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| In Memory Of Those Who Have Lost Their Life Due To An Accident In Which A Crane Was In Some Way Involved |
| * Death not accident related |
July, 18th 2008 Rocky Dale Strength 30 yrs old, Santa Fe, Texas. Survived by his mother Lisa, Charles,little brother Khris, brother Clint, and sister Jessica. Rocky had no children. It was a Mobile crane accident in Houston, Texas. 4 total deaths that day. Horrible accident, the crane was in overload, many things were not right that day. My son was taken from this world with his good friend and co-workers. Rocky would be glad that not more lives were lost that day. The crane came crashing down on a lunch tent...but only the 4 men that was working on the crane at the time were killed. The crane was one of the largest mobile cranes in the world. I miss him dearly. Rocky's personality was hard to beat, he was always in a good mood and made others feel good also. Our family has never felt such a loss and it's still hard everyday knowing our son is not coming home. I miss him everyday. He loved his job and was extremely proud of his work. High grad, Honorable discharge from the US Army, and hard working Iron worker. My prayers go out to everyone who has lost a loved one in this manner...one minute they are here with you and the next minute they are gone. That's very hard to get past. Love always, Mom WORKING ON CHURCH JUNE 18, 1956 -North Gower Man Killed By Falling Crane Boom -Almonte (Special) -The last step in the reconstruction of the steeple of the Almonte United Church ended in tragedy late yesterday afternoon with the death of a 47-year-old workman. David Russell Scharf, of North Gower, an employee of Hurdman Brothers, Ottawa contractors, was crushed to death under a section of the boom of a crane he was helping to dismantle. The firm had just completed rebuilding the church steeple that had been destroyed by fire last September. The boom of the crane had been extended in 20-foot sections for the job. Each section weighed several hundred pounds. Mr. Scharf was standing on the ground and was removing the pins to disconnect two sections. He apparently pulled the wrong pin and one of the sections collapsed on him. Examination revealed that there was no defect in the machine, an official of the firm reported. The crane is nearly new and was purchased for $53,000 just before starting on the job, The Citizen was told. Two workmen who were with Mr. Scharf at the time leaped from under the machine and were unhurt. Coroner Dr. A.A. Metcalfe, of Almonte, ruled that death was accidental. There will be no inquest. The accident was investigated by Constables Keith Crockford and J.A. Ellis, of the OPP. |
| March 9, 2001: Glynn Littlefield, killed when the anti-two block system failed and the ball snapped from the cable and fell hitting him in the face. He left behind one son, Gary Littlefield and daughter, KaiCee Lopez. He has 4 grandchildren, Jordan, Jack, Andy and Charlie. Glynn worked for Agra Foundations for 20 years and was working in California on the San Rafael bridge seismic retrofit project at the time of his death. He was an amazing person, and was respected and loved by all who knew him. He is terribly missed and not a day goes by that we don't think about him and wish that this tragedy could have been prevented. And actually it could have been prevented had his employer properly maintained the crane. I love you Daddy December 5. 2005 Robert Ruffner, 34, was killed due to the crane hitting overhead power lines. He was a single parent of a 13 year old dughter whom also lost her mother at the age of three. May 12th, 2003: Loren Robert Collins' leg was severed and he died of hemmorhagic shock, as a result of being run over by the Marine Travelift crane carrying his own sailboat in Harbortown Marina, Ft. Pierce, FL. The marina accepted responsibility for his death, but the true circumstances of the incident are still unknown due to conflicting testimonies by the marina employees involved. The Ft. Pierce police quickly wrote the incident off as an “industrial accident”, even though Mr. Collins was a customer of the marina. Loren was an accomplished electronics engineer and sailor, a generous and loving father, grandfather, great grandfather, and friend. He constantly gave of himself, as well as of his assets. His wisdom, knowlege, and accomplishments were bountiful, but his life example was his greatest gift to all who knew him. He was loved dearly and is missed so much by all of us. The website: www.lorencollins.com is dedicated to his life and memory. Thanks again for your website. It really helps those of us who are grieving. Regards, Mary Ann Collins webmaster@lorencollins.com |
