Handrich, Willard Donald

Handrich, Eldon

Handrich, Maggie

Retired pastor, two others drown on [Lake] Superior

By Robert Rhodes
Mennonite Weekly Review – Oct. 23, 2006

GRAND MARAIS, Mich. — A retired Mennonite pastor who was a skilled woodsman and carpenter died Oct. 6, along with his son and daughter-in-law, when his boat capsized in rough seas on Lake Superior.

Killed were Willard Donald Handrich, 89, his son, Eldon Handrich, 59, and his son’s wife, Maggie Handrich, 60, both of Laramie, Wyo.

A fourth companion, longtime friend Robert Nyman, 62, of Grand Marais, was rescued after more than 14 hours in 55-degree water. He told authorities he saw the other three drown after struggling for hours to remain afloat near the overturned vessel.

After two days of searching, none of the bodies was recovered, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Willard Handrich was the founding pastor of Grand Marais Mennonite Church in 1949, according to Pastor Steven Post.
Post said Oct. 10 that Handrich was a skilled woodsman and carpenter who cut much of the wood for the church building himself, in addition to crafting the pews and cherry-wood altar, which are still in use.

“They really had sacrificed to do the work here,” Post said of Handrich and his widow, Mary, who married in 1941.

Born Dec. 25, 1916, at Fairview, the son of Elmer and Verna Beachy Handrich, he was a graduate of Fairview High School.
Handrich married Mary Lehman on Dec. 31, 1941, and was a conscientious objector during World War II. He served in Civilian Public Service from 1942-46, including a stint as a smoke jumper in the Montana Rockies in 1945, according to the family. He also worked for a seed growers association and was joint owner of a grain elevator in Millersburg from 1946-50.

Handrich was ordained on Oct. 3, 1948, and served the Grand Marais congregation as pastor for 32 years. He also was a self-employed woodsman and drove an ambulance in the area before a regular volunteer service was formed.

After retirement, Handrich and his wife traveled and spent time in Alamo, Texas. He was an avid gardener and beekeeper, as well as a hunter and fisherman who enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren.

Handrich’s daughter, Carla Stoltzfus of Lakewood, Colo., said he remained vital even in old age, chopping wood and enjoying sailing up to the time of his death.

Surviving are Handrich’s wife, Mary; a son, Rod Handrich of Lakewood, Colo.; three daughters, Carla and her husband, Vernon Stoltzfus, of Lakewood, Colo., Shirley and her husband, Mario Bustos, of Valparaiso, Ind., and Joetta and her husband, Gerald Schlabach, of St. Paul, Minn.; a brother, Bruce; nine grandchildren; a step-grandson; and four great-grandchildren.

Eldon Michael Handrich was born Feb. 6, 1947, at Alpena. He graduated from Burt Township School in Grand Marais and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Colorado Medical School. He completed a family practice residency and served operating rooms in Cheyenne and Rock Springs, Wyo. With his first wife, Frances Dallarosa, Handrich had two children, Tessa of San Diego, Calif., and Dylan of Golden, Colo.
Maggie Handrich was an emergency room nurse. A native of Illinois and the daughter of Arthur and Mary Dehart Martin, she had a son, Brent Prunty of Wheatland, Wyo.

The couple, who were married in 1992, raised bison on their Prairie Monarch ranch near Laramie, where Maggie Handrich excelled in butter and cheese making, according to the family.

Eldon Handrich competed in marathons and winter triathlons, was a pilot and enjoyed outdoor sports. Like his father, he was a beekeeper.
A memorial service was to be held Oct. 13 at Grand Marais Mennonite Church.

Memorials may be made to Mennonite Central Committee, 21 S. 12th St., Akron, PA 17501, for international water projects, or to Heifer Project International, P.O. Box 8058, Little Rock, AR 72203, to provide animals to Third World families.

