West Olive man's death may have been storm-related drowning

Mon, Jun 9, 2008    to del.icio.us

Weekend storms and subsequent flooding may have contributed to a death in Robinson Township.

John Pekich, 76, of West Olive died Sunday afternoon, possibly from drowning, according to Sgt. Kevin Allman of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department.

Pekich's body was located downstream from Ottawa County's Worley Drain not long after he was reported missing, Allman said.

Police received a call at about 1 p.m. Sunday that Pekich's pickup truck was parked near the drain, but that he was nowhere to be found, Allman said.

The Sheriff's Department dive team was called in and they located Pekich's body a short distance downstream from the dam.

Pekich was a legend in Robinson Township, according to Township Trustee Tracy Stille-Mulligan.

"He was like a folklore-teller," she said. "He was just an incredible man."

Stille-Mulligan, who said she knew Pekich for many years, said the man maintained the Worley Drain and was probably removing boards from the dam to allow water from the recent storms to pass through.

Pekich lived alone at his farm on Winans Street, the same farm he helped his family tend after his father died when he was young, Stille-Mulligan said. He was not married and had no children, she said.

"He would grow vegetables for people to come and pick," Stille-Mulligan said. "I just talked to him Friday or Saturday, and he was going to cut our hay next week."

Arrangements for Pekich are being handled by the Klaassen Family Funeral Home of Grand Haven.