Tragedy on Lewis Creek

On Monday Marty Illick and her husband, Terry Dinnan, drowned while boating near their Lewis Creek home in East Charlotte, a neighborhood in which they had lived for over 40 years. Marty and Terry were well known in the community for their contributions to it.

Marty Illick
Marty Illick
Terry Dinnan
Terry Dinnan

Marty helped form the Lewis Creek Association in the 1990s and served as its executive director, a capacity through which she contributed numerous articles to The Charlotte News. She also served on the board of the Charlotte Land Trust (CLT) for over 20 years. She spearheaded the CLT work in conservation of the Burleigh Farm on Spear Street and was involved actively in maintaining a large section of its agricultural land that linked with surrounding forest. She also worked to conserve about a mile of riparian frontage of land along Lewis Creek. Currently she was serving as a member of the Charlotte Planning Commission.

Terry was a retired stone mason who, with his partner, owned a limestone quarry in Essex, New York, for over 25 years. After selling the quarry land several years ago, he donated his profit to help establish the Essex Quarry Nature Park there.

A third member of their boating trip was their three-year-old grandson who, wearing a life jacket, managed to make it to shore and was found safe inside their truck near their home.

 

Related Stories

  • Charlotte turns out for one of biggest protests in U.S. history
  • After 35 years, Pierson looks forward to fall in her new camper
  • Groundbreaking held for Perry Center for Native American Art
  • Around Town: June 26
  • Signs of the times
  • Town-wide scavenger hunt comes to Charlotte in July

Popular Stories

If you enjoy The Charlotte News, please consider making a donation. Your gift will help us produce more stories like this. The majority of our budget comes from charitable contributions. Your gift helps sustain The Charlotte News, keeping it a free service for everyone in town. Thank you.

Andrew Zehner, Board Chair

Andrew Zehner
Sign Up for our Newsletter
* indicates required