When the 729-foot-long SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank on Lake Superior in 1975, it took its entire 29-member crew with it.
The men — sons, brothers, fathers, husbands and friends — were connected to dozens of families and a number of comrades in the shipping and freight industry.
“Everyone who was on the ship had loved ones at home. When that ship sank, like so many others across the Great Lakes, you had this impact across the community. You had fatherless children, widows, people’s lives were turned upside down,” Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Executive Director Bruce Lynn said.
When launched in 1958, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest ship on the Great Lakes, and is still the largest to have sunk there. Here’s a look at the 29 men who were lost on Nov. 10, 1975, when the bulk freighter went to the bottom of Lake Superior in a fierce November storm.
Michael E. Armagost
Armagost, 37, of Iron River, Wisconsin was the third mate. As an officer with the ship’s deck department, Armagost supervised several high priority operations.
Fred J. Beetcher
Beetcher, 56, of Superior, Wisconsin, was the ship’s porter and handled luggage and cargo aboard the ship.
Thomas D. Bentsen
Thomas D. Bentsen, 23, of St. Joseph, Michigan, was an oiler aboard the ship.
Edward F. Bindon
Bindon, 47, of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, was responsible for the proper operation, maintenance and preservation of all engine department machinery and equipment.
Thomas D. Borgeson
Borgeson, 41, of Duluth, Minnesota, was a maintenance technician. He repaired anything the ship needed, from hull breaches to broken pipes.
Oliver J. Champeau
Champeau, 41, of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, was nicknamed “Buck.” He was a third assistant engineer on the Fitzgerald. He quit school at 13 to raise four siblings after his father died. Champeau also fought in the Korean War with the Marine Corps.
Nolan S. Church
Church, 55, of Silver Bay, Minnesota, was born on July 13, 1920, and didn’t start sailing until his 40s after watching the freighters pass by his home and thinking the job would be fun. He was a ship’s porter. He was survived through his children.
Ransom E. Cundy
Cundy, 53, of Superior, Wisconsin, was a watchman on the Fitzgerald. He born in 1922 in Houghton, Michigan, then joined the Marine Corps in during World War II and fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. According to the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Online, he left behind a daughter, Janice.
Thomas E. Edwards
Edwards, 50, of Oregon, Ohio, was the second assistant engineer on the Fitzgerald, responsible for the proper operation, maintenance and upkeep of the main and auxiliary engines.
Russell G. Haskell
Haskell, 40, of Millbury, Ohio, also was a second assistant engineer on the Fitzgerald, responsible for the proper operation, maintenance and upkeep of the main and auxiliary engines.
George J. Holl
Holl, 60, of Cabot, Pennsylvania, about 35 miles from Pittsburgh, was the chief engineer. He was responsible for the proper operation and maintenance of all the Fitzgerald’s systems.
Bruce L. Hudson
Hudson, 22, of North Olmstead, Ohio, was a deckhand on the Fitzgerald. He maintained the vessel and its mechanical equipment. He was among the youngest crew members.
Allen G. Kalmon
Kalmon, 43, of Washburn, Wisconsin, was the second cook on the Fitzgerald. Kalmon’s role on the vessel included being responsible for the timely preparation and production of all menu items on the ship.
Gordon F. MacLellan
MacLellan, 30, of Clearwater, Florida, was the youngest of six children. He had just moved to Presque Isle, Michigan, before taking the last voyage on the Fitzgerald. His father, Capt. Donald MacLellan, had set sail across the Great Lakes several times. As a wiper, MacLellan was responsible for maintenance of the vessel which included cleaning the engine room.
Joseph W. Mazes
Mazes, 57, of Ashland, Wisconsin, was a special maintenance man on the Fitzgerald. He had no wife or children, but did have four siblings, according to the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Online. During his free time, he loved to fish, hunt deer and snowmobile. According to the Awesome Mitten, Mazes’ family said he was afraid of Capt. Ernest McSorley’s habit of never pulling out of a storm.
John H. McCarthy
McCarthy, 62, of Bay Village, Ohio, was first Mate at the time of the Fitzgerald sinking, is from Bay Village, Ohio.
Ernest M. McSorley
Captain of the Fitzgerald, McSorley, 63, was born in Canada, but lived in Toledo. He was highly regarded for his skills, especially in heavy weather. He intended to retire after the 1975 shipping season and was survived by his wife, Nellie Pollock.
Eugene W. O’Brien
O’Brien, 50, was born in Minnesota and lived in Toledo. Nicknamed the “Great Lakes Gambler” O’Brien was a wheelman for the Fitzgerald. He was survived by his wife Nancy Ann Minarcin and son John.
Karl A. Peckol
Peckol, 20, of Ashtabula, Ohio, was the youngest crew member on the Fitzgerald. He was a watchman when the Fitzgerald sank.
John J. Poviach
Poviach, 59, of Bradenton, Florida, was a wheelsman, responsible for steering and directing the ship under the orders of the watchkeeping officer.
James A. Pratt
Pratt, 44, of Lakewood, Ohio, was the second mate.
Robert C. Rafferty
Rafferty, 62, of Toledo, was a steward on the Fitzgerald. He was thinking of retiring after the last trip due to bad health and always being away from his family, according to the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Online. Rafferty was survived by his daughter Pam Johnson. Rafferty was filling in for a sailor who was home with bleeding ulcers.
Paul M. Riippa
Riippa, 22, of Ashtabula, was a deck hand. Riippa maintained the vessel and its mechanical equipment.
John D. Simmons
Simmons,62, of Ashland, was a wheelman when the Fitzgerald sank. Simmons was a jokester and storyteller, his biography say. He was also an avid pool player. He was survived by his granddaughter Mary, who resided in Ashland, according to the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Online.
William J. Spengler
Spengler, 59, of Toledo, was a watchman.
Mark A. Thomas
Thomas, 21, of Richmond Heights, Ohio, was a deck hand when the Fitzgerald sunk.
Ralph G. Walton
Walton, 58, of Fremont, Ohio, was an oiler aboard the Fitz. He was a often an orator of his tales of the sea, sharing tubs of popcorn with his nephews as he told them stories, according to the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Online.
David E. Weiss
Weiss, 22, of Agoura, California, was a cadet aboard the Fitzgerald, tasked with casting the vessel.
Blaine H. Wilhelm
Wilhelm, 52, of Big Bay, Michigan, and raised in Moquah, Wisconsin, was an oiler aboard the ship. He liked to hunt and fish during his free time, Awesome Mitten said. The 52-year-old was survived by wife Lorraine, seven children, and a grandchild born just four days after the Fitzgerald sank.
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Meet the 29 crew members who died aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald 50 years ago
Reporting by Jalen Williams, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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