Edsel G. Lorenzen saved Ryan A. Reisinger from burning, Radcliffe, Iowa, February 23, 2005. Reisinger, 21, was semiconscious and severely injured in the driver’s seat of his car after an accident in which the vehicle left the road and came to rest upright among evergreen trees in the front yard of a residence. Fire broke out at the rear of the car and began to spread, including to the inside. Lorenzen, 75, retired farmer, who lived at the scene, ran from his house to the car, where he found the passenger door jammed and the driver’s door blocked by tree branches. Lorenzen leaned head first into the car through the broken-out window of the passenger door and released Reisinger’s safety belt. He then grasped Reisinger about the shoulders and, backing from the car, pulled him through the window. Flames shortly engulfed the car. Reisinger required extensive hospitalization for treatment of his injuries, but he was not burned. Lorenzen sustained minor burns to his face and hands, and cuts to his hands. He required medical attention and fully recovered.
78363 – 8969
78363-8969Obituary
Edsel Lorenzen, 88, of Radcliffe, Iowa, died on Nov. 16, 2017, at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, Iowa.
Edsel Glenn Lorenzen was born on April 26, 1929, in State Center, Iowa, to Norman Kraft and Caroline (Schultz) Lorenzen. He graduated from Eldora High School in 1948 and attended Farm Operations classes after his discharge from the Army.
On Dec. 29, 1952, Lorenzen married the former Donna Mae Elwick at Salem Lutheran Church in Radcliffe. He served in the Army from 1951 to 1953, stationed in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Alaska. He later was a member of the Radcliffe American Legion.
Lorenzen was a farmer for 70 years, a corn and soybean research technician at Asgrow Seed, and an antique tractor restorer. He was a longtime active member of the Iowa Cornbelt Oliver Collectors Association and the Mid-Iowa Antique Power Association. In several circles, he was known as “Mr. Oliver.”
Over the years, he served as church treasurer, deacon, and Sunday school teacher. He also was a member of Gideons International, participating in the jail ministry, for more than 20 years.
In 2005, when he was 75 years old, Lorenzen pulled a man from a burning car. For his heroism, he received the Carnegie Medal, presented to him by the governor of Iowa. Earlier in life, he rescued a co-worker at a local power plant who was trapped and sinking in a large coal storage facility.
He was buried in Radcliffe Cemetery in Radcliffe.
(Information edited from an obituary published at The Post-Bulletin in Rochester, Minn., on Nov. 21, 2017.)