| Billy Donald Yellott, 34 years-old, killed October 31, 1964. Left behind 4 children and a wife, Shirley Joe Yellott. He was a member of the Local #450 out of Orange, Texas and was killed on the job. The dragline that he was operating had problems with the tire and he was trying to fix it when the other tire came off. He was crushed to death beneath it while trying to fix the first tire. He was a hard worker and took good care of his family. 10/26/63 Karen Yellott |
| Paul Hanson, 31, of Waretown, New Jersey died Monday, March 29, 2004 at Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center, Rahway, of a work-related injury. He was a 1991 graduate of Toms River High School North, Toms River. He was an excellent guitar player and played in his own band, Gypsy Feed, with three of his best friends, Brian Sullivan, Greg Ruvulo and Chuck Dingerdissen. He was an avid nature lover, enjoying boating, fishing, crabbing and camping. He was a devoted husband and father who will be greatly missed by his family and friends. He worked as a dock builder/foreman for Dock Builders' Union Local 1456, New York City, and previously for Loftus Construction of Bellmawr. Born in Point Pleasant, he lived in Silverton before moving to Waretown 10 years ago. Surviving are his wife of eight years, Bernadette Dutka Hanson; his 7 1/2-year-old son and best buddy, Paul Nash Hanson, and his cats, Hopper and Fuzzy, all of Waretown; his mother, Diana G. Grist of Toms River; his father, Francis R. Hanson of Cherry Hill; his sister, Cynthia Spalding of Toms River; three brothers, Pastor Arthur Spalding of Haiti, Mark Hanson of Ocean Gate, and Matthew Hanson of Toms River; his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Richard and Marion Dutka of Toms River; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles and in-laws who loved him dearly. Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. today at Anderson & Campbell Funeral Home, 703 Main St., Toms River. A service will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Interment will follow in Ocean County Memorial Park, Waretown. |
| Charles “Charlie” Jordan, crane operator, lost his life 2/17/04 in Stratford, Connecticut. He had been a crane operator for 33 years. He was working on the new Sikorsky Memorial Bridge at the time of his death. He and another crane operator were dismantling a section of the old bridge when tragedy happened. As they were lifting a huge, long, heavy piece of metal, the object suddenly bent closer to his side of the load, his crane fell into the Housatonic River. He was thrown from the crane into the icy water. His co-workers retrieved his body and attempted resuscitation. He was shipped to Bridgeport Hospital, but there was no hope. His life here on earth was over. He was killed by multiple blunt trauma to his chest and abdomen. No one else suffered physical injuries that day. There was undescribable emotional injury to his co-workers, who were also his friends and especially a huge feeling of loss to his family, that will never mend. This is his only daughter, his 33 year old baby, his little darlin', the mother of 2 of his grandchildren. I will miss his wit, his wisdom, his one of a kind personality, his comfort, his friendship, his love, forever. He was a native of Clarke County, Alabama. and owned a home in Satsuma, Alabama where he was planning to retire in a couple of years. |
| Kenneth "Kenny" Price, a crane operator, died Monday December 15, 2003 in an industrial accident at French's Welding Service in Venice, Lousiiana. He was 29. Mr. Price was a lifelong resident of Buras. Survivors include his wife, Fern Slavich Price; two sons, Cameron and Colby Price; his father, David Price; his mother, Pat Barrois Price; a brother, Ryan L. Price; and his grandparents, Myrna Barrois and Lucille Price. A Mass will be said Friday at 11 a.m. at Mothe Funeral Home, 151 E. Gulf Drive, Triumph. Burial will be in Our Lady of Good Harbor Cemetery in Buras Louisiana. |
