Richard J. ALTHOFF

ALTHOFF, ZARTH, INSELBERG, SCHATZLIEN

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 11/11/2014 at 13:06:48

Richard J. Althoff
January 17, 1925 --- April 23, 1950

Two Rochester Fliers Killed as Plane Crashes

Zarth, Althoff Die in Indiana; Storm Blamed
Craft Was Carrying New Yorker’s Body Back Home for Burial

Two Rochester aviators from Gopher Aviation, Inc., here were killed in a plane crash near Lakeville, Ind., early yesterday morning on a flight to New York City. They were carrying the body of a New York man who had died in Rochester Friday. The victims were Carl James Zarth, Jr., 49 years old, Gopher Aviation flight instructor and a veteran of more than 10,000 hours of flying time, and Richard Althoff, 25, a ground crewman with more than 1,000 hours of time as a pilot. Exact cause of the crash has not been determined yet but the most probable cause was thunderstorms prevalent in that area at the time, according to reports. Civil aeronautics authorities are conducting an investigation. Arthur Hoffman of Rochester, president of Gopher Aviation, left here this morning for South Bend. The bodies are expected to arrive in Rochester tomorrow.

Rites Wednesday

Funeral services for Mr. Zarth will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday in Jordan, Minn., where he was born. Arrangements are by the Strait Funeral home and burial will be in Spirit Hill cemetery. Arrangements have not been completed for Mr. Althoff by the Buckman Funeral home of Dodge Center, where he formerly resided. Interment will be in Dodge Center.

The men left here at 8:10 p.m. Saturday for Chicago in Gopher’s twin-engine Cessna cargo plane to pick up the body of Harry Inselberg, which had been transported by train from Rochester to Chicago Saturday afternoon. The plane had radioed no trouble and was exactly on course when it crashed at 1:16 a.m. on a farm two miles east of Lakeville, about eight miles south of South Bend, Ind. The plane was demolished and it is reported that the wreckage was scattered over a 1,000-foot area. It is believed the fliers died instantly.

Zarth The Pilot

Mr. Zarth was the pilot and Mr. Althoff had gone along on the trip to assist him. Funeral services for Mr. Inselberg were to be held in New York yesterday and the family had requested the Lawler Funeral home here to make arrangements for Gopher Aviation to pick up the body in Chicago after it was learned it would not otherwise reach New York at the time set for the funeral. The accident was the first in the history of Gopher Aviation, which began to fly passengers and cargo here six years ago. The company had flown more than five million passenger miles without a fatality to crew or passengers. Jim Zarth, an aviator since 1923, had been a pilot with the Rochester company since March, 1945, and had instructed many pilots in the city and area. He held every rating issued by the civil aeronautics authority, including flight examiner’s ratings. During World War II he served as an army flight instructor and was stationed at Dos Palos, Calif., before becoming employed here.

Born November 9, 1900, in Jordan, he was operator of and a flight instructor at the Worthington, Minn., airport from 1929 to 1939. Afterwards he was a flight instructor at the Sioux Falls, S.D., airport until becoming an army instructor. He served at Condor Field, 29 Palms, Calif., and Eagle Field, Dos Palos, before coming to Rochester.

Four Survivors

He is survived by his wife, the former Gertrude Schatzlien, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Carl J. Zarth of Jordan, and a brother, Walter, of Jordan. One brother is dead. The Zarth home in Rochester is at 811 Sixth avenue SE. Mr. Zarth was regarded in aviation circles as an outstanding pilot and instructor. “We had every confidence in the two fliers and know that the crash was due to circumstances beyond their control.” Mr. Hoffman said.

Mr. Althoff, familiarly known as “Red,” was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Althoff of Dodge Center. He was born January 17, 1925, in Minneapolis. The family lived in Janesville, Minn., for about 16 years before moving to Dodge Center four years ago. He attended high school in Janesville and then entered the army air forces for about two years of service, before becoming employed as ground crewman at Gopher in August, 1946. This was his first aviation job. He had since earned private and commercial flying licenses and instructor’s and multi-engine ratings. He had planned to leave Rochester Wednesday to accept a new position as a flight instructor at the airport in Clarion, Iowa. He resided here at 215 Tenth avenue SE. Besides his parents he is survived by a sister, Shirley, of Dodge Center.