Ernie Wallengren died in 2003, but his image lives on in a documentary that will air on public television in Utah later in January. “Rolling,” produced by physician and filmmaker Gretchen Berland, has won multiple awards for showing what daily life is like for individuals in wheelchairs.
Wallengren is one of three individuals followed in the film. In
Prior to his two-and-a-half year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, Wallengren was a writer, story editor, and producer for a number of popular television shows. The many series that he worked on include “Touched by an Angel,” “The Waltons,” “Little House on the Prairie,” and “Doc.” He also wrote the teleplay for “Mr. Krueger’s Christmas,” a holiday show produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as “the Mormons”) featuring Jimmy Stewart as a lonely widower who finds the true meaning of Christmas. Wallengren was also a producer for early episodes of “Baywatch,” but he pulled out of that project when he disagreed with the direction the show was taking.
Wallengren, a member of the Mormon church himself, found strength in his faith when his health failed him. His priorities, of necessity, had to change from finding worldly adventures to finding inner peace. “I became more spiritually oriented,” Wallengren said, as reported in the Salt Lake Tribune. “My inner sense of peace increased. . . . Taken as a whole, body and spirit have never been in better health in my entire adult life.”
ALS is a condition that attacks nerve cells in the brain; it is crippling and eventually fatal. But Wallengren continued his work as long as he could. Among his finest achievements during this time were episodes for “Doc” and “Touched by an Angel” that featured characters with ALS and portrayed their struggles.
In a statement written by Wallengren and distributed at his funeral in 2003, he said, as quoted in the Tribune:
“The world is a slippery place…I have done more than my share of sliding to the bottom, but I have also learned the value of picking myself up and tackling the mountain all over again. I have learned that the mountain flattens out considerably if I don’t try it alone. God’s hand is always extended to us. All we have to do is take it in our own.”
Among those who have echoed this sentiment is Elder W. Craig Zwick of the Quorums of the Seventy (a Church priesthood leadership body; they preach the gospel, help the Church membership, and are witnesses of Jesus Christ) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Elder Zwick has said: “Every one of us needs to know that we can go on in the strength of the Lord. We can put our hand in His, and we will feel His sustaining presence lift us to heights unattainable alone.” (W. Craig Zwick, “The Lord Thy God Will Hold Thy Hand,” Ensign, Nov 2003, 34)
