Just a reminder that there will be a benefit fundraiser this Thursday, May 6th at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub for long-time manager Dermot Owens, whose son Shea died in a tragic car accident.

All proceeds from this benefit will go to the “Little Shea Memorial Fund,” which has been set up to help the Owens family with funeral expenses and time off from work so they may mourn the loss of their son.

Shea was killed in a tragic accident when he was run over by Dermot’s own SUV at their home in Newcastle on April 16.

Thursday night’s benefit, which begins at 6pm, will include live music, an auction, raffle and more, with all proceeds going to help Dermot get through this incredibly difficult time.

If you can’t make it, there are other ways to help Dermot and his family out:

• Donate using PayPal: Click here to donate directly to the memorial fund online.
• Donate at any Key Bank to “The Little Shea Memorial Fund“.

To donate an item to the auction, we recommend calling Mick Kelly’s ASAP at (206) 246-2473.

You can also make a cash or check donation in person at:

• Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in Burien
• Mick Kelly’s at Full Throttle Bar & Grill in Renton
• A Terrible Beauty Irish Pub in Renton
• The Celtic Swell Pub & Restaurant on Alki in West Seattle

Here’s a Photo Slideshow of a memorial set up shortly after the accident at Mick Kelly’s, taken by Scott Schaefer (be sure your speakers are turned on):

Click to Play Scott Schaefer’s SoundSlideshow

When a spouse dies, the surviving partner is called a “widow” or “widower.”

But what can one possibly call a parent whose young child dies a terrible, tragic death?

The grief one must feel when ones’ own child dies tragically is so incredibly severe there really can be no name for it, so we’ll just leave it as that – unnameable.

Such is the case with Dermot Owens, longtime Manager and bartender at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub. His grief is most certainly unnameable now, as he lost his five-year old son Shea in a tragic accident when he was run over by Dermot’s SUV at their home in Newcastle last Friday (April 16).

“What a great Father he was,” said Mick Purdy, co-owner of Mick Kelly’s, and Dermot’s boss. “We all saw Shea grow up right here, running around the place. To have this tragedy happen is just unbelievable. We’re all in a state of shock…”

UPDATE: There will be a benefit concert for Dermot at Mick Kelly’s on Thursday, May 6th starting at 6:00pm, with live music and a raffle to raise money so Dermot can take time to be with his friends and family.

The Burien branch of Key Bank (655 Southwest 152nd Street • 206-241-9348) has set up an account called “The Little Shea Memorial Fund” where people can donate to help fund Shea’s funeral, which will be held this Thursday (April 22) at 11am at St. Mary’s Church (611 20th Avenue South, Seattle), with a wake afterwards at the Glen Acres Golf Course (call Mick Kelly’s for more details: 206-246-2473).

Also, here are other ways to help Dermot and his family out:

• Donate using PayPal: Click here to donate directly to the memorial fund online.

You can also make a cash or check donation in person at:

• Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in Burien
• Mick Kelly’s at Full Throttle Bar & Grill in Renton
• A Terrible Beauty Irish Pub in Renton
• The Celtic Swell Pub & Restaurant on Alki in West Seattle

Donations will be used to pay for Shea’s service as well as for the Father’s time off from work. You can donate at any Key Bank location.

Here’s a Photo Slideshow of the memorial by Scott Schaefer (be sure your speakers are turned on):

Click to Play Scott Schaefer’s SoundSlideshow

A memorial for Luke T. Gullberg, the 26-year old Des Moines man who was killed on Oregon’s Mount Hood last week, will be this Sunday, Dec. 20th from 3pm to 6pm at Pacific Middle School, located at 22705 24th Avenue South in Des Moines.

Luke died on Saturday, Dec. 12th while climbing Mt. Hood with Anthony Vietti and Katie Nolan, who are still missing. His body was found on a glacier at 9,000 feet by searchers. Reports are that Luke may have fallen and experienced some trauma, then crawled a couple hundred yards before dying of hypothermia.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Memorial for Luke T. Gullberg

WHEN: Sunday, Dec. 20th from 3-6pm

WHERE: Pacific Middle School, located at 22705 24th Avenue South in Des Moines.

