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More than four decades after Clarence Richard McDonnell died saving another boy’s life in northern Saskatchewan, his family is trying to make sure his story is permanently remembered.
McDonnell was 12 years old when he was killed near the Churchill River Bridge at Otter Rapids, 80 km north of La Ronge, on Aug. 13, 1983.
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A weathered wooden cross marks the spot near the Churchill River Bridge where Clarence Richard McDonnell died in 1983. His family says the aging memorial is one reason they are raising money for a permanent bronze plaque. (Teron Roberts/Facebook)
His sister, Lillian Lariviere, said Clarence had been invited to join a youth group outing organized through the Kikinahk Friendship Centre.
“He was such an awesome kid,” Lariviere said. “He used to love helping people, and he was always happy. He liked fishing, swimming, playing with the boys outside.”
Lariviere said the group had travelled to the area for a day of swimming and rafting. Some of the children were on the bridge while others were below on the river.
“There were kids already going down the rapids in rafts,” she said. “Some of the kids were on the bridge, and the bridge had a bunch of holes so you could look down.”
Lariviere said one of Clarence’s friends was looking through the bridge when a semi truck approached.
“My brother seen that coming,” she said. “He just ran to his friend and pushed him out of the way, and he was hit by an 18-wheeler.”
Lariviere said the family was told after Clarence’s death that something would be done to honour him, including a memorial near the bridge.
“My mom waited and waited many years, but nothing ever happened,” she said.
For years, the only marker near the site has been a small wooden cross with Clarence’s picture on it.
Lariviere said the family has long wanted something permanent.
“So many people see a cross there, and they always wonder what happened,” she said. “They don’t know the story.”
The effort is now being led by Teron Roberts, whose wife is Clarence’s niece.
Roberts grew up around the Otter Rapids area and said he had seen the marker before, but did not know the story behind it until his wife told him.
“I did see, remember seeing something there before, but never really thought much of it,” Roberts said.
“Then she told me that story about what happened to her uncle there, how he saved the other boy’s life.”
Roberts said the current marker has deteriorated over time.
“There’s nothing there, because I’ve seen the pictures there about that weathered old cross,” he said. “It’s all deteriorating now, because it’s been so long, and nothing’s been done about it.”
A proposed bronze memorial plaque would honour Clarence Richard McDonnell, who died at age 12 after saving another boy from an oncoming semi-truck near the Churchill River Bridge at Otter Rapids in 1983. His family is raising money to install the plaque at the site of his sacrifice. (Submitted)
The family is raising $6,500 for a bronze plaque that would include a colour photo of Clarence and the story of what happened. Roberts said costs for installation and a feast for the unveiling will be covered separately.
He said the family also hopes the pedestrian walkway on the bridge can be named the “Walkway of Courage in Memory of Clarence R. McDonnell.”
Roberts said he has experience with similar projects. A few years ago, he helped organize a bronze plaque at Stanley Mission recognizing victims of the 1920 influenza epidemic.
“There was nothing written, nothing to tell people about what happened way back when,” Roberts said.
He said that same idea is driving the effort for Clarence.
“People are getting old,” he said. “Once they’re gone, there will be no one else to tell really the story, unless there’s something permanent.”
Roberts said the fundraiser has passed the halfway mark since the family renewed its appeal.
Lariviere said the family hopes the plaque can be completed before the anniversary of Clarence’s death on Aug. 13.
“It would mean closure,” she said. “My mom always wanted something over there, like a plaque or some kind of memorial up there, and it just never happened.”
For Roberts, the effort is about more than one plaque.
“People matter,” he said. “Even though it was so long ago, it’s history still. It still happened. They still walked the earth here. They were someone’s loved one. They should be remembered.”
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