A week after three Macomb County boaters died on Lake St. Clair, family and friends are raising money to help their loved ones and, for one of the boaters, preparing to say goodbye.
Two GoFundMe pages have been established, one for Craig Miller, another for Heidi Baldwin
, who, along with Gerald "Lenny" Grzadzinski, died on Oct. 7 in a two-boat collision near MacRay Harbor in Harrison Township that remains under investigation by the Macomb County Sheriff's Office."We all knew them and all loved them, and they were all good people," said Jacki Azzopardi of Chesterfield Township, who said she was friends with Baldwin; Grzadzinski and his wife, Dawn, who survived the collision, swam to shore and remains hospitalized, and was socially a friend of Miller.
She said people in the boating community all know each other, and "the people in this community have put aside political differences and stuff that doesn't mean anything" to provide support.
Azzopardi said Baldwin, 56, of St. Clair Shores, left behind a 15-year-old son, Zander, who is with a guardian; ran her own cleaning business; and was an Air Force veteran passionate about her views on the country. She described Baldwin as "a great mother." She said a celebration of life is anticipated for Baldwin, but she did not know details.
She said Grzadzinski, 64, of Chesterfield Township, was a boat mechanic who "lived his whole life on this lake. Lenny was the guy who loved boating more than anyone," even going out in the winter.
An online obituary for Miller, 52, of Macomb Township, said he had a career in electrical work and that family "was everything" to him. He was a father who brought people together and filled gatherings with fun, including snowball fights at Christmas celebrations and snowmobiling trips, according to his obituary.
"Wednesday nights on Lake St. Clair were another favorite, where he enjoyed unwinding and spending time with friends," it said.
Visitation for Miller is Wednesday, Oct. 14, at Lee-Ellena Funeral Home in Macomb Township; his funeral is Thursday, Oct. 15, at Shelby Bible Church in Shelby Township. The GoFundMe for him is to help his family with mortgage payments, household expenses, car payments and other ongoing costs.
The GoFundMe for Baldwin is to help cover her funeral expenses and to help her son with expenses and the costs of attending high school for the gifted.
Azzopardi said several establishments also may plan a future event to honor the trio.
Sheriff's Commander Jason Abro said Tuesday, Oct. 13, that the incident remains under investigation, and the crash is being reconstructed. He said no charges have been filed and no one has been arraigned.
County authorities have not released the causes and manners of death for the trio or said if alcohol or drugs were involved in the nighttime collision.
The sheriff's office has not publicly named the four people who were on the other boat, saying it was operated by a 40-year-old Roseville man and occupied by a 36-year-old woman, another woman and a child. No injuries were reported on that boat, sheriff's spokeswoman Jennifer Putney previously said.
Abro said several people are cooperating and speaking with investigators. He said Oct. 9 that an individual was brought to the sheriff's office, questioned and released pending further investigation. He declined to identify the person or confirm whether it was the Roseville man, but the sheriff's office previously said he is cooperating with investigators.
Abro urged people to wait for the sheriff's office to present its findings in its evidence-based investigation and not go off of hearsay or speculation.
"We just ask for people to be patient with the process," he said, adding that a case of this magnitude takes time and piecing it together on the water is a little different than on a roadway.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Online fundraisers for families of 2 Lake St. Clair boaters who died
