Family, friends share memories of Valley man lost to an accident on the Susitna River

Skye Rench was tragically lost on March 6 when the all-terrain vehicle that he was riding on broke through the ice on the Susitna River near the confluence with Fish Creek.

Skye was one of five people riding in the ATV, and both he and Sean Kendall fell through the ice before being swept downriver. Skye will always be remembered as a thoughtful and protective brother, a kind and loving fiance and an adventurous and outgoing son, a resilient and dedicated friend and a hard worker.

“He truly will be missed,” Skye’s mother Stacey Calder said. “Losing him in our family is a major, major loss and we won’t be able to overcome this.”

A memorial was held for Skye on March 15 at Teeland Middle School. Calder said that the service was highly attended. Even with 350 chairs, people were standing five deep along the walls. Over 185 people were logged into the Zoom call to watch the service from home and many of his friends had traveled from the Lower 48 to attend. Calder said she has learned so much about Skye since his passing from all of the support given and the stories that have been shared.

Calder described Skye as a man that lived his life to the fullest. He was motivated and could accomplish any goal he set his mind to. Anything that he tried he was annoyingly good at, Calder joked. She recalled a time when Skye was young and he pointed to a tree, telling her he was going to do a backflip off of it. She laughed and said that she bet that he couldn’t and he proceeded to prove her wrong and do it anyway. Calder said he was known for doing his backflips to this day.

“I know that he’s doing the best backflips he ever could do in Heaven right now,” Calder said.

Calder said Skye was a good builder, building a swing for his front yard and cabinets and shelving for his garage. He could take anything apart, figure out how it worked, and put it back together. She recalled a time when Skye was young and she had come home to find him taking apart the family television, just to figure out how it worked.

Tom Rench, Skye’s father, described him as being a handful growing up, like any growing boy. He said they butted heads at times because of how similar they were and the work ethic that they both shared. He spent a lot of time with Skye growing up, coaching his sports teams, taking him hunting and fishing and taking Skye and his siblings snowmachining at their cabin.

Tom recalled times when he would take Skye fishing when he was young and would tie a leash to his belt loop to keep Skye from running off. He remembered the time that Skye shot his first black bear and caribou when he was 7 and how the two would play go-fish in the tent at night during their hunting trips.

Skye’s winter passion was riding snowmachines and finishing the Iron Dog was one of his major life accomplishments. Tom believed that Skye’s interest in the Iron Dog stemmed from the many winter days that he would take Skye and his siblings in the mountains to ride, and when they would attend the start and finish of the Iron Dog and watch as the racers passed by their cabin.

Tom shared a story of when Skye was 11 and his brother, Austin, was 9. The three had made their way 80 miles out to their cabin by snowmachine when one machine had blown up. Tom called a friend to deliver a new machine to the closest access. Tom said that Skye and Austin drove all the way back to retrieve the new machine by themselves, in weather well below zero and navigating many river miles without adult supervision.

“I raised my boys tough,” Tom said.

Skye was engaged to Heidi Goozen, whom he had been with since November of 2020. She described him as having a serious and tough exterior, but was kind and loving to those that had the privilege of getting to know him.

“He’s an incredibly loving person and he’s very stoic,” Goozen said. “But when you really get to know him on a very close level, you learn that he’s a very gentle man, and he’s very thoughtful and a very sweet guy.”

Goozen said Skye had pretended to like to hike when they first met. They would go on hikes together for some time before Skye told her he actually didn't like hiking. Despite that dislike for hiking, Goozen said he surprised her for her birthday last year with a “free ticket” to go hiking with him that fall.

“He hiked with me to the top of Lion’s Head on September 15,” Goozen said. “It was a clear blue day. All the leaves were bright yellow. He proposed to me on the top of the mountain. It was one of the most special days. Skye was that person who was very loving and thoughtful.”

Goozen said Skye was the type of person that would go out of his way to do things the right way. He was honest in everything in his life and never left things unsaid. She said Skye was capable of doing anything, whether they were accomplishing tasks around the house or visiting their cabin. Some of her fondest memories with Skye were just moments living together and making a life together in their home.

Calder said that it was evident the two had found true love in each other, a love that everyone searches for.

“I watched him grow so much since they met,” Calder said. “You always have a vision in your head of what love should look like, and I was just so happy for him because he and Heidi would show that, in their actions and the way they looked at each other. They didn’t have to say it.”

