, Okla. (KOKH) — A family is mourning the loss of four siblings from complications with COVID-19.

The Annuschat family is known across Oklahoma; their roots are deeply embedded in the agricultural community.

"We went from being one of the biggest families in Kingfisher County all of our lives, to in three weeks being a mediocre-size family,” said Larry Annuschat, the last surviving brother.

Ron, Paul, Nick, and Vicki passed away between Oct. 30 and Nov. 17.

Each of them battled the coronavirus until their last breath.

Larry and his son, Ben, are now left to pick up the slack on the farm where their family’s blood, sweat, and tears span decades.

"Even though it's hard on us for initial shock, and as short of time as that was to lose that many people like that, it's better on them; it's harder on us here because of those memories that you try to pull forward with,” Larry said.

Many of those memories can be found in photographs on the shelves at the homestead.

Newspaper clippings from the old Okarche Chieftain, now known as the Okarche Warrior, detail those glory days.

It was 1979 when the Okarche Boys basketball team went to the state championship tournament. It's the only time Okarche has brought home a state title.

"Kevin Rother told Nick later, I think it was a couple of years ago. He goes, he said, 'If you wouldn't have hit those two long bombs you put up in that overtime, we would've never won that thing,’” recalled Larry. “But Nick always said, ‘You got to be willing to, willing to — you've got to be able to make decisions under the gun.’”

Nick went on to become the decision-maker on the farm. He would jokingly refer to himself as the worker and the CEO. Paul was the knowledgeable one when it came to caring for the animals. Vicki, though she didn't work on the farm, made sure the boys and their home were taken care of. And then there’s Ron, who Larry said will be the hardest to replace.

"If you needed him to sit on a tractor for 20 hours a day, he'd do it. Seven days a week if need be. And, you don't replace that,” he said.

The family's swift demise has rocked the entire community. No one could've seen it coming, and everyone wishes they could turn back the hands of time.

"That's why it's tough to stand here,” Larry said. “It really is, really is. And then, that's what we all did right there.”

Larry pointed to an aerial photograph of the farm that’s worth 1,000 memories. What was once a bustling place is now filled with grief-stricken silence.

"I was sitting out in that swing, and I just looked around. There's no noise. It's dead,” Larry said. "When you're the last of 10 kids, there's always been noise somewhere. There's always been, family. There's always been something. It's gone."

But their legacies will live on, and Annuschat Farms will continue to thrive.

"We're going to try to keep it going, the best that we can,” said Larry. “All of us sure miss every one of them."

Larry and three of his sisters are all that's left of the Annuschat siblings. Paul, Nick, Ron, and Vicki were laid to rest at Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetary in Okarche, alongside their parents and two other siblings, Stanley and David.

The small town of Okarche has been hit especially hard in recent weeks. On Wednesday, the vice mayor of Okarche also passed from complications with COVID-19.