Neville Waite 1903-1941

WAITE, HENDERSEN, HANSEN, DEWELL, CHRISTENSEN, ABRAMS

Posted By: Sharon Elijah (email)
Date: 4/30/2020 at 16:26:04

12 June 1941 - The Anamosa Journal

OXFORD JUNCTION--Funeral service for Neville Waite, 38, operator of the Sabula-Cedar Rapids bus line who was drowned Sunday evening in the Wapsipinicon river four miles west of here, was held Wednesday afternoon at the English Lutheran church in Oxford Junction.

Rev. W. A. Wolgemuth, pastor of the church, officiated and vocal music was furnished by E. A. Grimwood and Mrs. Louis Ingwersen. Burial was in the Mayflower cemetery here.

Casket bearers included George Volk, Lee Stowers and Ray Mowry, Oxford Junction, E. L. Millsap, Lyle Jenkins and Edwin Vaugh, Wyoming.

Drowning occurred between 7 and 8 p.m. Sunday when Waite, his wife and two children stopped near a spot known as the "new bridge" and Waite went for a swim despite the fact that the river was swollen by recent heavy rains.

A good swimmer, he came out of the river once, shouted to his family and then disappeared from view. Mrs. Waite and the children waited in their truck when it began to rain. When he failed to reappear, Mrs. Waite drove to Oxford Junction and notified Sheriff Henry Eichhorn. Search for the body, which was not found until Monday afternoon, was made under the supervision of Deputy Sheriff R. D. Cooley.

Body was found Monday about 4 p.m. by Capt. Melvin "Bud" Thompson of the Cedar Rapids fire department. It was located about a mile down stream from where Mrs. Waite last saw her husband alive.

Coroner's inquest was held on Tuesday morning at Wyoming by F. L. Harrington, county coroner, but was continued until a report on results of an autopsy held Monday evening are received from Iowa City.

In addition to operating the new bus service from Sabula to Cedar Rapids, Mr. Waite was proprietor of the Waite freight line running on alternate days from Oxford Junction to Cedar Rapids and to Davenport.

Born near Maquoketa in 1903, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Waite, he was married in 1927 to Mabel Hendersen. He is survived by his parents, Maquoketa, his widow and three children, Shirley, Wayne and Jackie, four sisters, Mrs. August Hansen, Oxford Junction; Mrs. Ernest Dewell, Wyoming; Mrs. Andrew Christensen, Washington, D.C., and Mrs. Fay Abrams, Olin, and one brother, Elsa, Maquoketa.