Soncrant, Jerry Eugene (1944-1964)

SONCRANT, HOPE, BUTLER, WEST

Posted By: Debbie Greenfield (email)
Date: 5/12/2017 at 10:35:03

Daily Freeman Journal, Webster City, Iowa, Monday, August 17, 1964

Jerry Soncrant, 19, Dies of Injuries In Truck Collision

Injuries suffered Saturday in a two-truck collision near Luverne, Minn., proved fatal Sunday morning to Jerry Soncrant, 19-year old Webster City youth, who died about 9:15 a.m. Sunday at Sioux Valley hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The young Webster Cityan, a former standout Lynx athlete, would have been 20 years old today.

Soncrant was a passenger in a truck driven by Marlin Smith, 27, also of Webster City, which collided Saturday morning with a milk truck near the intersection of Highway 70 and a gravel road seven miles south of Luverne. The tragedy occurred as the milk truck, driven by Eldon Lurson, 24, of Sibley, Iowa, pulled off the side road and onto the highway as the Webster City truck, loaded with scoreboards from Naden Industries, came along.

All three men were taken to the Luverne hospital for treatment, but Soncrant because of his critical injuries, was immediately transferred to Sioux Falls. Smith who sustained severe cuts and bruises, was discharged from the hospital yesterday and returned home. Lurson, who also sustained head cuts, was discharged Sunday from the hospital.

Smith and Soncrant had left early Saturday morning from the Naden plant here with a load of scoreboards for distribution in Washington and Oregon. Both the truck and the boards were demolished by the collision.

Funeral services for Jerry Soncrant will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Foster funeral home with the Rev. A.E. Rau officiating and with burial in Graceland cemetery.

Jerry Eugene Soncrant, son of Gordon and Opal (Hope) Soncrant, was born August 17, 1944, at Kansas City, Mo. In 1952, the family moved to Britt, Iowa, where they resided for two years.

For the past 10 years the Soncrant family had resided in Webster City where Mr. Soncrant has been administrator at the Hamilton county hospital. Jerry attended Webster City high school and was graduated in 1962. He attended Iowa State university at Ames for one year and attended Webster City Junior college, being graduated here in 1964. He had planned to attend Iowa State again this fall.

He was united in marriage August 2, 1964, to Kathryn Sue Butler, and the couple had been residing with Mrs. Soncrant's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Butler, Route 3, Webster City.

He is survived by his wife; his parents; one sister, Sharon; one brother, Kerry, both at home; his grandmother, Mrs. Mary West of Kansas City, Mo.

Jerry was a member of the Evangelical United Brethren church. He was very active in sports and starred in football with the Webster City Lynx during his high school career. He served as president of his senior class.