Sorrell, James Hendrix – 1914-1952

SORRELL

Posted By: Diana Wagner
Date: 7/13/2021 at 21:35:41

James H. Sorrell Dies by Hanging, Found in Hotel
James Hendrix Sorrell, 37, Newton, was found dead this noon at a local hotel where he took his life by hanging.
County Coroner Ralph Toland said the man had thrown a rope over a water pipe in the hotel room where he was living. He apparently died about mid-morning.
Sorrell was born Sept. 16, 1914. During World War II he was in the Marines and received the Purple Heart medal in July 1944 for wounds suffered in the Pacific theater. He was a member of the American Legion at Laurel.
According to officials no suicide note was found in the hotel room. Sorrell was divorced. According to his papers, he worked for a time as a watchman in a Des Moines hotel.
Officials were checking further on his identification this afternoon.
Source: Newton Daily News; January 3, 1952

Funeral Saturday For J. H. Sorrell
Funeral services for James Hendrix Sorrell, 37, who took his own life here yesterday by hanging himself in a local hotel, will be held tomorrow afternoon at 3:45 o’clock at Toland Funeral Home.
Tentative plans are for burial in the veterans’ plot at Newton Union cemetery.
Sorrell, a Marine veteran of World War II, formerly was a Maytag Co. guard and the last two months was employed in Marshalltown. A note was found in his room in Marshalltown, County Coroner Ralph Toland said, which indicated Sorrell was in a despondent mood.
Source: Newton Daily News; January 4, 1952