Obit: Cendt, Malcolm (1930 – 1956)
Contact: Stan

Surnames: Cendt, Myszka, Eckes, Lowe, Koskey, Pinter, Harrison

----Source: Colby Phonograph (Colby, Clark County, Wis.) 05/10/1956

----Cendt, Malcolm (4 Nov. 1930 – 5 May 1956)

Marathon county’s week-end traffic jinx continued as two young men were killed Saturday morning in a head-on collision at the south village limits of Edgar. The victims were Malcolm Cendt of Colby, Route 1, age 26, and Edward Myszka of Edgar, Route 5, age 25. The accident occurred about 4:45 A.M.

This is the seventh consecutive week-end during which someone was killed in a highway crash in Marathon county, bringing the county death toll to 12 so far this year.

County police said Myszka was driving north on County Trunk H and Cendt was driving south when their cars collided head-on. Both cars were across the center line, police said.

Police said both men had attended the Edgar High School Junior Prom Friday night.

Police learned that Cendt and Myszka and their girl friends had had breakfast together in an Edgar restaurant about an hour before the crash. They took their companions home and were apparently heading for home themselves when the accident happened. Police theorized that both drivers probably were drowsy.

Both men were dead on arrival at St. Mary’s Hospital at Wausau.

Cendt was born in the town of Hull on November 4, 1930, son of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Cendt, with whom he lived. He was employed by the Johnson Block and Silo Co. of Colby. He served in the U.S. Army for two years and had been in Korea. He was discharged a year ago and was a member of the National Guard in Abbotsford.

Besides his parents, he is survived by a sister, Mrs. Beverly Eckes of Wausau and his grand parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Cendt of Wausau and Mr. and Mrs. Roy Lowe of Abbotsford.

Myszka was born in the town of Rib Falls on July 1, 1929. He was employed by the Ringle Garage at Edgar. He served in the Air Force and was discharged January 20.

He is survived by his mother, Mrs. Mary Myszka, with whom he lived; two brothers, David of Town Rib Falls and Raymond of Marathon; and two sisters, Mrs. Leonard Koskey of Wausau and Mrs. Matt Pinter of Milwaukee.

Cendt’s body was taken to the Lulloff Funeral Home in Colby and Myszka’s body was taken to the Luhr and Novitzke Funeral Home in Edgar.

Funeral services for Cendt were held at the Presbyterian church in Abbotsford Tuesday afternoon, Rev. Richard Harrison officiating, and internment was made in the Colby cemetery. Military rites were in charge of the Abbotsford National Guard battery of which he was a member.