A kiss goodbye after breakfast and the words “We’ll see each other again at lunchtime, Schatzl” – this was how Reinhard Autengruber-Tod said goodbye to his wife Silke on the morning of November 26th, before waving to her with a smile on his face at the door of the apartment , walked out and drove to work at the Rohrbach-Berg waste material collection center. In poor health, Silke Autengruber-Tod lay down on the couch again – until suddenly the phone rang awake the 41-year-old woman: “One of his colleagues called me. My husband was just in a meeting, got up, took hold attacked his heart and suddenly collapsed, “says his wife, Silke, while fighting back tears.
Torn from life
His work colleagues immediately tried to revive the 44-year-old, and the rescue team was quickly on site. But any help came too late for the family man from Julbach.
A few years ago, the trained bricklayer suffered a heart attack, but it went well. A stent operation should prevent another infarct. “At the time, Reinhard only said:” Schatzl, please don’t worry too much about me. “But after this incident I asked him to take a little less time – just for our daughters,” says his wife.
After Reinhard’s first marriage, the couple decided to start a new life in Julbach. In addition to their work, they collected herbs in the forest, made their own liqueurs and made jam, which was then sold at the weekly market. The forest in particular was a place of strength for Reinhard – “when things went bad for him, he and the children would collect mushrooms and everything was fine again,” says Silke. But not only nature, music also gave the 44-year-old strength: he was particularly fond of folk music, and he taught himself to play the accordion.
A valuable memento
Now the accordion is a valuable memento for the family, who celebrated daughter Magdalena’s tenth birthday two days before Reinhard’s heart attack. Now Silke, Larissa (7) and Magdalena sleep in one bed, because the girls don’t want to leave their mom alone. “The two of them always knew that nothing could happen to us as long as dad is around,” says mom. Now she wants nothing more than that her children can laugh again. So that the family does not have to cope with the financial problems alone in these difficult times, the OÖN-Christkindl is providing immediate aid thanks to the numerous donations from the reader family and long-term company partners to finance the urn burial of Reinhard Autengruber’s death next Monday. “At the moment I am only working, so I am infinitely grateful for the support we are getting from all sides – whether from family members, from the community or from the Christkindl.”
Silke Autengruber-Tod now wants to be strong for her daughters. “I mustn’t let myself get down, I have to get well myself and rearrange our lives,” she says and smiles. “Larissa is convinced: ?? Papa is now in heaven and will always take care of us. ??”
The OÖN Christkindl
Sudden strokes of fate – such as that of the Autengruber family – life can change completely from one second to the next. The OÖN-Christkindl has been helping families in Upper Austria for 57 years in such emergency situations to at least alleviate their financial worries.
With your donation you can also support the OÖNachrichten Christmas campaign.
IBAN: AT94 2032 0000 0011 1790
Source: Nachrichten