INFO/RSVP: Here are some links to various pages created in Luke’s honor:

• Facebook tribute page
• Facebook page on the Mermorial here where you can RSVP and/or leave comments
• Tribute page from fellow climber Richard Lutz
  

And here’s a video of a press conference held at Mt. Hood about the incident:

Area native Tom Pfaeffle, who was tragically shot and killed in July, will be memorialized on the evening of Thursday, August 13th at The Moore Theater in Seattle.

Doors will open at 5pm, and everyone is welcome.

Pfaeffle, a 1979 graduate of Mt. Rainier High School, was an acclaimed 30-year veteran sound engineer who worked with bands like Nirvana, The Black Crowes, Aerosmith, Heart and many others.

According to a website set up as a tribute:

We’ll be celebrating the night in the only way Tom would’ve wanted. With great stories, music & friends

All proceeds from the evening will go to the Pfaeffle family. There will be no ticketing, we ask that you donate whatever you can.

We’d like to thank The Seattle Theater Group, Triamp Group and The Art Institute of Seattle for their generosity.

For those of you who are unable to attend, please feel free to use this site as a place to share memories, stories, songs and anything else you’d like to share in remembering Tom, his life and his work.

The site also gives this recap of Tom’s life:

On Friday, July 17th, a loving wife lost her husband, a family lost their father, students lost their teacher and friends lost a smiling face they could always count on. We all lost something that this world has far too few of… a generous, caring, sincere, heartfelt person who gave all he could to those who became a part of his life.

Tom was a great man to many people for many different reasons. We’ve put up this website to honor the memories we have of him and to come together to celebrate his life and contributions to our collective successes, creativity and happiness.

Anyone who knew Tom knew that the single most important part of his life was his family. A trust has been set up in their name to help provide some support. We ask that you give what you can.

Tom’s generosity knew no limits. This is our chance to show that not only was Tom a generous person but he knew how to surround himself with people of equal character and generosity.

We hope the trust not only provides the family with support now but will continue to provide for them in the future.

Here’s a poster with more info:

Lynette and Mark Storer

Mark founded and operated the towing business, and left behind his wife, Lynette, son Jared and daughter Teresa.

His son Brian was married, and left behind a wife and two small children.

Jared sent us this email Friday morning (7/24/09):

Mark Storer and his Model T Tow Truck.

At the Burien office our Airport Towing family is planning a day of remembrance for Mark and Brian. We are having lunch catered for them and leaving the days activities in the hands of long time Managers Colleen and Daryl.

My hope is that the Burien community remembers my dad for his hard work and dedication that he put into everything he was passionate about. He cared about his family, his church, towing, antique tow trucks, airplanes, and people. Mark loved children. He could not walk into the same room as a child without attempting to make them smile. It didn’t matter if he knew them or not. Whenever he saw his grandkids he would light up with joy and play with them for hours, even if he was at his desk and they were interrupting his work. He would make time. There are many things Mark may not be well known for because he did not brag about his accomplishments. He never announced that he would put $100 bills into the donation box at Burien Chevrolet when one of their employees was diagnosed with cancer. He never published that he faithfully gave more than 10% of his income to his church and other local charities. Mark paid back every loan he ever owed on. He enjoyed making a difference quietly and without praise.

Brian Storer

Brian was far from quiet. He was always making jokes and keeping the atmosphere light. His passions were his family, motorcycles, collectible firearms, music, and tow trucks. Brian met life’s challenges head on. He was the youngest of 3 kids and raising a family of his own with 2 sons. He bounced back from a motorcycle crash that broke his femur when he was hit by a drunk driver and his wife was 8 months pregnant with a 1 year old son at home. The now 3 and 2 year old boys miss their dad but continue to remember him through photos, videos, and stories that their mom and family shares with them.

Thanks for remembering them on this important day.

Jared

More from their website:

Mark worked hard every day to create good customer relations and to create a good work environment for his employees.

Brian Storer was one of those employees for most of his life. His playful attitude kept the atmosphere at the office fun and enjoyable.

Both men were an integral part of our business and lives and it has been a tremendous challenge to try and fill their shoes.

