INTERNATIONAL FALLS- “National Park Service Badge 1544 is ten-seven.”
The traditional dispatcher’s call for an officer out of service broadcast to the crowd attending the Sunday memorial service for Voyageurs National Park Ranger Kevin Grossheim added a somber note of finality to the proceedings honoring his life-giving sacrifice in the line of duty on Oct. 6. It was a service attended by a large contingent of law enforcement officers and emergency responders from around the state and beyond.
Grossheim, 55, was attempting to rescue a family of three campers whose boat had washed ashore on Birch Cove Island in Namakan Lake due to high waves and winds gusting over 40 miles per hour.
Grossheim and the family were on a Park Service boat that capsized in the treacherous conditions – the three family members made it back to shore safely, but Grossheim went down with the boat and died.
The service, held in the Falls High School gymnasium in International Falls, drew a crowd of over 350 people wanting to pay their respects to Grossheim’s wife, Jill, Voyageurs National Park staff, Kabetogama fire and EMS personnel and others for Grossheim’s loss in a ceremony with full law enforcement honors. A majority of the attendees were uniformed officers from local, county, state and national law enforcement agencies there to pay tribute to a fallen comrade. The U.S. National Park Service was well represented by officials from afar, including national Deputy Director Frank Lands and Associate Director for NPS Visitor and Resource Protection Charles Cuvelier from the Washington, D.C. office. NPS Region Three Director Herbert Frost led a delegation from Omaha, Neb., also in attendance.
VNP Chief Ranger Josh Wentz spoke words of remembrance, and in a common practice of law enforcement supervisors referred to “my ranger Kevin Grossheim” as he shared reflections on and anecdotes of Grossheim’s service at the park. In the days since the accident, Wentz said that he’d come to a different understanding about Grossheim’s importance to the community,
“I had to admit that I was wrong about ‘my’ ranger Kevin,” he said. “Kevin was never my ranger, he was your ranger, he was our ranger.”
Wentz echoed the thoughts and words of others who spoke at the service when he described some of Grossheim’s qualities that he admired.
“Kevin was one of the kindest souls I’ve come across,” Wentz said. “Kevin chose his words and his timing wisely.” And Wentz talked about how Grossheim shunned the spotlight when doing what needed to be done. “A lot of the staff didn’t know how much he had going on in the background,” he said.
Kabetogama Fire Chief Bryan Wichner and Kabetogama first responder Saren Olson also shared thoughts about Grossheim’s dedication to his community,
“Could you imagine Kevin as anything but the selfless hero he was each day?” Wichner said. “The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines words to describe hero – courageous, valiant, brave, gallant, fearless, valorous, manful and intrepid. This is Kevin.”
“Kevin was gentle, caring, and considerate in calling on others to do the same to help care for the community, co-workers, and neighbors that needed help for personal or family crises, mental health visits, meals or shopping. Kevin was acutely aware and present for others every day. His heart was huge.”
After the presentations were over, the assembly moved outside for the concluding ceremonies, where a huge American flag hung from the ladders of two fire trucks, flying above a combined services honor guard. Law enforcement and emergency personnel stood in formation as a National Park Service honor guard performed the folding of the flag that was presented to Jill Grossheim. A rifle squad fired three volleys, VNP Superintendent Bob DeGross and Kabetogama EMS Medical Coordinator Ellen Hart tolled a bell, and the dispatcher’s call was heard. And when a bugler played “Taps,” brilliant rays of sunshine broke through the overcast skies to add a feeling of warmth and comfort as the crowd paid its final homage to Grossheim.
NPS Ranger Kassey Trahanas is a legacy of Grossheim’s caring influence, and she made the long trek from Omaha where she now works with the NPS Land and Water Conservation Fund to acknowledge that influence and pay her respects. She talked about why she came after the service. “Voyageurs National Park was the first national park I ever worked at, and it’s the wonderful people that work here, like Kevin Grossheim, that made me want to continue to pursue a career in the park service,” Trahanas said. “Kevin was always looking out for us, taking us on boat rides, showing us some of the best parts of the park, and really showing us the care that he was able to show. He really was an inspiration to many of us. Kevin was a great guy who would do anything for us, and we would do anything for him. So, of course, I wanted to be here and show my respect for Kevin. He was such a wonderful person, and it’s such a huge loss for the community. I’m really fortunate to have had people like Kevin early on in my career to be such a huge inspiration to make me want to continue with this agency.”
Grossheim’s ashes will be interred at Roselawn Memorial Park in Monroe, Mich.