MARGARET M. KUCHERA

Mrs. John Kuchera, 53, of route 4, Manitowoc, died at 6:15 p.m. Sunday at the
Holy Family hospital. She was taken to the hospital Saturday morning after
being pulled out of the Manitowoc River above the dam, a few hundred feet from
her home.
Funeral services will be held at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Pfeffer funeral
home and at 9 a.m. at the St. Paul Catholic church, the Rev. Martin Jaeckels
officiating. Burial will be in Evergreen cemetery.
Mrs. Kuchera nee Margaret Wachil, was born July 30, 1893, in Halder, Wis., and
was married to John Kuchera in 1933. She was employed at the J. C. Penney
company as a clerk for 23 years.
Survivors are the husband; five brothers, Frank of Mosinee, John of Halder;
James of Greenville, Norman of Milwaukee, and Henry of Wausau; two sisters, Mrs.
Joe Bauer of Halder and Mr. Anna Reschlein of Milwaukee.
The body may be viewed at the funeral home from noon Tuesday until the hour of
services. The rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Mrs. Kuchera was a member
of the American Legion and the Christian Mothers Altar society.
Manitowoc Herald Times, June 30, 1947 P. 2
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Woman in River Saved By Nurse
Audrey Davis, Tows Matron, 54, To Shore
Mrs. John Kuchera, 54-year-old, housewife of route 4, Manitowoc, is still alive
today thanks to the alertness and skill of a young Holy Family hospital nurse
who was enjoying time off by swimming in the Manitowoc river above the dam near
Ravine park, northwest of Manitowoc Rapids this morning.
The nurse, Audrey Davis of 823 North 10th street, towed Mrs. Kuchera from mid-
stream, back to the south bank, about 100 feet from the Kuchera home, where the
woman’s husband pulled her, unconscious, from the water onto a small dock.
Clarence Baryenbruck, a deputy sheriff, arrived a few minutes later but the woman
was already breathing easier, although she had swallowed a large quantity of water,
according to Coroner Theodore Teitgen. Mrs. Kuchera was taken to Holy Family
hospital by ambulance where her condition is not regarded as serious.
Kuchera arrived home about 8:45 a.m. after a shopping trip and discovered his wife
was missing. He had left her asleep in bed some minutes previously to buy some
things at the store. A path leads from the house down a wooded slope directly to
the river. Following this path Kuchera arrived at the stream’s edge in time to meet
Miss Davis and pull his wife from the water.
The nurse had been swimming on the north side of the river when she noticed a person
struggling near mid-stream. The river at that point is about 180 feet wide. She swam
to the drowning woman and towed her the rest of the distance to the south bank.
Manitowoc Herald Times, June 28, 1947 P. 1
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Rescue in River Made by Mrs. Nowakowski
Mrs. R. F. Nowakowski of Manitowoc Rapids rural route, a former nurse at Holy Family
hospital was the young woman who towed Mrs. John Kuchera to shore in the Manitowoc
river above the dam Saturday morning.
The Herald-Times had previously reported the rescuer was Miss Audrey Davis a student
nurse.
Persons who know both women have said both have red hair and bear a close resemblance
to each other, which confused the Herald-Times informant.
Mrs. Nowakowski swam some distance across and down the river to reach the victim before
towing her to shore. Mrs. Kuchera died at Holy Family hospital yesterday.
Manitowoc Herald Times, July 1, 1947 P. 6
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[died 06-29-1947/age 53 yrs/wife of John J. Kuchera]