LAURA LINDSEY-PAVLOPOLUS

LINDSEY, PAVLOPOLUS, PITMAN, GARDNER, BOWMAN

Posted By: Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert (email)
Date: 2/2/2002 at 20:13:44

Decatur County Journal
September l0, l9l4

The body of MRS. LAURA LINDSEY-PAVLOPOLUS,
formerly of Leon, who died at
Magdalena, N.M., on Saturday, August 29, was
brought to this city for
burial last Friday.

MRS. PAVLOPOLUS, while suffering from an
attack of extreme melancholia,
fired a shot from a revolver directly through
her heart, death being
instantaneous.

Although she had undergone much trouble and
disappointment during the
later years of her short life, the immediate
cause of her death is
traced back to the loss of her son, CHESTER,
in February of l9l3, since
which time she grieved constantly. During
the last eighteen months she
had, contrary to her previous cheerfulness in
the face of trouble,
expressed in conversation and letters her
wish that she might through
God's mercy be enabled to lay aside the
burdens of life, but no one of
her relatives or friends realized until too
late the terrible strain
under which she was fighting her fruitless
battle against the relentless
tyrant, grief, which promised sweet
forgetfulness in self-obliteration.

Brave to the end and thoughtful of the
patient mother and delicate
sister who formed the last links in the
broken chain of her sad life,
she planned and struggled on until the day
came when assurance was hers
that no pecuniary burden should be added to
the grievously heavy weight
of sorrow to descend upon the ones she loved
so dearly. Her financial
accumulations, incontestible life insurance
policy and little treasures,
valuable only as momentoes and tokens of
happy bygone days, were placed
with her characteristic order so that they
might surely reach the ones
for whom she had intended them.

The good men and women of the little town,
who knew and esteemed her as
a pleasant, friendly newcomer, industriously
pursuing her daily
avocation, opened their big hearts and left
nothing undone which could
serve to lessen the bitter pain of the mother
and sister. The Masons
and members of the Eastern Star Order of
Magdalena were especially
active in helpful ministrations, and the
pastor and practically all the
citizens voluntarily rendered such services
as they could.

MRS. METTIE PITMAN-LINDSEY and MISS LOUISE C.
LINDSEY, mother and sister
of MRS. PAVLOPOLUS, were summoned from Rice,
Ariz. where they were
employees of the Government in the Indian
School at that place, and
accompanied the remains to Leon. Their
intense grief is in a measure
mitigated by the memory of the glad reunion
and fortnight's visit they
enjoyed with their dear one in the month of
July.

Funeral services were held at the home of
WILL GARDNER on North Church
Street Saturday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock,
conducted by Rev. J.W.
Johnson, Pastor of the Christian Church, who
spoke words full of comfort
to the bereaved ones. A large number of
persons were present to pay the
last tribute to one whom they remembered as a
generous, warm-hearted
girl. Many lovely floral offerings attested
the kindly recollections of
friends. Beautiful and appropriate vocal
music was rendered by a
quartet composed of MRS. W.A. BOONE, MRS.
L.M. SMITH, MESSRS. J.W.
ROWELL and ED KEMP, with MISS GRETCHEN HURST
at the piano.

Interment was in the Leon Cemetery between
the father who died in l897
and the idolized son who passed away eighteen
months ago. A picture of
her boy and a little bunch of
faded-tear-stained letters were buried
with her.

The pall bearers were FRED B. and CHARLES E.
HILLIKER, of Des Moines,
EARL, LESTER, LYNN and ARTHUR GARDNER, of
Leon, six cousins, who deeply
reciprocated the love held for them in life
by the still form they so
tenderly lowered into the friendly bosom of
mother earth.

May she find beyond the grave the peace she
longed for in this life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OBITUARY

LAURA LINDSEY, second daughter of HIRAM A.
and METTIE PITMAN-LINDSEY,
was born in Leon, Ia., April l6, l88l, and
departed this life at
Magdalena, N.M., August 29, l9l4, aged 33
years, 4 months and l3 days.

On August 3, l897, she was united in marriage
at Mt. Ayr, Ia., with MR.
C.E. BOWMAN, of Leon, and to this union was
born one son, CHESTER C.,
who died February l3, l9l3. The death at the
age of fifteen of this
manly son, his mother's pride and hope of
future happiness, added a
crushing weight of sorrow to the already
heavy burdens of her young life
and to the day of her death she was the
victim of periodical despondency
which could not be overcome. Despite the
tender, loving attentions and
consolation of those who knew and loved her
best, her life was very
lonely and her greatest wish, frequently
expressed, was to be laid
quietly to sleep 'neath the green grass of
the hillside beside her boy
whose passing on had dimmed for her forever
the bright visions of future
comfort and happy, tranquil days to come.

In l9ll an attack of lung trouble caused
physicians to order her to
Colorado, where she met and was married on
June 4, l9l2, to MR. JOHN
PAVLOPOLUS at Golden, Colo. For almost a
year past she had been living
at Albuquerque, N.M., going recently to the
dry air and healthful
climate of Magdalena, a peaceful little
mountain town of the same state.

LAURA was a loving, devoted mother, an
affectionate daughter and sister,
and leaves behind her to the ones who
understood and dearly loved her,
innumerable testimonials of her unselfish
devotion in the midst of
overwhelming personal sorrow. Early in life
she joined the Christian
Church in Leon and always retained a firm
belief in the goodness and
mercy of God.

She is survived by a mother, MRS. METTIE
PITMAN-LINDSEY, a sister,
LOUISE C. LINDSEY, of Rice, Ariz., and
numerous other relatives, who,
trusting in the beautiful promises of the
Redeemer, find comfort and
hope in the thought that He who marks the
sparrow's fall, knows best.
To Him we leave it all.

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Copied by Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert
February 2, 2002