The tragic and unexpected loss of Mark & Brian sent a rift throughout the industry. Hundreds of professional tow truck operators knew them personally, as well as many local businesses who felt the pain, and several other friends and family members.

A large procession lead the memorial on 7/30/08.

Mark and Brian were very well connected throughout the industry and the community, which resulted in a Memorial Service of an estimated 800 people in attendance with less than 1 week of notice, several television news broadcasts, and many other articles written about the pair in the B-Town Blog and other publications.

Read more at Jared’s blog here, or learn more about Airport/Burien Towing here.

One year ago today, on June 29, 2008, not long after midnight, hell erupted in a very small place in Burien. At 12:42 a.m., a 911 dispatcher received the first alarm. Seconds later, someone inside the Tara Apartments, at SW 155th Street and 5th Ave SW, yelled “Fire!” The complex was burning, flames already engulfing a stairway. Within a minute, a second 911 call reported the fire.

The June 29th, 2008 Burien arson fire at the Tara and Jenny Marie apartments claimed the lives of three.

Less than two minutes after the first call came in, Engine 28 of the Burien/Normandy Park Fire Department rolled out the door of the fire station at SW 151st Street and 8th Ave SW, arriving at the Tara Apartments exactly five minutes after that alarm was received.

By the time the first firefighters got there, “it was already fairly involved,” Burien/Normandy Park Fire Marshall Bill Harm recalled last week. The complex was engulfed in flames, which quickly spread to the adjacent Jenny Marie Apartments and threatened nearby structures, forcing fire crews into a defensive strategy from the outset.

Despite the rapid response, 8-year-old Edgar Cisneros, his grandfather, Ramon Cisneros Sanchez, 76, and Lindy Kunimoto, 49 – whose bodies would be discovered later by investigators inside the charred Tara Apartments – were probably dead by the time Engine 28 arrived. Another 14 people required medical treatment, five of whom were hospitalized with serious burns.

A shrine was built to honor the youngest fire victim, Edgar Cisneros, 8, who attended Gregory Heights Elementary.

This was Burien’s worst residential fire in nearly 20 years – and when King County Sheriff’s Office arson investigators determined that it was intentionally set, this became a case of murder.

One year later, the triple homicide and arson remains an unsolved mystery. But, King County Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart said last week, “This is not a cold case. It is not on the back shelf.” The case remains “under active investigation” by KCSO homicide detectives.

Urquhart said they have “at least one person of interest,” but could not comment further because the criminal investigation is open and ongoing. A man who had been heard shouting, “You can all burn in hell!” to a resident of the Tara Apartments a few days before the fire was interviewed by detectives during their initial investigation and released.

Arriving a minute after Engine 28 that deadly Sunday morning was a battalion command vehicle. One minute later, Ladder Company 29 pulled up. Engine 18 and Engine 19 and the first Medic One to respond were close behind. Over the next 20 minutes, multiple alarms summoned additional Burien firefighters and crews from the North Highline (Fire District 11), SeaTac, Tukwila, Port of Seattle, and Renton fire departments, South King Fire & Rescue (Des Moines/Federal Way), and Kent Fire & Life Safety.

“We had a very rapid response. You can’t get a much better response time, especially to a fire in the middle of the night,” Harm noted. “It was a chaotic scene … we did a good job.”

Part of the incident report details what the scene was like.

Despite their best efforts, the fire, which was burning out of control by the time the first firefighters arrived, destroyed the eight-unit Tara Apartments and heavily damaged the Jenny Marie Apartments.

Both buildings had smoke alarms but no sprinklers. Still, witnesses said later, they were shocked at how quickly the fire moved through the two adjacent complexes. Some 50 low-income residents were left homeless. The total loss, including personal property, was about $1.75 million.”

Agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) joined the Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit and King County Fire Investigators in the investigation.

Today, both the Tara (above) and Jenny Marie apartments have been rebuilt and are ready for occupancy.

A $10,000 reward is still being offered for information leading to the arrest of whoever is responsible. Anyone with information about the arson can call the Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311.

