Riley, Charity Schermerhorn – 1890-1954

GROSVENOR, JACOBS, RICHMOND, RILEY, SCHERMERHORN

Posted By: Diana Wagner
Date: 6/25/2017 at 12:31:33

Rites Wednesday Mrs. Jesse Riley
Services will be Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in the Toland funeral home for Mrs. Charity E. Riley, 63 of 816 North Third Avenue East, who died following injuries received in an auto accident Saturday night.
The Rev. Benson Compton of the Assembly of God church swill conduct the services. Burial will be in Newton Union cemetery.
Mrs. Riley is survived by her husband, Jesse, still critically injured in the hospital; a daughter, Mrs. Delmar Grosvenor, Kellogg; two sons, Alfred Jacobs, Newton, and William Riley, Long Beach, Calif.; a sister, Mrs. John Richman, Newton; four brothers, John Schermerhorn and Cecil Schermerhorn, both of Newton, Harold Schermerhorn of Oklahoma City, and Arthur Schermerhorn, Paramount, Calif.
She was a life-long resident of Jasper county, born here Nov. 27, 1890.
Source: Newton Daily News; Monday, August 16, 1954, page 5

Mr. and Mrs. Riley Will Be Buried Wednesday P.M.
Funeral services for Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Riley, 816 North Third Avenue East, will be Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Toland Funeral home.
Their deaths came as the result of injuries received Saturday night in a head-on auto collision about 5 miles east of Newton on Highway 6.
Mrs. Riley died shortly after being hospitalized. Her husband died early Monday evening.
Services will be conducted by the Rev. Benson B. Compton of the Assembly of God church. Burial will be in the Newton Union cemetery with military rites performed for Mr. Riley by American Legion Post 111.
Survivors
Mr. and Mrs. Riley are survived by a daughter, Mrs. Delmar Grosvenor, Kellogg; two sons, Alfred Jacobs, Newton, and William Riley, Long Beach, Calif.
Mrs. Riley is survived by a sister, Mrs. John Richmond, Newton; Four brothers, John and Cecil Schermerhorn of Newton, Harold Schermerhorn, Oklahoma City, and Arthur Schermerhorn, Paramount, Calif.
Mr. Riley is survived by a brother, Charles, of Ottawa, Kan.
Pallbearers
Pallbearers for Mrs. Riley will be Roy Schermerhorn, James Schermerhorn, Edgar Schermerhorn, Frank Gregg, Max Mahan, and Harold Russell.
Pallbearers for Mr. Riley have not been named yet.
Mrs. Milburn Chevalier and Mrs. James Diamond will be in charge of flowers. Marion Welle will be the soloist accompanied by Mrs. Paul Murdy.
Mr. Riley was 67 at the time of his death and had been a trucker in Jasper county for almost 25 years.
Mrs. Riley lived all her life in Jasper county and was born Nov. 27, 1890.
Source: Newton Daily News; Tuesday, August 17, 1954, page 1

Jasper Car Crash Kills Two
Two Jasper County residents died this weekend as the result of traffic accidents on Highway 6.
Their deaths brought the Jasper death toll to 10 persons in 1954.
Dead are: Mrs. Charity Riley, 63 of Newton, and Glenn Davidson, 28 of Colfax.
Still in the hospital in critical condition are: Joseph Neibur, 22 of Colfax, William Renfrow, 29 of Colfax; Jesse Riley, 68 of Newton; and Howard Kydd, 42 of Kellogg.
Hit Head-on
Mrs. Riley died as the result of injuries suffered when the car her husband was driving was hit by a vehicle driven by Howard Kydd as the Riley car attempted to turn off Highway 6, according to Sheriff Ray Barber.
The accident occurred at 8 p.m. Saturday about six miles east of Newton. The Riley car was traveling east on the highway and had started to cross the road into a farm drive on the north side of the road when the cars collided, Barber said.
Mrs. Riley died in Skiff Memorial hospital about 3 a.m. Sunday.
Glenn Davidson was killed Sunday at 7 p.m. about seven miles west of Colfax when the car he and two passengers were riding in went out of control.
The car was traveling “at a very high rate of speed,” according to Highway Patrolman Max Schmeling.
Over Four Times
“It went out of control for 732 feet,” Schmeling said, “rolling over four times in the process.” All of the men in the car were thrown out.
Riding in the car with Davidson were Joseph Neibur and William Renfrow. Neibur suffered a broken neck and Renfrow received a concussion. A brain specialist was called in from Des Moines for treatment, according to Schmeling.
Howard Kydd, who was injured in the accident Saturday night suffered broken ribs, a mild concussion and multiple lacerations.
A Johnson-Murdoch ambulance collided with a car driven by Vern Millgate in the 500 block of First Avenue East on the way to the wreck Saturday night.
Millgate was fined $10 in justice court that morning on a charge of failing to yield the right of way to an ambulance.
Traffic Jams
In both accidents, curiosity-hungry drivers jammed the accident scenes and the highway for several miles on either side of the wrecks creating a traffic problem.
The accident east of Newton in which Mrs. Riley was killed was further complicated by the breakdown of a semi-trailer truck about 500 yards west of where the accident occurred.
Sheriff Ray Barber stayed at the location for several hours directing and clearing up traffic after the injured were taken away.
In the Colfax accident, Patrolman Schmeling said he had to wait two hours for the crowd to disperse before he was able to take pictures. Patrolman Harold Trimble was left at the scene two hours directing traffic.
Robert Johnson, who drove one of the ambulances in from the accident east of here, said he was forced off the road twice on his way to the hospital, in spite of the fact his ambulance had three flashing red lights and the sirens going full blast.

Photo caption: Mrs. Jesse Riley died following injuries received in this car and her husband was seriously injured. The vehicle came to rest after the collision on the opposite side of the road and facing the direction from which it had come. Inside the car, the steering wheel was forced back about three inches from the front seat and the dash board crumpled in the middle. The windshield was knocked out completely.
Source: Newton Daily News; Monday, August 16, 1954, page 1