Larry's grandmother's obituary said Larry died in 1983.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE. Battle Creek Enquirer and News, Monday, 17 Jan 1983, p. B1. Fisherman Drowns in Area Lake. A two-day search for a fisherman believed drowned in Graham Lake ended about 9:45 a.m. today when divers recovered the body of Larry Warren Wank, 42, of 635 Riverside Drive. Michigan State Police said that two teen-agers reported a possible drowning about 3:15 p.m. Sunday after they saw fishing equipment-including a fish-finder, hat and personal items-near a hole in the ice. Police said Everett Toole, 16, of 4-Mile Road, spotted the equipment and ran to the home of Teresa Coleman, 15, of 883 Graham Lake Terrace, who called police. The hole was about 50 feet offshore in the southwest corner of the Leroy Twp. lake, police said. The ice near the hole was only one to two inches thick and there were open patches of water nearby, police said. Water near the hole was 12 to 14 feet deep. Calhoun County sheriff's deputies dispatched divers from the Area Law Enforcement Underwater Recovery Team to the lake, but they discontinued their search about 6 p.m. Sunday and continued it at daybreak today. In addition to divers from the Calhoun and Kalamazoo county sheriff's departments, members of the Leroy Twp. Fire Department and Emmett Rescue Squad aided in the search. Calhoun County Emergency Services Coordinator Robert Thompson today warned county residents to stay off area lakes and ponds until ice thickens enough to support them. Because of the recent warm temperatures, "it will be at least a couple of weeks before the ice is safe," Thompson said this morning. "It is very dangerous right now," he said. "But we've had reports of people ice-skating and ice-fishing, even though the lakes are not totally frozen over."
OBITUARY. Battle Creek Enquirer and News, Tuesday, 18 Jan 1983, p. B2. Services Slated for Drowning Victim. Services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Spencer Funeral Home in Athens for Larry W. Wank, 42, of 635 Riverside Drive, who drowned Sunday in Graham Lake when he apparently fell through thin ice while fishing. His body was recovered by divers Monday morning. Wank was born in Battle Creek and had resided in Leroy Twp. with his family before moving to Battle Creek. He was a 1958 graduate of Lakeview High School and had been employed 23 years as a machinist by Clark Equipment He was a member of Union Local 939 AIW, and he enjoyed bowling and golf. He is survived by his wife, the former Patricia Marshall daughters, Michelle and Susan Wank, both at home; a son, Michael Wank, at home; a sister, Thedra Taetsch of Plymouth; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Warren Wank of Battle Creek; his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Opal Mitchell of East Leroy; and his paternal grandmother, Mrs. Alta Wank of Battle Creek.
DEATH. Calhoun County Clerk-Register, Marshall, MI, 1983 Deaths, #91. Died 16 Jan 1983, at Battle Creek (DOA Leila Hospital), Larry Warren Wank, age 42, b. 3 Apr 1940, mw, married; father: Warren Wank; mother: Florence Marcelle Mitchell; residence: 635 Riverside Drive, Battle Creek; spouse: Patricia Marshall; buried 20 Jan 1983, Burr Oak Cem., Athens, MI; informant: Patricia M. Wank.