County Attorney: Heroic swiftwater teams are heroes

“In the years they’ve owned the property, it has never been covered by water,” said Mary’s son, J.R. Simpson, who serves as Burke County’s legal counsel. “Water will come up, water will go back down, but there’s never been a situation where it was even close to flooding. But this time, it was different.”

This time, the lake rose past its previous high-water mark, the Simpsons’ garage, which sits slightly lower than the home, and just kept coming, eventually reaching a height of about 2 feet inside the house.

Before they knew it, Mary and her daughter and full-time caregiver Ethel were trapped. Ethel called J.R., and then Burke 911.

Rescuing the duo presented some difficulties. Mary, 94, suffered debilitating injuries when she was run over by a boat on Lake James in 1965, eventually losing a leg and most of her mobility.

But J.R. said Burke County swiftwater rescue personnel were up to the task.

“They kept her calm and actually used some of our equipment that we use for mother to get her into the boat,” he said.

The Simpsons had the foresight to move Mary’s van to higher ground at a neighbor’s house prior to the storm. As a result, her boat ride wasn’t lengthy; one trip for Mary, a quick return for Ethel, and the Simpson ladies were high and dry.

And most importantly, safe.

It was one of 75 swiftwater rescues county personnel completed during the generational weather event, without a single loss of life.

“I can’t say enough about those guys and what heroes they were,” J.R. said.

With the rescue complete, Mary and Ethel stayed with another sister, Mary Simpson Beyer, until suitable housing could be found. Currently, Mary is living in an apartment at Murphy’s Farm.

J.R. said his mom wants to go back to the lake she loves so much, but that may not be feasible for a while.

The basement was completely flooded and most of the furniture was ruined. Workers have removed the damaged wall boards and the soaked insulation, but the water claimed numerous items, including some family photo albums.

“That was part of our heritage, but it’s gone now, and we’ll deal with that,” J.R. said stoically.

Despite the losses, J.R. said his family feels blessed.

“It’s a catastrophe for the family, but it’s certainly not as bad as it could have been with loss of life or anything like that,” he said. “You know, there are people that are suffering through that, so you just feel like you’re blessed that all you lost was property.”