| December 12, 2002- Mark M. Pease. Mark Pease, 44 years old, an Ironworker, Local 118, Sacramento, was killed tragically by a collapsing crane. Mark was knocked to the ground and was impaled by rebar that was not capped around the job site. Mark had a love for life. He was loved by all. He is survived by his fiancee, Alisa, their 3 year old daughter Shelbie, parents Maynard and Nancy, sister Melinda and two nieces, Rachelle and Madolin. It has been 9 months and I still leave a candle burning in the window at night hoping he will walk through the door after a long night at work with that beautiful smile on his face. |
| Greg Larsen, 35, of Howell, New Jersey was killed in a crane accident on February 4, 2003. The crane was said to have malunctioned allowing a cable to slip and setting the piling free to fall vertically. His brother, Thor Laresen, was killed in a work related construction accident two years prior. Both brothers are dearly missed by their mother as well as 4 brothers and 3 sisters, several neices, nephews, and friends. |
| August 26, 1986 Lowell Sweatt, killed instantly in a crane accident while working on the Mississippi River. My father was a crane operator foreman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and in a separate incident on the same day, just five hours later, at a different site entirely, another crane operator was killed when his crane went into the Mississippi. Both incidents are described in an article written in the "Tower Times", a publication of the Rock Island District of the Corps, in an article entitled The District's Darkest Day. My father and his crew were engaged in an operation on a barge, and on this particular day they were experiencing difficulty anchoring one of the spuds used to secure the barge in place. At some point, my father decided that he would attempt to secure it himself, and while doing so, the crane's aft end apparently swung around and pinned him between it and the spud, killing him. As a result of these two accidents, a crane safety position was created, and training, and when the crew stopped each hour, he would set up his typewriter and begin typing his final papers. He did this every day for several weeks, and a local reporter caught wind of it and did a feature article on him in the local newspaper. That's the kind of guy he was -- he MADE opportunities happen, and he always led by example. Years later, when I was married, in my mid-thirties, and had young children of my own, I followed his example and returned to St. Ambrose University while holding a full-time job, and eventually graduated. His presence was with me every single day as I walked the campus to my classes, and when things seemed rough, and I wasn't sure if I could handle it all, I remembered that picture of him carrying that typewriter on his back up into the cab of that tower crane, typing his papers 110 feet up in the air, and the level of commitment he gave to everything he did in his life. He inspired me then, and he continues to inspire me now — and so much of the success I have gained. |
| June 6, 2001 |
| Roger W. Whitt died as a result of a fall from a platform of a ladder crane truck. The truck was for sale and Roger was testing it's capabilities before purchase when a cable broke causing the boom to drop rapidly. Roger was the founder and owner of All Signs in Chillicothe, Ohio. He died doing what he loved. A lack of safety practices and poor truck maintenance cost this world a heck of a sign man and cost us a great friend. |
On December 22, 2000 Steven Oldham's crane fell over into a lake in Maine. His body was never recovered. He left behind a wife in Delaware and 3 children in Colorado. |
| * Larry Jarold was a crane operator for local 18 in Cleveland, Ohio. Larry worked for many years for All Crane Rental. Larry died of cancer at the young age of 52. Larry was a brother to a lot of operators. Larry you will be missed.
