Eugene J. Beaudry saved Mary E. Wilcox from drowning, Hudson, Wisconsin, December 2, 1932. At night while skating on the Willow River, Mary, 17, broke through thin ice 40 feet from the bank and was twice momentarily submerged in water 15 feet deep before getting hold of the edge of the ice. A young man who had broken through with her tried to climb upon the ice but could not and soon sank. Beaudry, 20, schoolboy, and two youths skated toward the hole, which was 15 feet long. While his companions, who were fair swimmers, remained 15 feet from the hole, Beaudry, who could not swim, crawled on his hands and knees to within three feet of Mary, doubled one foot under him, and extended his other foot to her. Mary took hold of his skate as his foot extended over the edge of the ice, and Beaudry slid 12 inches toward the hole. Mary then released her hold and again grasped the ice. Beaudry crawled back, dug the toe of one skate into the ice, and extended his other foot toward her. Mary took hold of the skate, and Beaudry drew her upon the ice. Both crawled farther from the edge, got to their feet, and skated to the bank, where Mary collapsed. She recovered.
33065-2807Obituary
Eugene A. Beaudry, 71, died of a heart attack at his home Tuesday, Nov. 5.
He was born April 23, 1913 in Hudson, the son of Benjamin and Othilla (Friend) Beaudry.
He was graduated from St. Patrick’s Catholic School and attended Hudson High School.
In 1932, at the age of 19, he received the Carnegie Hero Award for rescuing Mary Wilcox (now Mrs. Del Bartlett of Phoenix, Ariz.) from drowning in Lake Mallalieu. At the the time he did not know how to swim himself.
In recognition of that heroism, the city council several years ago named a street after Beaudry in the St. Croix Valley Park subdivision, on the east side of County Road f, across from the Catholic Cemetery.
On Nov. 18, 1938, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Hudson, he was married to Margaret Kolashinski.
He started work at the Omaha car shops in North Hudson and after the shops closed he was employed by the Burlington Northern Railroad, retiring in 1972 because of health reasons. At one time he had also been employed by the Great Northern Railroad.
Surviving are his wife, Margaret; a son, Joseph; two daughters, Mrs. Dennis (Eugenia) Miller, and Mrs. Stanley (Juliette) Bonngard; a brother, Philip Beaudry; a sister, Mrs. Frances Powers, and a half-sister, Mrs. Irene Butterfield; and six grandchildren.