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Handrich, Willard Donald (1916-2006)
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2006 Oct 23 p. 7
Birth date: 1916 Dec 12
text of obituary:
By Robert Rhodes
Mennonite Weekly Review
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 their boat capsized in rough seas on Lake Superior.
Killed were Willar 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.