Tom described Skye’s relationship with Goozen as being dedicated and respectful. He recalled a story that Goozen’s father shared with him after Skye’s passing. Skye had taken the time and made the effort to ask her father for her hand in marriage, and had honored him with that privilege. Goozen’s father said he had never met a better young man.

Skye was always close to his two younger siblings, Austin and Chelsea Rench, and together they had a unique relationship. They were best friends from day one, and Skye was always the one in charge making sure everyone got along.

“Growing up with him was the best experience because me and my brothers were extremely close,” Chelsea said. “They are my best friends and Skye was this overall protector and he had my back no matter what.”

Chelsea described her brother as always showing her support, no matter how much trouble she was in. He was a leader at heart and made sure everyone involved was having fun and being safe. He was outgoing, courageous and did whatever he set his mind to. Chelsea said he always encouraged her and that he was easy to trust, a safe place.

On a recent trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Chelsea explained how Skye was when they went snorkeling together.

“He brought his own snorkeling set and he gave it to me,” Chelsea said. “He didn’t go under the water at all, he just held my hand while I was swimming in the ocean because I was scared. And he didn’t get to experience any of it because he wanted me to experience it and he was just having so much fun watching me.”

When they were younger, the siblings would go on crazy adventures. They would play games and Skye would always be annoyingly good at everything, Chelsea joked. He was a fun person to be around and stayed close to all of his siblings, sharing the good, the bad and the ugly of their lives.

“We were best friends from day one,” Chelsea said. “And that has never changed.”

Skye was a running back for the Colony High School football team and a wrestler, chasing a state title his senior year before graduating in 2011. He played football for one semester of college in North Dakota before returning home. Calder explained that Rench did not enjoy school and when he came home, she told him he had to make something of himself and that he wouldn’t be allowed to sit around at home.

Skye decided to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) in 2012 and most recently worked as a foreman for the company that he helped found, Helecomm Communications. Skye joined three partners, including Danny Williamson, to build the business. Williamson said Skye was focused, hard-working and took his work and his job seriously. He could formulate a plan and make it happen, Williamson said, and wouldn’t ask anyone to do anything he wasn’t willing to do.

“As a business, he left a hole that can’t be filled,” Williamson said. “It’ll easily take two guys to fill the hole he’s left in our business.”

Williamson shared a story about a mishap that occurred during a job he was on with Skye. Williamson said in a series of unfortunate events, the plow had broken off of the back of the bulldozer they were both operating, and despite the seriousness of the situation, all anyone could do in the moment was laugh.

“I’ll never forget how hard he laughed, and I had noise cancelling earbuds in,” Williamson joked. “I could hear him laugh over the sound of that shaker and everything else going on.”

Williamson said he first saw Skye on a viral Facebook post jumping a four wheeler years before he met him. He acknowledged how much adventure Skye searched for outside of work, including participating in Crossfit Competitions and recently finishing the Iron Dog.

“He lived a big life outside of work too,” Williamson said. “He worked hard and I think he played harder.”

Skye’s best friend Cody Lankford said that he had been talking about racing in the Iron Dog since middle school. To be able to dedicate so much time and to finish during a tough year speaks to Skye’s toughness and resilience when faced with a challenge, Lankford said.

“I think that was one of his life’s greatest achievements,” Lankford said.

Skye and Lankford were best friends from school and remained close into adulthood. They played sports together and shared many adventures growing up. Lankford said that Skye introduced him to his wife and stood by his side at his wedding as his best man. Skye would also be one of the first people to meet his daughter. He described Skye as having a tough exterior but was a soft, kind teddy bear once you got to know him.

“I don't have any brothers, but if I called anyone a brother, it definitely would be Skye,” Lankford said.

Lankford acknowledged that Skye had an amazing relationship with his siblings. He said Skye had an amazing future, with plans to get married this year and start a family, all while working in a successful business.

“I think that’s the biggest loss, a good life taken far too soon,” Lankford said.

Alaska State Troopers continue to provide aerial surveillance of the area where Skye and Sean went into the ice. More on-the-ground and water patrols will occur once conditions have improved and the ice melts. The state capital flew a flag in remembrance of Skye on May 6, two months from the day of the accident and for his half birthday.