Hempeler, Allen J. 1960 - 1983

HEMPELER, ANDEREGG, ARP, HOTH, WALTHER

Posted By: Reid R. Johnson (email)
Date: 3/12/2016 at 11:45:45

Cedar Rapids Gazette, Tues., 28 June 1983.

Garnavillo- Allen J. Hempeler, 22, a dairy farmer, of rural Garnavillo, died Sunday afternoon in a drowning accident near Clayton. (See story on page 3A.)

Born Oct. 11, 1960, at McGregor, he was a 1979 graduate of Garnavillo High School. He was a member of the Clayton County Extension Council, the American Guernsey Cattle Club and the Iowa Guernsey Breeders Association. He received the 1982 American Farmer Degree and he was a 1982 Regional Youth Guernsey Winner.

Survivors include his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Arlyn Hempeler of Garnavillo; four sisters, Ardith Anderegg of Guttenberg, Arlene Arp of Davenport, Audrey Hoth of Andrew, and Annette Walther of Plainfield, Iowa; and grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Hempeler of Garnavillo.

Services: Wednesday, 11 a.m., St. Peter's Lutheran Church. Friends may call at Tuecke-Allyn's. Burial: Garnavillo City Cemetery. An Allen Hempeler Guernsey Memorial Fund has been established.

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Same paper and date.

Towns Mourn Drowned 'Good Samaritans'.

Two rural Clayton County communities are in mourning after the drowning deaths Sunday of two "Good Samaritans" trying to help a friend who stepped into a deep hole in the Mississippi River.

Two farmers, Allen J. Hempeler of rural Garnavillo and David J. Kluth of rural Farmersburg, both 22, drowned after they responded to a call for help from one of their companions on a picnic sponsored by the Clayton County Snowbirds snowmobile club.

The accident occurred about 1 p.m. Sunday on the Iowa side of a popular mid-river sandbar across the river from Wyalusing, Wis.

According to rescue authorities, a Frisbee game was in progress when one player followed the toy into the water. The unidentified man or boy was wearing a life jacket when he apparently stepped into a hole off the underwater edge of the sandbar and went under. Panicking despite his life preserver, he called for help. One by one, Hempeler and Kluth went in to help, but they drowned. The unidentified person apparently escaped unharmed.

Rescue workers from Grant and Crawford counties in Wisconsin, fire departments from Garnavillo and Marquette, and the Clayton County Sheriff's Department worked on the dragging operations for the two bodies.

Marquette Fire Chief Ray Childs said about 10 flatbottom boats were used to pull hooked dragbars through the river bottom. "We found one (body) at about 3 p.m. and one about 3:20 p.m.", Childs said. "Apparently, neither one could swim that well."

Childs, formerly a Crawford County sheriff and Marquette police chief, said he has assisted in the investigation of five drownings in the area of that sandbar over the past 15 years. "The Mississipi River can be a lot of fun but it can lead to tragedy", he said.

After the drownings, other groups using the sandbar Sunday didn't seem to be affected, Childs added. "It's amazing how they could look at something and not see it."