Survivor tells tale

By John Pepin, Mining Journal Munising Bureau

The boat ramp at Grand Marais Harbor has been a concern for boaters for years because of sand flushed into the harbor from Lake Superior. With the harbor’s depth more shallow than in previous decades, sand chokes the marina and ramp more easily. A Grand Marais woman whose husband survived a boating disaster Oct. 6 wants the harbor improved to allow bigger boats easier access. (Journal file photo by John Pepin)
By JOHN PEPIN, Journal Munising Bureau

GRAND MARAIS — On a sunny day in Grand Marais, it was ironic that a raincoat would be the thing that saved Robert Nyman’s life.
The 62-year-old Grand Marais man who clung to an overturned fishing boat for nearly 14 hours before being rescued on Saturday, October 7th said cinching the jacket with a belt around his waist kept him from sharing the fate of three companions whose bodies are still missing in Lake Superior.
“I just happened to be dressed for the conditions,” Robert said.
A U.S. Coast Guard search for the boat’s owner, Willard Handrich, 90, of Grand Marais, his son Eldon Handrich, 59, and Eldon’s wife Maggie, 60, both of Laramie, Wyo., was suspended on Oct. 7.
What turned out to be a grim ordeal endured by each of the four boaters began pleasantly as an autumn lake trout fishing trip to a place five miles from shore, frequented almost daily by Nyman and his local fishing buddies.
The excursion began at about 9:30 a.m. Oct. 6 when the elder Handrich — founder of the Mennonite Church in Grand Marais — his doctor and buffalo ranch owner son Willard, Willard’s wife Maggie and Nyman boarded a 17-foot aluminum fishing boat called the Blue Heron.
The group had planned to quit fishing at about noon, but a series of problems occurred before that time, beginning when Eldon Handrich got some downrigging line caught in the propeller of the larger of two motors aboard the boat.
With the wind picking up, the boat turned back out to deeper water while Eldon worked to free the propeller.
“Then a wave came in the back of the boat,” Nyman said. “We decided we were going to quit right there.”
Then the smaller motor the boaters had been using quit running.
“I got on the radio and I was calling for help,” Nyman said.
No one answered the radio distress calls. There were no other boats in the area that day. The boat was riding lower than usual in the water, possibly because a live well was filled with water.
But with the line now untangled from the propeller, the bigger of the two boat motors was started and the Blue Heron headed for shore. Nyman had hooked a fish that was being dragged along as the boat moved.
Then the second motor also quit running.
“I don’t know if it was over-choked or what,” he said.
The fishing boat rose and fell over 4-foot swells on the water.
“They were getting life jackets out and another wave hit the boat,” Nyman said. “The back end (of the boat) dropped and it flipped right over. It rolled over so fast, I don’t remember anything other than climbing up the side of the boat.”
Nyman had fishing line and rope tangled around his leg as he climbed. He was wearing a life jacket that was adjusted to fit a much smaller person.
From the top of the capsized boat, he saw Maggie Handrich drifting away, wearing a life vest.
“I’d seen her on the water,” Nyman said. “She looked like she was floating on her back and I could hear her moaning.”
Nyman spotted a life vest floating nearby and though he hadn’t been swimming for 30 years, he dove in to retrieve the jacket for Eldon Handrich, who had hoped to reach his wife.
“I couldn’t keep my head up. I was choking on waves,” Nyman said. “I was choking on water. My lungs were burning and I couldn’t hardly breathe.”
The life jacket drifted out of Nyman’s reach as he struggled in the 55-degree water, heavy boots working to weigh him down.
“I just made it back to the boat,” he said. “Lucky is all.”
During Nyman’s absence, Eldon Handrich had jumped into the water without a jacket and tried to reach Maggie.
“He was athletic and an emergency room doctor,” Nyman said. “He should have been able to get to his wife and bring her back, I thought.”
But that wasn’t the case.
Willard Handrich had watched from the boat as his son sunk beneath the waves.
“His dad saw him drown,” Nyman said. “He said, ‘I lost my son’ when I got back to the boat. I think that did him in right there. After a while, he said, ‘Bob, I don’t think we’re going to make it.’”
Nyman replied, “Not unless somebody comes by here pretty soon.”
With the lined raincoat cinched tight around his waist, Nyman had zipped the coat up as high as it would go. He had a hood on and was exhaling warm air into the jacket to keep himself warm.
His legs were very cold. He positioned himself on the boat so he could exercise them occasionally. He prayed for help.
Willard Handrich stopped answering Nyman’s questions.
“His hearing aid give out and he couldn’t hear me,” he said. “He laid on the boat across the keel and he got real quiet. He must have had a heart attack or something.”
In 90 feet of water, the lake claimed Willard’s body.
“A wave took him right off the boat,” Nyman said. “He didn’t move a muscle. He floated there for a little while and then he just sunk.”
Back on shore, Nyman’s wife Stephanie had called the U.S. Coast Guard and a local man and National Park Service rangers put boats in the lake, but couldn’t find the Blue Heron.
“I just knew, I could feel there was something wrong or they would have been back in,” Stephanie Nyman said. “I was sitting on a bench at the marina until 10 o’clock. I finally came home. I couldn’t stand to sit there and look at that water.”
While he fought to stay awake and on the boat, Nyman said he watched a C-130 plane, a freighter and helicopter all pass him without seeing him. He watched other aircraft searching an area far beyond him.
Then, when he had drifted to a little more than 11 miles from shore, he saw a helicopter pass over. A crewman would never see the boat, but only catch a glimpse of Nyman’s hands waving for help.
“I thought only by the grace of God I’d be saved,” he said. “That last helicopter it went right to me. Then the lights shone on me and I knew they had me then.”
It was 1:45 a.m.
Nyman jumped into the lake and a rescue swimmer helped him into a basket. He was lifted up and flown to Sawyer International Airport and then taken to Marquette General Hospital. He was discharged the following day.
He said he wanted to live to see his wife and to tell the surviving Handrich family members what had happened.
With the menominee now biting, Nyman said he’d like to return to Lake Superior for more fishing, but a badly-shaken Stephanie said she won’t let that happen until next year.
“I can’t handle that. This is too soon,” she said. “I almost lost my husband and it’s a shock to me. I’m thawing out now, but I’ve been numb this whole time.
“I’m just thankful that my husband is alive. I just feel sorrowful and grief that our friends didn’t (make it). It’s so overwhelming. People do not know how this feels.
“Lake Superior is not respectful of people or anything. It’s cold and it doesn’t always give up what it takes. It’s not like the other Great Lakes.”


