Kenneth William Goetz

1922 - 1932  (10 years)

• Name	Kenneth William Goetz
  Born	1922  [1]
  Gender	Male
  Misfortune	1932	Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	drowned
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-88460
  Died	5 Jun 1932	Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  Buried	Hawkesville Union Cemetery, Hawkesville, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  Person ID	I88460	Generations
  Last Modified	10 Jul 2025

  
  

  Father	William Gordon Goetz,   b. 17 Jul 1896, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1974  (Age 77 years)
  Mother	Cecilia Riegert,   b. Feb 1897, Wasselonne, , Alsace, France ,   d. 1963  (Age ~ 65 years)
  Family ID	F2383	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Dam at Hawkesville Father, Wm. Goetz, and Elder Son Fail to Save Lad From Drowning. \endash Body Recovered the Following Day A father and two sons were swept over the swollen waters of the Hawkesville dam in a flat bottomed boat Sunday morning and despite the efforts of the father his son, Kenneth, aged 10, was drawn under the swiftly moving water and drowned. Another son, Vincent, with the father gained their footing after being carried 200 yards down the river. After many hours search the body of the drowned boy was found by Charles Moser, who saw the body floating on the water as he was passing along the Conestogo river adjacent to his farm. He brought the body to shore and then notified other people who were continuing the search further up the river. William Goetz, father of the child, at once identified the body as that of his son after which it was taken to his home. Mr. Goetz informed the Chronicle reporter that he moved to Hawkesville from Kitchener only a few weeks ago. Sunday morning he decided to take his two boys for a ride in the punt. They pushed off the craft from shore and despite the efforts of Mr. Goetz the punt was carried towards the edge of the dam wall doing over into six feet of water. As the boat turned over Mr. Goetz called to several children on the bank to seek aid. He made frantic efforts to save his son Kenneth but lost his hold on the boy. The mother watched the search for the body from the bank. As the children gave the alarm to Mr. J. Bluman, he notified Israel Martin local storekeeper who rushed to the river, removed his clothing and plunged into the water. He was carried several hundred feet down the river to where he found the father. Mr. Goetz and his son and assisted them to shore. The father had a bruise over his forehead where he struck the side of the wall of dam as the boat turned over. Word was sent to Kitchener for divers and four young men responded quickly. They dived into the fast moving waters a number of times but were unable to find the body. Seven years ago Burt Ludwig of Kitchener met a similar fate. Several other persons have had narrow escapes from drowning in the dam. Mr. and Mrs. Goetz, one son and three daughters survive to mourn the loss of Kenneth. Waterloo Chronicle Jun 9 1932 pg 1

  
  

• Sources

  [S120] Cemetery - ON, Waterloo, Wellesley - Hawkesville Union CC#4529 Waterloo Region Branch, OGS. Asleep in Jesus/ Goetz/ Kenneth William/ son of/ William & Cecilia/ age 10 yrs/ 1922-1932

  
  

• Event Map

  Misfortune - drowned - 1932 - Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 5 Jun 1932 - Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Hawkesville Union Cemetery, Hawkesville, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth