BY ALEX PIAZZA
apiazza@record-eagle.com
WILLIAMSBURG — Forest "Forrie" Fowler was an avid outdoorsman who had a knack for poker and went out of his way to make people laugh.
"He loved to fish and hunt," said Lori Makowski, Fowler's niece. "He was a comedian in his own mind. (His jokes) were pretty good."
Friends and family will rely on those memories after Fowler, 65, of Traverse City, died early Saturday when a vehicle struck him as he attempted to cross M-72 in Williamsburg. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Fowler, an employee at Turtle Creek Casino, tried to track down a female patron who fled the casino after an unrelated domestic dispute, Grand Traverse Sheriff Tom Bensley said. He drove around and eventually spotted the woman and parked his vehicle at a nearby gas station in an attempt to help her, Bensley said. After exiting his vehicle, Fowler was struck by a vehicle driven by Alberto Manzor Jr., 47, of Rochester Hills, near the casino entrance.
"(He) never saw him," Bensley said. "It's very dark through that stretch."
No citations were issued as a result of the crash, and deputies continue to investigate the incident.
Fowler's funeral arrangements are being handled by Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home. His visitation is scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday, and funeral services will be held immediately afterward at St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Traverse City.
