Friends mourn loss of ‘Mr. Lake Roesiger’

To his friends and neighbors, Larry Schwisow was “the go-to guy on the lake,” but, more often than not, he went to them first.

The burly man with a long, thick mustache, calloused hands and sagging swimsuits was a fixture on and around Lake Roesiger, testing water quality, cleaning buoys and repairing docks.

He’d fix friends’ engines, mend fences and pull neighbors’ cars out of ditches along the winding country roads.

“Basically, he would do whatever needed to be done,” said his son, Chris. “Dad was there when anyone needed him.”

When recent winter storms dumped snow and knocked down trees around Lake Roesiger north of Monroe, Schwisow figured he would help clear the way for himself and others. He was cutting up a fallen hemlock over South Lake Roesiger Road more than a mile from his home the morning of Dec. 21 when the root ball and bank slid, tripped him up and covered him. He died two days later at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.

He was buried beneath the snow and debris for about 20 minutes, according to reports from Snohomish County Fire District 16, which covers the Lake Roesiger area. A crew from Granite Falls and medics from Lake Stevens aided in the rescue.

Word spread quickly in the tight-knit community.

“If there is a Mr. Lake Roesiger, it is Larry Schwisow,” longtime friend Jerry Capone said. “He was just always there for everybody.”

Schwisow also was full of surprises and unexpected connections, Capone said, such as the time he brought an acquaintance over to his house for a day on the lake.

They spent hours chatting and water-skiing.

Eventually, Capone asked Schwisow: “Who is this guy?”

It turned out he was Jerry Cantrell, guitarist of the Seattle grunge band Alice in Chains.

To this day, Capone doesn’t know how the two hooked up.

The Rev. Gordon Everett of the Snohomish Community Church described Schwisow, a diesel mechanic by trade, as “the go-to guy on the lake” who “could build or fix just about anything.”

Many of those he helped were among the 350 people to attend a memorial service at the church Wednesday.

It was Schwisow who taught Mary Anderson how to water-ski on one ski. She was 58 at the time.

It was Schwisow who secretly arranged and helped childhood friend Mark Maynard land a marlin and fulfill a lifelong dream in the process.

And it was Schwisow who looked up a high school friend years after graduation to tell him about a piece of property he should buy on Lake Roesiger.

“It changed my whole life,” said Tim Jay Howard, who first met Schwisow as a student at Meadowdale High School in the 1970s.

Howard said Schwisow’s penchant for helping others began long before he became a well-known figure at Lake Roesiger. In high school, he was always under the hood of Howard’s 1970 Chevelle in Edmonds. He would help his sometimes-stressed-out friend learn to relax, telling him, “Be mellow like Jell-O.”

Chris Schwisow senses many people will associate his father with helping others around the lake, but neither he nor his dad ever thought much about it. He also knows many people see his dad as a colorful character, legendary in his circle of friends for his “green slime daiquiris” and dubious choice in swimwear.

“I broke him of wearing Speedos when I realized Speedos weren’t cool,” he said. “He quit wearing them for the most part, but he started wearing them again about four years ago. I was always embarrassed as all hell, but he was fine with it. “

Schwisow was often the first person on the lake during water-skiing season, seeking smooth water and waving to people on the shore as he zigzagged across the surface.

“He could throw water a country mile,” said Arne Anderson, a Lake Roesiger resident. “He’d dig into the water and make the biggest wake I’ve ever seen.”

Roesiger residents say they will miss the man who policed and nursed the lake, served for 14 years on its volunteer fire department and was president of the community club.

“There is no one to take his place,” Howard said.

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or e-mail stevick@heraldnet.com.