“This was a trying fire for all involved,” Harm recalled. “We got good assistance from the public afterwards.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• 3-Alarm Fire Kills Three, Leaves 50 Homeless
• Fire Victim Gets Surprise Gift Thanks To Local TV Station
• Burien Fire Victim Checks In With The B-Town Blog
• Fatal Apartment Arson Fire Was One Month Ago Today
• Fire Victims Donation Center Closed + Some Shout Outs
• Burien Fire Apartment Victims Suing Landlord
• Some Auction Items For Wed. Fundraiser At Mick Kelly’s
• Burien Fire Victim Fundraiser Coming July 16th
• How You Can Help Burien Fire Victims, Phase 1

A BTB Reader emailed us, asking why flowers had been placed on the doorstep of the establishment, now called Twigg’s, so we went over and took these photos:

As you can see in the closeup photo, candles were lit in the shape of a heart on the porch, along with about eight flower bouquets.

The shooter, Bruce Sivao Matagi, remains in jail on a first-degree murder charge.

Also, here are some Comments left on The B-Town Blog about this tragic incident:

I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY PPL JUS WANT TO DO THINGS LIKE THAT. MY UNKO WAS A GREAT MAN WITH A BIG HEART…HE WAS THE BABYY IN THE FAMILY. AND TO THE GUY WHO SHOT MY UNKO YOU BETTER BE VERY THANKFUL THAT LAW ENFORcEMENT GOT YOU 1ST……MAY YOU REST IN LOVE UNKO BEN ALWAYS IN OURS HEARTS AND ON OUR MINDS. I LOVE YOU FOREVER UNTIL THAT DAY WE MEET AGAIN. IA MANUIA LOU MAGALA. I LOVE YOU UNKO B……………………..

i’m going to miss you unko B. You were everyones favorite and you will never be forgotten. To you monk i hope you get released early on good behavior. when you get out i’ll be waiting for your punk ass.

iiM MiiSSiiN yOOh LiiKe Crazy uNko beN yOoh Was LiiKe a father to everyone but yea who eva did that to yooh will pay the priCe but its all good your in a better plaCe now unko ben muCh love to yooh Rest in harmony…

Here’s a video we found of Laumea’s memorial service:

Click here to view the embedded video.

61 years ago today – Nov. 30, 1947, at around 2:25pm – an Alaska Airlines airplane with 25 passengers and three crewmembers on board crashed while trying to land at Sea-Tac Airport, killing nine and injuring 17.

One of the dead was Stella Pearl Jones, 44, a blind passenger in a car struck by the airplane on Des Moines Road (now Des Moines Memorial Way) near 180th:

Crash victim Virginia Stitsworth, 33, was also known as "Virginia Grafton."

Another victim was Mrs. Virginia Stitsworth, 33, an entertainer whose stagename was “Virginia Grafton” (her field of entertainment is unknown).

Most people who remember this tragic incident have either passed away, or perhaps their memories have faded. However, that does not diminish the impact of such a terrible crash that took the lives of nine, which, if it happened today, would surely be a major news event.

The doomed flight had many problems en route to Sea-Tac, including two days’ delay in Alaska for bad weather and mechanical problems. Once in Seattle, heavy fog obscured the landing strips at both Paine and Boeing Fields. The unsuccessful landing at Sea-Tac was the third attempt to land under poor visibility, and one can’t help but imagine the potential worry its passengers may have been going through at the time.

The four-engine Alaska Airlines craft, a Douglas C 54-A, descended from the northeast, then (according to some reports) touched down 2,748 feet beyond the approach area to Runway 20. It then careened over an embankment onto Des Moines Road, where it collided with an automobile, killing a female passenger. It then burst into flames as passengers tried to escape.

Six persons were dead at the scene and three more died in the hospital. The victims included:

• Virginia Stitsworth, 33, aka Virginia Grafton, Seattle
• Jonas E. Johnson, 44, Palmer, Alaska
• Gordon Johnson, 21 months, Palmer, Alaska
• Stella Pearl Jones, 44, Seattle, passenger in an automobile struck by the airliner
• Leslie Howe, 33, Spokane
• Fred Smith, 20, Tacoma
• Olie Raing, Anchorage
• Reba Monk, 22, Stewardess, Seattle; Monk was burned while leading passengers to safety through the flames

An investigation by the Civil Aeronautics Board found that the pilot approached the runway too high and was not correctly lined up for proper landing.

