Towns Mourn Boat Accident Dead
They built boats, delivered newspapers and mowed lawns. Many of the 20 tourists who died when their tour boat capsized in upstate New York hadn't slowed down much as they reached their 60s and beyond.
The victims — 19 from Michigan and one from Ohio — were among 47 passengers aboard The Ethan Allen on Sunday, sailing just north of the village of Lake George, a popular tourist destination in the Adirondack Mountains.
Seven of those killed in the boating accident were from the Detroit suburb of Livonia, officials said. Five were from Temperance near the Ohio line.
911 Calls From New York Boating Tragedy"It's a huge loss," Livonia Mayor Jack Engebretson said. "It's a tragedy of immense proportion and there's not much we can do other than offer our sincere condolences to family members of those who perished in this terrible tragedy."
Charles and Louise Greenwald of Livonia were "very much in love," said daughter Patricia Farnham. "And they were so looking forward to this trip."
The couple had been married for 36 years, and their travels had taken them to Alaska and the Caribbean. He was 83 and she was 78.
Wilma LeJeune, 78, of Toledo, Ohio, had joined a tour group from a Michigan senior citizens center, which included two friends she had traveled with before, said LeJeune's daughter, Nancy Randall. All three died.
"She was very much looking forward to this trip," Randall said. "She wanted to see some beautiful fall colors and take a train ride."
LeJeune also enjoyed volunteering and helping others, Randall said.
"She knitted hats for kids in the winter time," she said. "If a neighbor was sick, she'd go to the store for them. She was very loving, very giving."
Francis Wrock, of Trenton, died doing what he loved: riding in a boat. He also built them as a hobby.
The 87-year-old retired mechanical engineer joined a senior citizens group in 1994 after the death of his wife of 55 years. The Ethan Allen was carrying that tour group Sunday.
"I just never planned for this one," Wrock's son, Robert, told CBS News correspondent Trish Regan as he choked back tears. "If I was there I would have saved him."
Another victim, Joyce Chapman, 75, also of Trenton, was a retired homemaker who served as an election worker for the city and still mowed her own lawn.
Trenton's Mayor, Gerald Brown, told Regan said the tragedy has stung deeply because
"We probably react to a tragedy here in a smaller community much different than in a larger community," Brown said. "We have names, faces, relationships."
Ann Beamish, a 79-year-old from Sterling Heights, worked as a newspaper carrier.
In Temperance, a town of 7,800, Bedford Funeral Chapel owner William Urbanski was preparing to arrange the burials of Viola Urbaniak, 89, and Joyce Rochowiak, 69.
Both were widows and members of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, and most of their children live in the immediate area, Urbanski said.
"We've never seen anything like this, not this number," he said. "It's the closest thing we've had to a natural disaster striking here."
Sharon Throm, director of community education for Bedford Public Schools, said six of the victims were members of the Bedford Senior Citizen Center. The women often ate lunch at the center and participated in its activities, she said.
"All wonderful ladies," Throm said.