Published in The Post-Star (A1)
7/26/06
Death doesn't always shake up seniors as much as others -- as the years go by, they watch natural causes take away many of their peers.
But the loss of six friends shocked members and staff of the Bedford Senior Center in southern Michigan when the Ethan Allen tour boat capsized Oct. 2 on Lake George.
Beverly Becker, 78; Virginia Ciesinski, 82; Joann Manore, 74; Joyce Rochowiak, 69; Viola Urbaniak, 89; and Wilma LeJeune, 78, joined a group of 47 seniors from Michigan and Ohio last fall for a one-week scenic tour through the Northeast.
The six women never returned. They were among 20 people killed in the boating accident.
"All of the ladies are still very much missed here," said Sharon Throm, director of community education for the Bedford Public Schools, which runs the senior center. "Over the months, as we've had different special events and activities where they normally would have been active participants ... obviously, we miss them being there with us."
Throm said she and others at the center have followed news related to the accident and investigation in the past few months, although she did not know that the National Transportation Safety Board released its conclusions Tuesday morning.
After hearing a summary of those conclusions, she said she hoped the board's findings would be used to prevent future accidents.
"Maybe that can be some good that comes from this," she said. "Hopefully it will shine the light on safety issues and regulations."
A senior center in Trenton, Mich., is also grappling with the loss of three members on that October day.
Earl Hawley, 76; Francis Wrock, 87; and Joyce Chapman, 75, were killed in the accident. At least a dozen others from the center were on the tour and survived.
"Sure, we continue to talk about it," said Pat Hawkins, director of the city's Parks and Recreation department, which runs the senior center. "With as many people as we had on that trip, and losing some very active people, it stays with us."
Hawkins personally knew two of the three victims. He was closest to Chapman, who had been his friend for at least 25 years.
"She was the kind of person who everybody would think of as a best friend," he said. "She'd put you in your place if it was called for, but even then it was with a smile."
He also spoke fondly of Earl Hawley, a retired telephone company engineer whose wife, Anna May, survived the accident.
"He was such an outgoing guy, with a big smile ... well known and respected in the community," he said. "Basically, if you knew Earl, you'd like him."
Hawkins said the NTSB's conclusions did not surprise him, and he doesn't think any one party is solely to blame for the accident.
"What does surprise me a little ... is that the boat met the requirements of the state certification," he said. "Maybe (more stability testing) should have been required."
Margie Kidon, a 64-year-old Trenton resident who was traveling with the seniors as a city liaison, had a more decisive response.
"Well, that boat was definitely overloaded. They should have used two boats and split the people," she said Tuesday afternoon, after hearing the NTSB's conclusions. "I thought that from the start. There were still people on the dock, and the boat was full, but the captain made people move over. I said to my friend, 'Why are they putting more people on here? There's no more room on this boat.'"
Kidon has filed a lawsuit against Shoreline Cruises and Capt. Richard Paris for the pain and suffering she says the accident has caused her.
"My life will never be the same," she said. "I've had health issues. I've gone from being a very happy person to a very depressed person who cries a lot."
Some survivors seem more at peace than others, said Hawkins.
"I know that there are some people that are angry, and there are others that look at it as a tragic accident," he said.
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