The pilot, who survived, was assessed a penalty of $1,000 for violations of Civil Air Regulations.

Here’s text taken directly from the archives of the Daily Sitka Sentinel Alaska, dated Dec. 1, 1947:

ALASKA PLANE CRASHES AT SEATTLE.

BRAKES FAIL CAUSING PLANE TO JUMP BANK.

Seattle (AP) — The pilot of a four engined Alaska Airlines transport plane which crashed and burned at the Seattle-Tacoma airport blamed the crash today on failure of the hydraulic brake to “take the slightest hold.”

Eight passengers died and three others were critically injured as a result of the accident late yesterday.

The pilot Capt. JAMES E. FERRIS, 37, of Seattle, told the Seattle Times that the DC-4 plane landed at a speed of approximately 100 miles an hour, rolled like “it was on a bed of ball bearings” until it leaped a 60 foot embankment at the end of the airport runway. It crashed into an automobile on the highway below, killing a blind woman in the car.

The plane was flying from Anchorage to Seattle. It had 28 persons aboard, 25 passengers and a crew of three.

Three passengers were reported in critical condition at the New Renton hospital and two were listed as unsatisfactory at Harborview County hospital.

The others had been released after treatment or were recovering from minor burns and bruises in the hospital.

Twenty-six of the 28 aboard the big plane scrambled from door and emergency exits or were pulled from the flames by rescuers. All, however, were seared by the gasoline fed flames that flashed through the fuselage. Four of the rescued died later.

The latest casualty was the plane’s stewardess, MISS REBA MONK, of Santa Monica, Calif., who was credited by survivors with having led many of the passengers to safety.

The other dead are:

• MRS. VIRGINIA STITSWORTH, 33, Tacoma, entertainer known professionally as VIRGINIA GRAFATON.
• GORDON JOHNSON, 21-month-old son of MR. and MRS. J. E. JOHNSON, of Palmer, Alaska.
• The list of dead climbed to eight when 44 year old JONAS E. JOHNSON, of Palmer, died of burns. His 21-month-old son, GORDON, died in the plane wreckage yesterday. MRS. JOHNSON was released from a hospital after treatment for burns.
• MRS. PEARL STELLA JONES, 43, Seattle, blind woman trapped in the car which the big transport smashed as it careened off the field onto the intersection of the Des Moines highway and 158th St.
• LESLIE HOWE, listed of Seattle and Spakane, died in hospital.
• OLE RIUG, Anchorage, died in hospital.
• REBA MONK, Santa Monica, died in hospital.
• FRED SMITH, Tacoma, died in hospital.

The injured crew members:

• Capt. JAMES E. FARRIS, Seattle, the pilot; formerly a Matson line pilot, San Francisco; injuries not serious.
  RICHARD F. WHITTING, co-pilot Anchorage; fractured arm, burns, possible internal injuries.

The passengers injured:

• ANE PLEYM, Los Angeles.
• MRS. LESLIE HOWE.
• WILLIAM RANDALL, Nenane, (also listed as OLIVER RINDAHL); critical.
• MARY B. KELLY, Seattle; condition unsatisfactory with neck and back injuries.
• JOHN A. LATHANAN, JR., Fairbanks; critical.
• MRS. LATHANAN, treated and released.
• MRS. J. K. (CHRISTINE) TRASS, Seattle.
• H. M. KOCH, Snohomish, Wash.
• MRS. FLORA HUNTER, Anchorage.
• RICHARD JONES, Palmer.
• MRS. SELMA OLSEN, Anchorage.
• MR. and MRS. ROWLANA SMITH, Terrabonne, Ore., MRS. SMITH, an expectant mother, hospitalized, her husband treated and released.
• EUGENE MARTIN, Seattle.
• ZENA LOUISE FELTRIN, Anchorage.
• LES M. GREENING, Anchorage and Seattle.
• MR. and MRS. RALPH TRACY, McGrath.
• MRS. J. E. JOHNSON, Palmer.

