Local Man Killed by Lightning
By: Danielle Todesco
Updated: March 23, 2009
A local family comes together after a man is killed by lightning.
"It just seemed incredible that he was gone."
Marty Grassel says her 63-year-old husband Stan and family had just arrived in Port Aransas near Corpus Christie last Sunday for vacation. She says Stan walked their son and grandkids down a few miles to their condo, and was on his way back to his RV when it started raining.
"All of sudden it started raining very hard. There were probably just three big claps of thunder and lightning and then it continued to rain."
Marty says she didn't think much of it then, until Stan had been gone too long. She threw on her coat, running to the beach to find him, but she says all she saw were ambulance lights.
"I said what's going on? What's going on? And he said a man has been struck by lightning and he's dead. I said I think it's my husband and he said get in."
Her husband died there, in a way Marty says was just his style.
"Isn't it just like you to go with a flash and a dash. If he chose to go some way that's the way he would have gone."
Now, back at home in Ransom Canyon, the family has gathered around Marty, all supporting eachother and remembering the man who still seems to bring a smile to everyone's face.
"I'm grateful that I have 38 years of wonderful memories and I will miss him terribly, but I can only do this today because I've had so much love given to me in my life, not only from him, but family, and friends and neighbors. I am so surrounded by that and a lot of that is becuase I was married to such a man."
