News-Record — Staff Sgt. Ryan L. Zorn didn’t have a soldier’s temperament.

He was laid-back. Never got angry. Never drank or smoked when home in Wright on leave.

But Zorn, 35, loved his job. Whenever his dad, Myron, would bad-mouth President George W. Bush, Zorn would show a rare flash of intensity.

“That’s my commander-in-chief,” he’d say, with a fierce pride.

Myron says he learned to hold his tongue out of respect for his son.

On Monday, Zorn died in a vehicle rollover near Tal Afar, Iraq. And in Wright, a community is uniting to express its grief.

The Zorn house is packed with food. People just keep dropping by with a fresh dish to plop on the table.

“I could feed an army,” says Myron, a coal miner at Black Thunder.

Flags fly at half-staff throughout town. Yellow ribbons adorn poles in memory of Zorn.

The family moved to Wright from Upton seven years ago, so that Myron could be closer to his workplace.

While growing up in Upton, Zorn participated in football, wrestling and debate in high school. He was always a tough little guy: maybe 5 feet 4 inches tall, but just as wide with his shoulders, Myron says.

As soon as Zorn graduated from high school, he joined the Army. His latest tour in Iraq was his third.

It drove Myron crazy. He would try to persuade Zorn to join his family full-time in Wright.

“I’ve been a coal miner for 27 years,” he told his son one day. “I can talk to someone and get you on at the mine, if I can.”

But Zorn did not want to be a coal miner. As a member of the 1st Battalion, 34th Armored Regiment of Fort Riley’s 1st Infantry Division, Zorn served as a communications officer with an adviser team in Iraq. His work helped to keep different units in touch in the war zone. He had been with the Army since 1994, and at Fort Riley since January 2009.

When he came back home to Wright, he’d spend most of his time playing with his two nieces. His charitable spirit inspired residents in Wright to adopt individual soldiers and send gifts overseas at Christmas.

Myron says that the family is still awaiting for an official word on when Zorn will make his final journey home. The sergeant’s remains will be routed through Gillette, and a funeral will follow at the Wright Baptist Church. Then the soldier will be laid to rest at the Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, S.D.

In the meantime, the Zorns have been overwhelmed with the town of Wright’s generosity. Myron, his wife JoAnn and son Todd are being fully embraced in their time of mourning.

Myron recalls a talk he had with the town’s police chief.

“We’re quiet people,” Myron had said. “We don’t like to make waves. I always thought we were invisible.”

Then came the response: “You have never been invisible.”

Chermey Arthur, who went to school with Zorn, said it has been a difficult week for the 27 other 1993 graduates of Upton High School. Arthur, now the secretary at Upton High School, remembered Zorn as a shy, quiet boy.

“He always had a smile for you,” she said Thursday. “Ryan was a very gentle soul. He had a very kind heart. He will be missed greatly.”

Upton High School Principal Gary Glodt was a teacher when Zorn went through school.

“We have a handful of teachers who taught Ryan,” Glodt said Thursday. “They were all shocked by the news.”

Glodt said everybody at the Upton school liked Zorn.

“He was willing to do anything for anybody at any time. He was just that kind of kid.”

Zorn participated in football and wrestling but found his niche as a member of the speech and debate team, his father said.

“He was such a shy kid, but when he got on that debate team, he blossomed.”

Myron Zorn said his son planned to join the Army all through high school and was planning to retire after 20 years in the Army.

“He was going to come home in March and spend a month with us and then go to Germany,” he said.

But, he added, the Army had already told Zorn that after six months in Germany, he would probably go back to Iraq for a fourth tour.

Zorn said his son had served more than his share of deployments.

“The first time he went over to war, he came back and was pretty much the same kid,” Myron Zorn said. “The second time, there wasn’t much boy left in him. This third time, he sounded like an old man on the phone. He was wore out.”

The Army is still investigating the apparent accident, Zorn said in a phone interview Thursday. He said the Army doesn’t believe the rollover was caused by a roadside bomb. His son was not driving but was one of three or four people riding in the vehicle when it overturned. He was the only one killed.

Zorn said his son told him that the military vehicles in Iraq can roll easily because they carry so much heavy armor.

He said his son’s body has been flown to a military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, Md., but he has received no information about when the body will arrive in Wyoming.

He is survived by his parents and a brother, Todd, all of whom live in Wright.

The family plans to hold funeral services in Wright and bury Ryan Zorn at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis. But they don’t know when that will happen.

“It’s frustrating,” the elder Zorn said. “We’re just in absolute limbo.”