Ten others of the plane’s passengers and crew were in critical condition at Seattle and Renton hospitals. Several were not expected to live.

Bodies of two of the dead were not recovered until nearly four hours after the crash because of the intense heat emiting from the wreckage.

The plane, a DC-4, crashed only a few minutes after it had been turned back from an attempted landing at Seattle’s Boeing field by fog. Two airport employes in the control tower at the Seattle-Tacoma field said the ceiling radioed to pilot JAMES EVAN FERRIS, Seattle, as the plane settled through the overcast was 600 feet with a quarter mile visibility. Three minutes after the crash a special reading showed the ceiling at “400 feet with three-quarters of a mile visibility.”
HAROLD K. PHILIPS, chief of the maintenance division for the Civil Aeronautics Administration, sped to the scene for official inquiry and said:

“Apparently the pilot ground hopped when he saw he was going off the runway.”

MRS. JONES, a widow and mother of a 9-year-old boy, was riding with a neighbor, IRA VON VOLKENBURG when the plane came plunging down a steep bank and swept the car across the road. VON VOLKENBURG said he escaped by kicking out a window and then groped in the smashed car without finding MRS. JONES. He was driven away seconds later as the plane burst into flames and then was wrecked by an explosion.

Eye-witnesses said the plane had made an apparently safe landing when it suddenly turned and went broadside over the bank at the end of the runway.

An outboard engine struck the bank as the plane sagged and watchers at the control tower said it “popped into flames.” Then it again as it flattened VON VOLKENBURG’S automobile and finally was sheathed in flame as the fuel tanks exploded.

The liner had been dogged by bad weather since it took off from Anchorage last Thursday. During its flight from Alaska it was delayed at Yakutat and Annette Island, near Ketchikan. It had taken from Annette at 9:30 a.m. yesterday.

Do you love local history as much as we do? If so, consider joining or donating to the Highline Historical Society, which is holding an online auction through Dec. 15th at this website.

You can join at this link, or donate directly to the HHS by clicking here.

We’re proud to say that The B-Town Blog is now a member, so you can look forward to many more obscure local history stories on this here website…

SOURCES FOR THIS STORY/PHOTOS:

• Highline Historical Society
• Historylink.org
• GenDisasters.com

We know you don’t read the B-Town Blog for this kind of news, but we had to post it anyways since Burien is less than five miles away.

Here are two videos related to the incident – the first taken on a cell phone by someone who walked up to and near the victim, and the second from two young women stuck in traffic trying to get to the mall:

Click here to view the embedded video.

For full coverage of this terrible incident, we recommend reading:

• KOMO News
• Seattle P-I
• KING-TV
• The Seattle Times

A refreshing phone call came in to the B-Town Blog offices from Burien fire victim David Baggott.

You may recall that David, along with his wife Elizabeth, are among the more than two dozen survivors of the fatal June 29th arson fire which destroyed the Tara and Jenny Marie apartment buildings on SW 155th Street in Burien.

Their roommate, Lindy Kunimoto, age 49, died in the fire. Two other people, tenants on the floor above them (including an 8-year old boy), also died tragically, and as of today, the arsonist still remains at large despite a $10,000 reward.

David is now back at work. He and Elizabeth have settled in to a new apartment near Highline High School.

“I just want to say how very much we appreciate all the help that everyone has provided,” David said. “We are overwhelmed with what the community has done for all of us.”

David says his parents, who lived with them at the Tara, are doing much better now, too.

David and Elizabeth, along with his parents and about a ten other survivors, attended the Fire Victim’s Fundraiser (co-sponsored by the B-Town Blog along with Discover Burien) held at Mick Kelly’s July 16th.

“We loved it,” he said. “Thank you very, very much to everyone for the turnout.”

The Fundraiser, featuring silent, live auctions and a 50/50 raffle, raised over $10,500, which went directly to a fire victims fund set up at Sterling Savings Bank.

David says he will stay in touch and keep B-Town Blog readers informed as to how life is going.

Meanwhile, David is a strong advocate for planning and rehearsing a fire drill in the home.

“Knowing exactly how you are going to get out in case of a fire is a very, very good thing to know.”