James Laing Jr. 1936-1961

LAING, OGDEN, ALBAUGH

Posted By: Sharon Elijah (email)
Date: 12/3/2019 at 08:26:18

9 November 1961 - The Tipton Conservative

James Charles Laing, Jr., 25, Tipton, was found dead in his wrecked car in a ditch a mile south of Tipton on Highway 38 Nov. 2. Investigating officers said that Laing was killed sometime between midnight and 1 a.m. He was alone in his car.

Laing, headed north, missed the curve at the point where old Highway 38 and the new highway join. His car traveled more than 500 feet before it came to a stop. The first 450 were down the ditch. Then the car struck a 3-foot cement culvert, was thrown into the air and came to rest more than 60 feet away, demolished. The culvert was torn out by the impact of the crash.

Laing was not discovered until 5 a.m. when Richard Gade, who works at the cheese factory, drove off Highway 38 onto the old highway. He saw the car in the ditch and, upon investigating, found Laing's body in the back seat. It is believed that Laing was thrown into the back seat when the car was hurled into the air.

There was rain and fog at the time of the accident which made it almost impossible to see a car in the deep ditch on the west side of Highway 38.

Funeral services for Laing were held at 2 p.m. Nov. 4 at the Sheets and Dahn funeral home with the Rev. Robert Stogsdill in charge. Pallbearers were Robert Yeater, Gene Harden, Earl Reynolds, Francis Countryman, Floyd Tipton and Alfred Smith.

The Foursquare church group were vocalists with Mrs. Edgerton Nix as organist. Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Mathias and Mr. and Mrs. Neal Carstensen were in charge of flowers.

Military graveside services were conducted by members of the 410th Infantry battle group of the 103 Reserve Infantry Division of which Laing was a member. Burial was in the Tipton Masonic cemetery.

The son of James Russell and Margery Albaugh Laing he was born May 13, 1936 in Cedar county and was a graduate of Tipton high school. He was married to Shirley Ellen Ogden at the Red Oak Presbyterian church Feb. 23, 1958.

He had served 9 months in the army and was a member of the army reserve.

He became a member of the Red Oak Presbyterian church Dec. 14, 1952 and had joined the Foursquare church the day before his death.

Laing spent his entire life in the Tipton community and was farming at the time of his death.

He is survived by his wife, 2 sons, James Eugene, 2 and Kevin Charles, 1; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James R. Laing and his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Doris Albaugh.