Lonnie
01-16-2004, 08:09 AM
Accident takes love of her life
Husband stayed on job to help dismantle machinery at plant
By GEORGIA PABST
Posted: Jan. 15, 2004
Mary Jane Waniorek sat in her small West Allis living room Thursday, amid houseplants in baskets sent to her husband Richard's funeral.
Her sweetheart since they were 16 died Jan. 6 in an industrial accident at the Archer Daniels Midland Co. plant at 4200 W. Burnham St. in West Milwaukee, where he had worked for 42 years. It was his first and only job.
The days since the accident seem surreal, and she still has questions about what happened, she said.
"Richard always said, 'Safety first.' He was a very safety-conscious person," she said. Her son, James, said in a brief interview earlier that his dad used to talk about the dangers of his job.
Fire Department officials said Waniorek became pinned in a filtering silo. Rescue workers had to dismantle some machinery inside the silo to free him, fire officials said.
Company and U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials said Thursday the investigation into the accident was continuing and would not comment further.
Right now, Waniorek said, she's not blaming anyone and tries not to think about the future without her husband of 41 years.
The plant is scheduled to close Feb. 6. Richard Waniorek, 61, had been asked to stay and help dismantle the machinery before he retired, she said.
"We planned to go to Las Vegas," she said, and spend time in the home her husband built in Black River Falls as a family retreat.
On the day of the accident, she said, she went to the doughnut shop where she met her husband every day at 3:30 p.m., but he didn't show up. Then a co-worker arrived and said something big was going on at work, that someone had been hurt and that he thought it was Richard.
"I laid on the horn and just paused at all the red lights to get there," she said. "I didn't want to think of what had happened, but I knew it was him."
She was told she couldn't see her husband, and later was told he'd died at the plant, she said.
"He was a very responsible husband, father, grandfather and employee," she said. "He was very loyal to his family and his work."
She shared family photos of the couple at a prom and their wedding and at picnics with their two children and three grandchildren. There are pictures of him deer hunting and relaxing during Green Bay Packer games with his favorite drink, Mountain Dew.
A video of more pictures, a gift on their 40th wedding anniversary, features "their" song as the soundtrack: Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love With You."
She wiped a tear from her face and remembered his favorite saying. "He used to say: 'That's the way it is, Mary. You have to get used to it.' "
Allison L. Smith of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
Husband stayed on job to help dismantle machinery at plant
By GEORGIA PABST
Posted: Jan. 15, 2004
Mary Jane Waniorek sat in her small West Allis living room Thursday, amid houseplants in baskets sent to her husband Richard's funeral.
Her sweetheart since they were 16 died Jan. 6 in an industrial accident at the Archer Daniels Midland Co. plant at 4200 W. Burnham St. in West Milwaukee, where he had worked for 42 years. It was his first and only job.
The days since the accident seem surreal, and she still has questions about what happened, she said.
"Richard always said, 'Safety first.' He was a very safety-conscious person," she said. Her son, James, said in a brief interview earlier that his dad used to talk about the dangers of his job.
Fire Department officials said Waniorek became pinned in a filtering silo. Rescue workers had to dismantle some machinery inside the silo to free him, fire officials said.
Company and U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials said Thursday the investigation into the accident was continuing and would not comment further.
Right now, Waniorek said, she's not blaming anyone and tries not to think about the future without her husband of 41 years.
The plant is scheduled to close Feb. 6. Richard Waniorek, 61, had been asked to stay and help dismantle the machinery before he retired, she said.
"We planned to go to Las Vegas," she said, and spend time in the home her husband built in Black River Falls as a family retreat.
On the day of the accident, she said, she went to the doughnut shop where she met her husband every day at 3:30 p.m., but he didn't show up. Then a co-worker arrived and said something big was going on at work, that someone had been hurt and that he thought it was Richard.
"I laid on the horn and just paused at all the red lights to get there," she said. "I didn't want to think of what had happened, but I knew it was him."
She was told she couldn't see her husband, and later was told he'd died at the plant, she said.
"He was a very responsible husband, father, grandfather and employee," she said. "He was very loyal to his family and his work."
She shared family photos of the couple at a prom and their wedding and at picnics with their two children and three grandchildren. There are pictures of him deer hunting and relaxing during Green Bay Packer games with his favorite drink, Mountain Dew.
A video of more pictures, a gift on their 40th wedding anniversary, features "their" song as the soundtrack: Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love With You."
She wiped a tear from her face and remembered his favorite saying. "He used to say: 'That's the way it is, Mary. You have to get used to it.' "
Allison L. Smith of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.