Louis Keckevoet, 1882 Obituary

KECKEVOET

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 5/15/2007 at 22:36:56

I translated the following obituary from Der Carroll Demokrat, a German-language newspaper published in Carroll, Iowa, between about 1874 and 1920. It was originally published on Friday, 14 July 1882. Any information in brackets or notes at the end are my own explanations. It reads as follows:

Taken by Death
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Unexpected Demise of Mr. Louis Keckevoet.
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The Population of the Town and County Grieve for One of Our Finest Citizens.
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Like a bolt of lightening from a cheerful sky, on Saturday morning the news went from house to house that Louis Keckevoet was no longer among the living; the sad report was carried from farm to farm, but everyone appeared to be in disbelief and no one wanted to believe it because the deceased had stood in the prime of his life and was a picture of health, full of cheerfulness and optimism. The death was unexpected for all of his acquaintances and countless friends. It was an unexpected and hard blow for his grieving survivors, a loving and caring wife, and three children, girls ages 17, 10 and 6. What was the cause of this sudden, unforeseen death? We present here the circumstances. The deceased retired to his room at about 11 o’clock on Wednesday evening. After a short time, before going to sleep, he wanted a drink of fresh water and, because all the other occupants of the house were already sleeping, he went himself to get it from the well. For this purpose he had to go down a flight of stairs leading to the courtyard, but in doing so one of the upper stairs gave way and so he fell down almost the entire length of the stairs. Here he pulled himself to his feet and went along a path leading to the street to the well, where he fell unconscious. It is unknown how long he remained there in this condition. He was discovered there by a passer-by, Frank Sprague, who picked him up and carried him into the house. His wife was very upset and immediately called for Dr. Wright, who gave appropriate treatment so that the patient felt fairly well by Thursday, and by Friday he felt so restored that he believed he would be able to be up and around in a few days. He was also cracking jokes about the accident. Toward evening, it was about seven o’clock, there was an alarming change in his condition. Gangrene had set in to the internal injuries he had suffered, and it was the judgment of the doctors gathered around his bed that there was no hope of saving him. At eight o’clock he lost the ability to speak and a little later lost consciousness. He remained in this condition until two o’clock on Saturday morning, at which time, surrounded by his family and a few friends, he breathed a final sigh. His death was painless.

In him departed a dear and loving husband and father. He is irreplaceable for his friends and acquaintances, and the poor, needy, and destitute have lost in him a friend and protector whose kind will never rise up again. His large, compassionate, and good heart that dried so many tears and resolved others’ worries will often be missed and we are certain that many tears will still be shed for the deceased by people for whom he did good deeds in his life.

Yes, he is now gone, and dear readers, he will be mourned by everyone. Anyone who saw the funeral procession on Sunday afternoon, how it slowly and endlessly moved through the streets to the Catholic Church, could easily see how popular the deceased was. There were far more than a thousand mourners who paid their last respects to the deceased, and they had come from all parts of the county. In the church, which was packed full, the funeral service was handled by Father Urbanny, after which he gave a moving sermon to the assembled group.

The procession then formed in the following order: The Carroll Music Corps. The pall-bearers, namely: P. M. Guthrie; Patterson the banker; E. H. Brooks; H. Stratemeier; Wm. Arts; and Jos. Kniest. Behind these followed the Carroll “Gunclub” consisting of about 45 members who escorted the hearse. Then followed the Roman Catholic Mutual Aid Society. Behind these came the Schützenverein [Rifle Club], 40 men strong. Then followed the bereaved. And behind them came the immense line of coaches and wagons.

Louis Keckevoet was born in 1844 in Wettringen, Government District of Muenster, Province of Westphalia, and at the time of his death he was 46 years, 9 months, and 16 days old. He came to America in 1864 and settled in Indiana. After a few years, because the climate there was not agreeable to his wife’s health, he moved to Dubuque. From there, after he had lost all his property and possessions in a fire, he moved here in November 1875. Since then he had operated a general store and tavern. He leaves his relations in very orderly circumstances and life insurance of about $5000, of which about $1000 goes to the Mutual Insurance Company of Iowa.

In consideration of his death, the local branch of the RCMPS [Roman Catholic Mutual Protection Society] of Iowa adopted the following resolutions:

WHEREAS, it has fallen to Almighty God in his wisdom to call from our midst our respected brother and honest member, Louis Keckevoet; and

WHEREAS, during his life he endeared himself to us through his manly and charitable ways, and he stands in the highest regard among many poor people to whom he reached out a helping hand, so is it hereby

RESOLVED, that through the death of Louis Keckevot this society has lost one of its finest members, a member whom we will painfully miss, but we bow to the will of Him who makes all things well, and

RESOLVED, that all members of the society are called upon to attend the funeral of our deceased brother and that we offer our deepest sympathy to his family in their sadness, and

RESOLVED, that these preambles and resolutions shall be entered in the books of the branch society and that they will be published in the Carroll Herald and Der Demokrat.
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On Saturday evening the local “Gunclub” held a special assembly to adopt resolutions concerning the death of Mr. Louis Keckevoet. Mr. Keckevoet was a member of the club. The resolutions were as follows:

WHEREAS, it was pleasing to Almighty God, through the bitter death of Louis Keckevoet, to take our beloved member from the number our club, it is therefore

RESOLVED, that the Carroll “Gunclub” expresses the deepest sorrow which has fallen over it through the demise of its brother, and

RESOLVED, that this club bears witness regarding his genial and good nature, his warm and enthusiastic devotion to our interests, and his true and unshakable friendship to us, which inspired his connection to our club from the time of its founding of this club until his death, and

RESOLVED, that through his death our town has lost a worthy and valuable citizen, a citizen whose acts of goodness and whose deeds of true charity are so well known in the community in which he lived and conducted business for many years, and

RESOLVED, that we express our deepest and most heartfelt sympathy to his grieving wife and sorrowful children, to whom he was a true husband and father, and request them to look upward to the Great Creator of our existence for hope and trust and to remember that “the earth has no cares that Heaven cannot heal” and

RESOLVED, that this club will attend his funeral “in corpore” with the customary symbols of mourning; that a page will be reserved in the records of this club and that a copy of these resolutions will be fittingly enlarged and framed to be given over to his family, and that the same be published in the Herald and Demokrat.