This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Pontier; Kenkel; Fuhs; Johnk; Salter; Muff; Schmitz; Sporrer; Jewell; Stiner Classification: Death Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/zk.2ADI/1911 Message Board Post: Lake accident claims 2 men by Chris Dorsey SENTINEL TRIBUNE 06-23-05 Two Osceola men drowned Sunday morning at Little River Lake near Leon. The Decatur County Sheriff’s Office announced Brad Phillips, 18, and Todd Pontier, 20, drowned after their boat capsized early Sunday morning 65 to 70 yards from the east shore. The men were fishing at the time of the accident. Three men were in the boat at the time of the accident. Josh Jackson, 19, Van Wert, swam back to the shoreline. He returned to the lake in an attempt to save his friends. The 911 call was made around 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Decatur County Sheriff’s deputies and Iowa Department of Natural Resources personnel searched the lake until around 10:30 a.m. Sunday when Phillips and Pontier were found. The boat apparently tipped over when all three men leaned over one side, said Kevin Baskins with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The motorless boat was unlicensed and described as being in poor condition, according to the DNR. Pontier, a 2003 Clarke graduate, is the son of Marcia and Arthur Pontier. Phillips, who completed his junior year at Clarke, is the son of Gail and Duane Phillips. Funeral services for Phillips is 10 a.m. Thursday at the Kale Funeral Home. Visitation will be Wednesday with the family present from 6-8 p.m. at the Kale Funeral Home. Funeral services for Pontier will be 10:30 a.m. Friday at the St. Bernard Catholic Church in Osceola. Visitation will be Thursday with the family present from 6-8 p.m. at the Kale Funeral Home. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = == = = == = = == MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL Todd A. Pontier AGE – 20 of Osceola SERVICE HELD AT St. Bernard Catholic Church – 10:30 A.M. – Friday , June 24, 2005 VISITATION Open after 9:00 a.m. on Thursday at Kale Funeral Home – Osceola Prayer service at 5:00 p.m. Family will greet friends 6:00-8:00 p.m. INTERMENT Maple Hill Cemetery - Osceola, Iowa MEMORIALS Clarke County Fair Board for fairgrounds or Juvenile Diabetes Association Todd Allan Pontier, son of Arthur Allan and Marcia Rae Kenkel Pontier was born September 24, 1984 at the Clarke County Hospital in Osceola, Iowa and passed away Sunday, June 19, 2005 near Leon, Iowa at the age of twenty years. Todd graduated from Clarke Community High School in 2003 and had just completed his sophomore year at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. While at Iowa State he enjoyed building a Baja Car and the friends that he made there. He has lived his entire life in the Clarke County community where he was active in 4-H, FFA and the Clarke Community High School Marching Band. He was a devoted member of Saint Bernard Catholic Church in Osceola, he enjoyed riding 4-wheelers with his friends, working on the family farm, spending time with his family and friends and his main goal was to make everyone “Happy” He was preceded in death by his grandparents: Arthur Pierre Pontier and Mark and Bernadine (Fuhs) Kenkel, a cousin, Allison Kenkel and an uncle, Doug Stiner. He leaves those who will always treasure his memory; his loving parents, Arthur and Marcia Pontier of Osceola, Iowa; brother, Arthur Ryan Pontier and wife Jamie of Osceola, Iowa, brother, Chad Michael Pontier of Osceola, Iowa; grandmother, Lu Ella Pontier of Osceola, Iowa; nephew, Arthur Colton Pontier of Osceola, Iowa; niece, Audrey Catherine Pontier of Osceola, Iowa; special friend, Sarah Johnk of Ida Grove, Iowa; aunts and uncles, Cynthia Salter and husband Jim of Moline, IL, Ronald Kenkel and wife Jan of Oakland, IA, Gloria Muff and husband Bob of New Providence, IA, Julia Schmitz and husband Bob of Harlan, IA, Sylvia Sporrer and husband Dave of Templeton, IA, Roger Kenkel and wife Gail of Manilla, IA, Rod Kenkel and wife Julie of Shenandoah, IA, Maria Jewell and husband Vic of Olathe, KS, Andy Pontier and wife Teressa of Osceola, IA, Carol Stiner of Des Moines, IA, as well as twenty two cousins, many great aunts and uncles and a host of friends.