April 17, 1970 Jerry Sayers, 38, Construction Worker in San Antonio, Tx. died instantly as the result of a crane accident . He left behind his wife, JoAnn Philips Sayers, children: David Jerry Sayers, age 14 at the time, Amy Sayers, age 13 then, Jody Sayers, age 6 at the time and a step-son he loved as his own: Jimmy Wendall Condry, then age 12. He'd been active in his church at the time: Wesleyan Methodist Church on West Avenue in San Antonio, Tx. He'd almost completed building the new Baptistry. Later 2 of his children, David and Amy, were some of the first to be Baptised there. It was later dedicated in the honor of Jerry Sayers (legally named Jewell Jerry Sayers) and now has a stone in the bottom of the Baptistry with his name on it. It was later determined that Diamond Chain Company was at fault with the old addage “You're only as strong as the weakest link.” holding quite true. Jerry was also a Boy Scout Troop leader at the time of his death. His children each felt that THEY were his favorite. It was overheard of his neighbors to say that "they" had never seen a man soooo gentle and loving with his kids. And this was very true. His legacy holds true today and each of his sons, now grown with families of their own, have that same gentle and loving manner with their own children.....even step-Son Jimmy. Daughter, Amy, shares a wonderful family loving togetherness with her children today as well as with her step children and their families that she loves as her own today. Each has learned the value of love and family from the wonderful family they came from in the form of Jerry and JoAnn Sayers. And that - that love can also include step-children that can be loved as much as their own, since the foundation was formed in the love shared between Jerry and JoAnn Sayers. It was an inspiration to see Jerry's boyscout troop attend the funeral in full uniform in salute to their leader. These are treasured memories today for the children left behind. Who can know all these wonderful memories of so long ago. I am his daughter, Amy, now 46 yrs old. And I can easily say that I love my Dad as much today as then. And, as much as I hope to live a long life on this Earth, I know that when my time comes.....I will get to enter eternity to see both my heavenly Father and my earthly Father. I do NOT fear death; only that which it does not allow me to finish in terms of unfinished business on Earth. Hope I wasn't too long.....but MY FATHER deserves a MUCH BETTER TRIBUTE than this small effort. Thank you for taking the time to read this. And for those who are also reading this due to suffering such a tradegy.....Love, prayers and all my best wishes always, Amy Harlow |
| William Cahill of East London England aged 50. Owner of one of Europes largest crane demolition companies was killed instantly whilst removing cranes from Portsmouth Harbour in Southern England, leaving two sons Tony 19 and William 15 and wife Jean 42. The accident happened in June 1973. William climbed up to the cab of a crane being demolished. He put his head through the side window of the cab as the crane next door was lifting away part of a cut away section. This caused the cab to turn trapping Williams head between the window frame and the metal superstructure causing near decapitation and near instant death. Cahill & Sons was responsible for the removal of most of the cranes along the River Thames embankment between Tower Bridge and London Bridge between 1970 and 1973 Thomas Nadeau, 36 of Commerce, GA died November 14, 2000. He was the crane operator of a boomtruck and was crushed to death when the crane tipped over. The fully extended boom hit the concrete wall of the building causing it to fall, crushing the operator underneath as he shouted to others to move while trying to flee the danger zone himself. He leaves behind his wife, Cheryl Nadeau and his stepdaughter, Ceara. Mickey was killed April 27, 1994 in Rosalia Wa. He was working as a rigger and was putting away his gear when the crane turned and he was crushed between the housing and the counterweight. Mic was pronounced dead at the scene. He left behind a wife named Sandy, a step-daughter (Katie) two sons (Kaggen and Nic) and a 5 year old daughter (Carissa). Patrick M. Bauer, age 28, of Hanover Park, beloved husband of Misty, Nee Sullivan; dear son of Peter (Debra) Bauer and Linda (Karl) Askren; loving brother of Dawna (Ted) Rybialek, Chris (Kim) Bauer, Jenny Bauer