Marathon Pundit: Knute Rockne plane crash witness, site caretaker, dies

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Knute Rockne plane crash witness, site caretaker, dies

While passing through tiny Bazaar, Kansas last month, I tried to locate the site of the plane crash where legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne was killed in 1931. He was the last surviving witness of the crash.

I discovered that the spot is not visible from any road, but that one of the first people to on the scene after was then-thirteen year-old was Easter Heathman. A mechanic in nearby Cottonwood Falls told me that he takes anyone to the site, no questions asked.

Because it was getting close to dinnertime that day, I didn't feel comfortable calling up a man of his age, but if I was in the area again, I promised myself that I would make contact with Heathman in advance.

But that won't happen--Easter Heathman passed away last night at his home near Bazaar.

More from Jeff Jeffers of WNDU-TV in South Bend:

Professional historians, authors, and those merely curious about Rockne often sought out Mr. Heathman to get his recollections about what happened.

Mr. Heathman would often personally take visitors to the crash site on the Flint Hills near Bazaar, Kansas.

He told me in 2006 that he could remember the tragic day as if it were this morning. Even the smell of spilt aviation fuel remained with him.

To the end of his life, Easter Heathman considered it his duty and responsibility to maintain and keep alive the memory of the former Notre Dame coach.