George E. Lennerton saved Charles L., Robert F., Elaine E., and Cecil V. Crowther from drowning, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, December 21, 1943. While skating on Leverett Pond, Cecil, 12, broke through the ice into water 10 feet deep 75 feet from the bank; and Robert, 9, broke through four feet from Cecil. Charles, 10, ran toward them and broke through six feet from Robert. Miss Crowther, 14, skated to a point near Robert, leaned toward him, and fell into the water. She then supported Robert and held to the ice. Lennerton, 19, who had been warned against heavy work and exposure, skated to the hole and tried to pull Miss Crowther and Robert out of the water but was unable to. Heavily clothed, he jumped into the water and was submerged. His feet sank into deep mud. He kicked himself free and rose six feet from Charles. Lennerton swam to Charles, took hold of him, and swam ten feet to the ice and pushed him upon it. He then swam five feet to Miss Crowther and Robert and lifted them onto the ice, he being briefly submerged. Meanwhile a ladder was pushed toward Cecil. Lennerton moved along the ice to Cecil and lifted him, Cecil at the same time getting hold of the ladder and being pulled onto the ice. After more ice had broken while Lennerton was attempting to climb out, a life preserver to which a rope was attached was thrown to him; and he was pulled out of the water. 40076-3349
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40076-3349Obituary
George E. Lennerton, of Osprey, Fla., died on Nov. 28, 2007, at age 82. He was born on March 29, 1925, in Boston.
Lennerton served in the Navy during World War II. He spent most of his career working with explosives, including those used to create one of the routes for the Lincoln Tunnel joining New Jersey and Manhattan in the 1950s. He retired to Osprey from New Jersey in 1985.
(Edited from the Sarasota, Fla., Herald-Tribune, Dec. 6, 2007.)