| Notes |
- Niagara Gazette - 8/7/1965
LAKEWOOD, Calif. -A
light plane bound for Niagara
Falls, N. Y., groping through
heavy fog, crashed into a
cemetery t o d a y , spewing
bodies and plane parts into
a suburban housing tract.
All eight persons aboard-
members of two families on
their way to a family reunion
in Niagara Falls-were killed,
sheriff's deputies said. No one
on the ground appeared to be
hurt, they added.
"If the pilot had gone a little
further he sure would
have taken out another dozen
people at least," said a
sheriff's deputy.
The plane, a twin-engine
Beechcraft C45H. crashed
into All Souls Cemetery at
6:12 a.m. EDT, minutes after
taking off from Long Beach
Airport, IV2 miles south.
"It was like an explosion,"
said John Hagedorn who lives
a few yards away. "I looked
out the back window and
there was fire all over the
backyard. I saw plane parts
all over the yard-and two
bodies."
Another body landed in
the dining room window of
Hagedorn's "neighbor, Joseph
Rhoades. A plane engine
plowed through a n o t h er
neighbor's garage.
"The power went out," said
Mrs. Rhodes, "and it was half
an hour before I noticed the
d i n i n g room c u r t a i n all
bunched up. Then I saw blood
on the dining room floor. I
realized it was a man's body,
hanging halfway over the other
window sill."
Sheriff's Lt. Roy Kundtz
identified the victims, from
papers found near the crash
site. a s :
James Whitmarsh, 37, the
pilot, of Lakewood; his wife,
Mildred, and their children,
Terry, 16, and Mary Mar
Two of the victims of the
California air tragedy, Mrs.
James Whitmarsh and Mrs.
James Edward Dent, were na-
tives of this area. They were
daughters of Mr., and Mrs.
Clarence F. Swearenge, 6420
Elsa Place, Town of Niagara.
Mr. Whitmarsh, a former
pilot in this city, was flying
the plane at the time it crash-
ed in heavy fog. mr. Whit-
marsh, 37, his wife, Mildred,
and their children, Terry, 16,
and Mary Margaret, 14, were
killed instantly.
Other victims of the crash
were 37-year-old James Dent,
his wife, Rebecca, and their
children, Peggy, 15, and Rich-
ard, 16.
The two families were com-
ing home for a family reunion
according to Mrs. Clarence
Swearengen, Jr., 5025 Isher-
wood Drive, Town of Niagara,
a sister-in-law of the two dead
women.
The whitmarsh family lived
in 8211 Colonial Drive, Col-
onial Village until about two
years ago when they moved
to California. Mr. Whitmars
was a private pilot.
"He flew for me when I was
in the leasing business during
the construction of the power
project," said James A. Whitworth,
president of Whitworth
Motors.
Whitmarsh flew a twinengine
Beechcraft for Mr.
Whitworth, and was known
to be an "excellent pilot,"
according to Mr. Whitworth.
it was a twin-engined Beechcraft
which crashed.
Relatives here said Whitmarsh
was flying for a stock
car owner in California. It
was this plane he was using
for the trip home.
This is not the first time
tragedy has hit the Whit-
Whitmarsh
family. In 1961 the
youngest son of James and
M i l d r e d Whitmarsh, little
Jimmy Whitmarsh, was accidentally
electrocuted in a
neighboring yard.
In addition to their parents,
Mrs. Whitmarsh and Mrs.
Dent are survived by a sister,
Mrs. Mary Timm, Tonawanda;
and three brothers,
Clarence S w e a r e n gen Jr.,
Richard Swearengen, 101st
Street, and Donald Swearengen,
Cain Road. Youngstown.
The Whitmarshs were members
of Hope L u t h e r an
Church, Military Road.
A spokesman in the Swearengen
family said "Mr. Whitmarsh
was a native of this
area-from the Town of Niagara,
too. I think." His mother
now lives in Florida.
Mr. Dent was a native Californian
and the couple had
made their home there for
many years, a relative said.
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Abt 1951 - 1965 (~ 14 years)