Louis Koch

KOCH, RIEDESEL, HARTMAN

Posted By: Sharon Elijah (email)
Date: 5/23/2021 at 17:43:29

21 August 1917 - The Clinton Advertiser page 1

ILL HEALTH IS CAUSE OF DEATH OF LOUIS KOCH BY OWN HAND
(Special to the ADVERTISER)
Wheatland, Iowa, August 21--After twenty years of ill health and suffering, Louis Koch, a well known Wheatland man, "ended it all" at 7:30 o'clock this morning by shooting himself through the head with a 22-calibre Colts revolver.

An hour later the unfortunate man died without regaining consciousness. He is survived by his aged mother, who is upwards of 80 years old, and several brothers and sisters. Coroner M. E. Anderson is expected here from Clinton early this afternoon, to conduct an inquisition.

The funeral arrangements were not announced today.

Louis Koch was 40 years of age and unmarried. Twenty years ago he was kicked in the head by a mule. Since then he has never been well, the blow affecting his brain. He lived in Wheatland with his mother, and had not been able to do much work during all these years. Still he maintained his cheerfulness and held the friendship of many in and around Wheatland, who learned with sincerest regret of the tragedy this morning.

Louis arose at the usual time this morning. He handed his mother a book shortly after 7 o'clock, saying all of his accounts and other business were contained in the volume. Shortly afterwards members of the family heard the report of a pistol shot. They hastened to the man's room, and found him unconscious, and bleeding from a wound behind the right ear. The bullet had lodged in the brain.

Dr. Bittner was summoned, and did everything in his power to rally the dying man, without success. He lived just an hour.

Besides his aged mother, Mrs. Mollie Koch, the deceased is survived by three brothers, Emil and John of Wheatland and a third brother, who lives in Minnesota, and two sisters, Mrs. Will Riedesel of Wheatland and Mrs. Hartman of Lowden.