and Tom (Lisa) Askren; cherished grandson of Doris Huseby and Ida Mae Askren; dear son-in-law of Linda Bossart; and fond brother-in-law of Shannon (Tony) Sharp; loving uncle of seven; and friend of many. Patrick was a victim of this accident January 5, 2000: David McCoy III died at 4:14 p.m. Wednesday, six days after he was thrown from the cab of his 42-foot straddle carrier after it was broadsided and knocked over by another one. A resident of Suffolk, McCoy had been a crane operator in the Norfolk International Terminals port facalities for five years. He was a member of Local 970 of the International Longshoremen's Association. McCoy, 41, is survived by his wife, Mary, a 3-month-old daughter, a stepson and a large extended family, said his father, David McCoy Jr. He was born May 8, 1959, at Marysville, the son of Dean Genschorck and Barbara Baker Genschorck. He moved with his family to Manhattan at a very early age and grew up in Manhattan where he attended the local schools and was a graduate of Manhattan High School. He had lived in Wamego the past three years. He was united in marriage to Delores Fairchild on Sept. 6, 1997, in Wamego. She survives of the home.Mr. Genschorck was an iron worker for the Kaw Valley Builders Company and a member of the St. Luke's Lutheran Church, Wamego. In addition to his wife, he is survived by three sons, Paul, Kelly and Jamie Genschorck, all of Manhattan; a stepson, Jesse James Fox, Wamego; two stepdaughters, Venessa Fox of Wamego and Suzette Cordova of Santa Ana, Calif; his parents, Dean and Barbara Genschorck of Manhattan; two brothers, Larry Genschorck of Sibley Iowa, and Robert Genschorck of Manhattan; and a sister, Diane Eckart of Manhattan. 7/28/1999: Mark Edmond Robichau 36 Vidor, Texas 7/14/99: Miller Park (Big Blue) Crane Accident Jerome W. Starr, 52 Wife, Ramona Milwaukee, WI 7/14/99: Miller Park (Big Blue) Crane Accident Jeffrey A. Wischer, 40 Wife, Trish and three children. Waukesha, WI 7/14/99: Miller Park (Big Blue) Crane Accident William DeGrave, 39 Wife, Marjorie and three children. Kimberly, WI All three of the men listed above were members of Iron Workers Local Union #8. 6/22/99: Andres Delacruz and Genaro Mendoza, Freeport, Texas 6/17/99: Jessie Simmons and Jose Marerro, Little, Arkansas 6/1/99: David Parslows, Canada April 8, 1999: George T. Freeman, age 40, of Eure, N.C. February 10, 1999: Andy Figge, a well known broadcast tower engineer and a valued member of the Southern California broadcasting community. Andy passed away on Wednesday, February 10, 1999, following injuries associated with a tower accident in Alabama. In an effort to help prevent another similar accident here is an accounting of what happened. January 12, 1999: Robert Reed, 49 years old, survived by his wife, Marie Reed and two adult daughters, Diane Hogeveen, of Manhatten, Illinois, and Therea Griffith of Lockport, Illinois. December 29, 1998: Christopher Green, Age 24, Las Vegas, Nevada.See Story December 18, 1998: Daniel C. Sweeny, Welder. Louisville, Kentucky. Survived by his wife, Lea and their sons D.J., age 8 and Josh, age 5. November 17, 1998: Jorge Huizar, who was killed when a crane supported conveyor collapsed
at LAXT in Los Angeles, Ca. Jorge, we miss you and your smile. Our days are not complete without your humor and good nature. July 31, 1997: Chris Rider, Ironworker- Rider's widow, Peggy, and his two children, step-son Rollin Pick, 7, and son Nathaniel, 7 months. July 31, 1997: Donn Soto, 24, Apprentice Ironworker - Soto left an 8-month-old daughter, Victoria Hager; ironworker brothers Craig and Kevin; and parents Ernie and Kathleen. See story | Not Available | June 4, 1996: Wayne Cvitkovich, 42, of El Cajon, CA. Survived by his wife, his son Michael, 15, and daughters Katie, 10, and Jenna 7 and is missed very much, every day. See story 1989: Travis Turner Ԃ IUOE member Local 12 Travis was a wonderful human being and much loved. Killed by operator neglect (power lines). July 13, 1964 Adelbert Clark Wilson was killed during the construction of the Wadsworth Blvd and Hampden Ave. intersection outside of Denver, Colorado when an incorrect pin was released on the crane he was working under. Del left behind his wife, 2 young sons, his parents, 3 brothers, 3 sisters, and many nieces and nephews. He was dearly loved and his absence is felt keenly by his family and the grandchildren he never knew. To add to this list, submit name and details here |