The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Sunnyvale's John (pictured above) and Peggy Ewert, veterans of several flights, died in a plane crash Sunday with two of their children and a family friend while returning from a Mother's Day celebration in Truckee.

Loved Ones Lost

Sunnyvale's Ewert family brought joy and life to many

By Natasha Collins and Lester Chang

When asked to describe the Ewert family, friends had this to say before anything else: They cared. Four members of the popular Sunnyvale family--described as loving, full of life and genuinely friendly--were killed instantly Sunday as their small plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the Truckee-Tahoe Airport.

John Ewert and his wife Peggy, both 64, their son Thomas, 39, and daughter Marcia, 38, were killed in the crash. Marcia's life partner, Jennifer Marion, 26, also died.

The group was flying home from a visit to the home of Marion's mother, with whom they had celebrated Mother's Day.

Both John and Peggy Ewert were experienced pilots and flew missions of mercy for Angel Flight, an organization that flies patients in outlying areas to hospitals for critical operations.

"They were what you pictured when you thought of the perfect American family," said Patricia Lowers, a friend. "They respected one another, and there was a lot of love in the family."

Investigators from the National Transportation Board and the Federal Aviation Administration arrived Monday and combed the site for clues into the cause of the accident. The investigation is ongoing.

The family flew to the airport Sunday morning and spent the day taking aerial sightseeing trips around Lake Tahoe before the accident, which occurred shortly after 9 p.m., said Nevada County Sheriff's Capt. Jake Bayer.

"[Their plane] took off from the airport. The pilot did a left bank, and for no reason, it plunged into the ground," Bayer told The Sun. "They were headed home."

The occupants died instantly.

John Ewert was piloting the single-engine Beechcraft when it nose-dived a quarter-mile from the runway.

Family members, including Marion's mother and sister, watched as the six-passenger plane took off and crashed.

"John told everybody he was going to take off and do a bunch of circles to gain altitude," Bayer said. "He didn't circle. He did a left bank and went down. According to witnesses, there was no change in engine pitch."

The plane was about 1,000 feet off the runway when it lost control under fair flying conditions, Bayer said. "It was clear, cool and in the 50s."

Troy Taylor, an airport employee, said no other planes were in the air when Ewert's plane took off.

The airport, located three miles east of Truckee, has no control towers. Airport operators give landing advisories to pilots about runway conditions and inform them of flying conditions.

Before the crash, the Ewerts, Marion, her mother and sister and three other friends had dinner at the Hilltop Restaurant.

Investigators arrived at the crash site to begin their investigation at 10 a.m. Monday. Transportation Safety Board officials sent the plane to a facility in Sacramento to be examined.

The bodies were removed and were taken to the Tahoe Truckee Mortuary. Autopsies were done by the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, the official coroner.

The bodies were expected to be transported to Sunnyvale May 14, Bayer said.

The last accident at the Truckee-Tahoe Airport that involved fatalities occurred in 1995.

The entire family was involved with helping others: John and Peggy flew sick children to hospitals throughout California through project Angel Flight; Thomas gave photography lessons; and Marcia taught music and was known for mothering her friends.

John, a former science teacher, had a dry sense of humor and gentle manner, friends said. They remembered him as always finding things or situations that other people wouldn't notice. He also enjoyed hunting for antique cameras and microscopes.

"He was a very high-energy, upbeat guy," said Dwayne Richards, a friend of the Ewerts for more than 20 years. "He was always excited about some new project he was interested in. He always had time for others, though."

A constant ray of sunshine is how many family friends described Peggy. Her effervescent personality drew people to her, said friends, who couldn't recall ever seeing her angry or hearing her say anything negative about other people.

"She always had ideas on how to help people or to solve a problem," Lowers said. "She didn't have a vindictive bone in her body."

John and Peggy were most remembered for the time and services they volunteered to help others.

"Both of them always had time to help someone else," Richards said. "I remember Peggy as being very sharing and open and John offering to be my mentor for flying."

During many of their Angel Flight missions, both Peggy and John could be seen giving parents a needed hug of support or making children laugh to forget about their pain. The couple also could be heard saying "God bless you" to each of the children as they left the plane.

"They are wonderful people," said Heather Blevins, whose infant daughter Tessa flew with the Ewerts on an Angel Flight mission, when she was treated for spina bifida.

"For the privilege of flying, we like to use it for something worthwhile," John Ewert said last year in article that appeared in The Sun.

Peggy saw Angel Flight as an opportunity to help someone on a personal level. "You can meet them, get to know them and, in part, follow their progress. It brings us together," she said.

Thomas and his sister Marcia had many of the same characteristics as their parents. Both were described as soft-spoken individuals who enjoyed being with people.

Learning to run the family business, Ewert's Cameras in Santa Clara, is what occupied most of Thomas' time. Thomas was suppose to take over the business next year when his parents retired. Described as a very quiet person who was not very flamboyant, he would use his free time to teach photography.

"He was a very gentle person," said Sunnyvale resident Cristy Shauck, who took classes from Thomas last year. "He was very patient and took the time to talk to each of us."

A great drummer, lover of animals and a wonderful story teller is how friends described Marcia.

"She was like an extended family for all of us," said Stephanie Woehrmann, a close friend. "She had a place where people could always show up and hang out. She was very caring and mothering to all her friends."

Marcia was also interested in movie trivia and was responsible for making the movie-trivia slides that precede films at the Century Theaters.

"She was very soft-spoken, but after you got to know her she opened up and liked to tell stories and make people laugh," said Woehrmann, formerly of Sunnyvale. "I can remember when I lost my job and was pretty devastated, Marcia offered me a job and told me to come work for her. That was just the way she was: She always put other people before herself."

Known as someone who loved deadlines and pressure, Marcia, a graphic designer, would oftentimes take on more assignments than most people could handle, Woehrmann said.

"I think she liked the idea of being able to pull off the impossible under deadline," Woehrmann said.

Services for the family will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Los Altos on May 19.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, May 14, 1997.
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