Obit: Kowalk, Glen  (1928-1949)

Contact: Audrey Roedl

Email: audero@charter.net

Surnames: Kowalk, Quist

----Source: The Loyal Tribune (Loyal, Clark County, Wis. 07 July 1949)

Kowalk, Glen  (19 JULY 1928-? JULY 1949)

LOCAL TRUCK DRIVER IS KILLED WHEN SEMI CRASHES

Glen Kowalk Dies in Crash at Manville Early Monday; Funeral Today

Glendon Kowalk, 21, of route one, Unity, who roomed with the Joe Motchenbacher home here  while employed as a truck driver by Norman Luchterhand, died under the cab of his whey truck, under which he was after the truck ran off the road and hit a culvert and telephone pole near Mannville at about 6"30 a.m. Monday.

Marathon county traffic officers, called to investigate the crash, theorized that Kowalk either dozed at the wheel or lost control of the semi. After leaving the road, the truck struck a concrete culvert that could not be seen because of tall grass, although marked by two white posts.

After striking the culvert, the tank part of the semi-truck swung around to the right, breaking a telephone pole which had 40 strands of wire. The cab continued straight into the ditch, with the undercarriage all but buried in the dirt.

When the vehicle came to a stop, Kowalk’s body was pinned under the cab. He had apparently been thrown from the cab when it struck the culvert. Farmers residing nearby heard the crash and rushed out. They tried unsuccessfully to jack the cab up to free Kowalk, who, they said, was still alive but unconscious. He died about 10 minutes after the crash, they reported.

When their attempts at raising the cab proved fruitless, they sent for a wrecker and notified authorities, who stated that Kowalk died of internal injuries resulting from a crushed chest. The Marathon county coroner said no inquest would be held.

The son of Mr. and Mrs. George Kowalk of the town of Hull, in Marathon county. Glendon was born in Detroit, Mich., on Jan. 19, 1928. The family later moved to the farm on which they now reside. He was a veteran of World War ll, having served with the naval air cadets based most of the time at Pensacola, Fla. He was discharged from the service on Dec. 30, 1947. Surviving are his parents, a sister, Betty, and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Quist, of Owen.

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