WINCHESTER, Ind. (WISH) — The Indiana National Weather Service confirmed Monday the first death from the tornado that tore through Winchester on March 14.

The statement from the weather service at Indianapolis said that Robert “Bob” Blansett, 73, “had passed away with injuries sustained from the tornado listed as contributing factors to the death.”

Winchester was shaken after a tornado with maximum winds of 165 mph tore through the city. The EF-3 tornado also hit parts of Delaware and Randolph counties.

Connie Monroe, who lived a few houses down from the Blansetts, described the scene that night: “My grandson ran out in the pouring rain down to (Bob’s wife) Vickie’s and Bob’s. It was sad, you know because they were good people.”

Janet Yost, another neighbor, said, “We heard him screaming. He wanted his wife to be taken care of first. He put himself last.”

Blansett was an Army veteran, an assistant preacher at Maxville Christian Church, and a clown at Mizpah Shrine Circus in Fort Wayne.

“He’s pretty comical at times. He’d be out there joking around teasing the kids,” Yost said. 

Only the bathroom is left standing amid the rubble that was the Blansetts’ home.

Blansett died April 21, a day after his birthday. He was survived by his wife of 42 years, seven children and grandchildren.

“A couple of people said Bob wouldn’t make it that night, but he did make it five weeks,” Monroe said.

The weather service says 37 people were injured in the Winchester tornado.

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