Drownings
Timothy Boche
In July of 1966, after football practice, Timothy Boche and his team mates went for a swim at Simley Pond, then called Lake Nelson. He soon began to struggle, and eventually he drowned in about 20 feet of water.
His death hit Simley High School and the Inver Grove Heights community deeply. Simley High School students, and athletes proposed a renaming of the school’s football field to honor Timothy Boche and his legacy. Lettermen Allan Krech and Greg Dahn proposed the change, which was met with a unanimous vote on the school board in favor of the project. The Simley High School football team raised approximately 800 dollars for the project, and over 300 students and families gathered at the 1967 athletic banquet for the unveiling of the monument.
Today the monument is still up at Simley High School. It was taken down for a short time during the field's reconstruction, but today the field remains dedicated to Boche and his legacy.
Alex Tourville
On Wednesday, June 5th, 2002, students gathered at Simley Pond to mourn the loss of freshman Alex Tourville, who had drowned there earlier that day. Tourville drowned trying to swim across the pond. Students that were there tried to save him, but unfortunately were not able to. The Inver Grove Heights police department found his body late Wednesday afternoon.
A memorial was started with his favorite clothing items, and many students stayed at the pond all night lighting candles. Autopsy reports deemed the drowning accidental, and memorial funds were set up for Tourville’s family.