VISITATION AND MEMORIAL SERVICE

There will be a visitation on Thursday, October 12, from 4-7pm at the Grand Marais Mennonite Church.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, October 13, at 11am at the Burt Township School Auditorium. This will be followed by a meal and a time of community recollection in the Holy Rosary Catholic Church Hall. All are welcome.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Mennonite Central Committee, 21 S. 12th St., Akron, PA 17501. The website address is www.mcc.org (for international water projects).

Memorials may also be made to Heifer Project International, P.O. Box 8058, Little Rock, AR 72203. A direct link to the Handrich memorial page is www.heifer.org/myregistry/handrich


By JOETTA HANDRICH SCHLABACH, St. Paul, Minn.
Mennonite Weekly Review December 18, 2006

Although a number of weeks have lapsed since the article, "Retired Pastor, Two Family Members Die in Accident," was published (Oct. 23), my family would like to make a few corrections and an update.

Willard, Eldon and Maggie Handrich all struggled in the water after the Oct. 6 boating accident, but not for hours. When the boat capsized, Willard, Eldon and Bob Nyman, the survivor, all returned to the boat. Eldon left the boat and tried unsuccessfully to rescue his wife. Willard saw him go under. The wind carried Maggie, who was wearing a life preserver, away from the boat. She died of hypothermia and possibly drowning. Her body washed up on the shores of Montreal Island near Wawa, Ont., and was found on Nov. 12. Willard did not drown. He survived several hours after the accident, lying over the keel of the boat with waves washing over the lower part of his body. After some time, Bob saw his body go limp, and then the next wave washed him away. Bob was dressed warmly and was sitting on top of the overturned boat until his rescue. Our family is very grateful for Bob's miraculous survival, as he was able to tell us what happened.

Although Willard was a skilled woodsman and sawmill owner, he was not a carpenter, as the article indicated. While he cut the wood for the Grand Marais Mennonite Church furnishings, it was Weaver Cabinets of Gulliver, Mich., that crafted the pews and the late Norman Weaver, a fellow Upper Peninsula Mennonite pastor, who built the communion table.

My brother, Rod Handrich of Denver, Colo., should have been listed as Willard's surviving son.
On behalf of my family, I would like to thank readers who have shared our grief and upheld us in prayer.