DIVERS DROWN OFF MENDOCINO COAST

Published on May 20, 2004

© 2004- The Press Democrat

BYLINE:    GLENDA ANDERSON

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

PAGE: B1

The ocean brought Gregory Peeler and Marion Denzer together two years ago, when Peeler rescued Denzer from the pounding surf that threatened to pull the avid fisherman out to sea.

Strangers moments before, the two Fort Bragg men became fast friends, their love of the ocean undiminished by the brush with death.

Last Saturday, during one of the many abalone diving expeditions they'd since made together, Peeler again went to Denzer's rescue when his friend became caught in an undertow near MacKerricher State Park north of Fort Bragg.

This time, both men drowned.

``It is really ironic,'' said Denzer's wife of 40 years, Rose Denzer.

Peeler, 33, and Denzer, 77, were both veteran divers and familiar with ocean conditions off the popular beach and campground, according to family members.

Nonetheless, Denzer said her husband should not have gone out on the ocean that afternoon. He'd been working on their rental unit all day and was tired, Denzer said.

``I didn't want him to go. It wasn't like him. If he was tired or the water was rough, he wouldn't go,'' she said.

On Saturday, both conditions were in play. Even though the men had found a protected cove near MacKerricher, ocean conditions can change quickly, Denzer said.

Denzer said she's never liked the ocean and had long feared it would take her husband's life.

``Every time, whether he's fishing or abalone diving, I'm a nervous wreck,'' she said.

Her fear has merit. Every year four or five people drown off the Mendocino Coast while abalone diving, according to Mendocino County Sheriff's Lt. Kurt Smallcomb.

Most of them are experienced, like Denzer, a retired manager of the Harbor Light Lodge who had been diving for 30 years.

Despite the annual drownings during abalone season, Denzer said her husband never thought he'd join that group.

Nor did his two sons and a stepson, who also dive.

``They think they're invincible,'' Denzer said.

Peeler also was a veteran diver. He learned to dive as a youngster and had nearly 20 years of experience under his belt, according to family members.

``He loved the fishing and the abalone,'' said his grandmother, Coralene Peeler, with whom he'd been living.

``They were both fishing addicts,'' she said of her grandson and Denzer.

The two men were swimming in the cove when a current began pulling Denzer out to sea, Peeler said, recounting what Greg's father had witnessed.

``Greg went to get him,'' she said.

Peeler said her son, who was watching the dive from a bluff overlooking the beach, told her Greg Peeler pulled Denzer part way to shore before giving up and letting go.

``He must have realized he was already dead,'' Peeler said.

She said her grandson also was probably too tired to hang on to Denzer any longer.

After letting go of Denzer, Peeler swam toward a rock and disappeared behind it.

His father, Gary Peeler, thought he'd climbed up the rock, but then saw him floating, Peeler said.

``He must have hit his head on the rock and it knocked him out,'' she said.

Gary Peeler, who is not a diver, knew he couldn't rescue the men, so he called 911 on his cell phone. A state parks diver ultimately pulled the men from the ocean.

A private family funeral service is being held today for Peeler, a lifelong Fort Bragg resident who worked for Anderson Logging.

Denzer said her husband did not want a funeral service. Instead, his body will be cremated and his ashes scattered on the ocean, as he wished, she said.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or ganderson@pressdemocrat.com.

PHOTO: mug: Gregory Peeler
MAP: by The Press Democrat: Two abalone divers drowned; MacKerricher
State Park

Keywords: DROWNING DEATH OCEAN

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