Missouri Great-Grandfather Dies After Rock Crashes Through Jeep Roof at Glacier National Park

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, Montana — A family vacation to one of America’s most scenic national parks ended in tragedy when a rock crashed through the roof of a Jeep, fatally injuring a 73-year-old Missouri man as his wife sat beside him.

Rex Schowengerdt, of Kansas City, was traveling with his wife, Chris, and other family members at Glacier National Park on July 11 when the rock fell from a steep mountainside near Logan Pass and broke through the vehicle’s hardtop.

The rock, which Chris estimated weighed about 45 pounds, struck Rex while he was sitting in the back seat. He suffered a severe traumatic brain injury and was airlifted to a hospital.

He died five days later, on July 16.

A Dream Trip Turns Tragic

The Schowengerdts had been married for 50 years and had planned a monthslong journey through America’s national parks.

Glacier National Park was the first major stop on the trip. Rex’s daughter, Amy Prince, said her father had been especially excited about returning to the outdoors.

His love of nature, camping and running was a defining part of his life, she said.

Prince recalled that her father had encouraged her to appreciate the outdoors and pay close attention to the natural world.

Family Forced to Continue Down the Mountain

The accident left the family facing an extraordinarily difficult situation.

After Rex was flown to a hospital, his wife and relatives still had to travel down the mountain in the same vehicle in which the accident had occurred. The trip reportedly took approximately two and a half hours, followed by another hour of travel to reach the hospital.

For the family, the circumstances made an already devastating experience even more difficult.

Remembered as a Gentle and Loving Man

Prince described her father as a quiet, kind and loving person who had a profound influence on his family.

She said he was someone relatives turned to when they needed reassurance and described him as a guiding presence in her life.

The family has also found some comfort in knowing how happy Rex had been to be at Glacier National Park before the accident.

“He loved Glacier National Park,” Prince said, recalling her father’s excitement about the trip.

A Final Lesson About Nature

Before leaving for the trip, Rex shared advice with his daughter that has taken on new meaning following his death.

He encouraged her to slow down while outdoors, observe her surroundings and appreciate nature rather than taking it for granted.

His family now hopes that message will become part of his legacy.

Rex’s loved ones planned a celebration of life in Missouri, choosing an outdoor setting that reflected his lifelong connection to nature.

The family has also established a fundraiser to help his wife with expenses associated with the tragedy, including medical and transportation costs.

For a man who spent much of his life enjoying the outdoors, Rex Schowengerdt’s final journey was meant to be another adventure shared with the woman he had spent five decades beside. Instead, a freak natural accident transformed a family vacation into an enduring loss.