In Memory

Grandma Linda, Grandpa Gary, and Alli (about a year and a half ago)

Man Dies In Boating Accident Near Lake Sturgeon

(WCCO) A man is dead after a fatal boating accident on
Island Lake near Sturgeon Lake, Minn. Wednesday.

The accident happened around 4:30 p.m.Gerhardt Pfeifer, 64, of
Sandstone, Minn. was attempting to get water out of a boat by pulling the plug
and driving rapidly around the lake.

Witnesses said Pfeifer was driving around in circles very fast,
hit a wave and was thrown into the water.

One witness got into a pontoon and went out to try to save
Pfeifer, but was unable to bring him up on the boat by himself. He held Pfeifer
above water until help arrived.Once on the pontoon, CPR was performed and
Pfeifer was brought to shore where an ambulance was waiting.

He was immediately transported to Mercy Hospital in Moose Lake
where he was pronounced dead.Pfeifer was not wearing a life jacket at the time
of the accident.

What they didn't tell you is that he was my best friend's dad and she and Charlie and his wife saw the whole thing happen. And that it was Charlie & Kathleen's boat that he flipped accidentally, causing him to fall out and drown. Because, despite his 20 some years in the military as a medic and then later as a Physicians Assistant, and later, his service at the Federal Correctional Institution and Duluth Camp, he didn't know how to swim.

If you know me, I've told you what happened. I've told you how I had the dubious honor of driving Linda, Kathleen, and her grandmother Margie in the very van that Gary had helped me pick out 5-6 months ago....never knowing that I would one day be driving behind the hearse that carried his body.

At one point, Kathleen asked how fast I was going. The hearse kept slowing down and speeding up as it followed the firetruck escorting us. Kathleen laughed and said it was just as Dad drove; he would never set the cruise.

I laughed and said "I don't know about you guys, but I think it'd be kinda rude to pass a hearse..." and Kathleen chimed in with "....and flip him off as you go!" So for a moment of time, giggles filled the van from all of us. And then we remembered why we were there.

Gary was what I imagined my dad would be if he was still around. He was a good man, a wonderful dad, and a fantastic grandfather. He and Linda always treated Alli and I as one of their own - and they still have. It was a long and harrowing weekend.

When Kathleen called she was hysterical and Dave couldn't get a word out. I called her from where I was, and then she passed the phone to Charlie who asked, "How soon can you get here?"

We drove up to Sandstone on Wednesday night and clustered with the other gathered peoples - family and some friends. Thursday was a blur. Friday was the wake, with the funeral on Saturday.

Alli cried. She wasn't scared by Gary's body in the casket. She was sad. She knew he'd never be around to play horsey with her and Dillon again, not tease her again about bugs, or be around to fix her bike tires and watch her play in the playhouse. No more Grandpa Gary.

Maybe I'll talk about this more later. Maybe I won't. I was there and present for the family all weekend. I think now is my time to finish grieving in private.