Harold Dunmire (1960)
DUNMIRE, BOYD, MARK, CLARK
Posted By: Pat Hochstetler (email)
Date: 4/16/2007 at 07:29:09
Winterset Madisonian - November 30, 1960
Winterset, IowaHAROLD DUNMIRE TOSSED 300 FEET
Was Standing on Main Line Tracks When Hit by Passenger Train
Harold Dunmire, 46, of Earlham, was killed there about 1 p.m. Tuesday when hit by a speeding east-bound passenger train, as he stood on the mainline tracks.
The accident occurred near where the Earlham main street crosses the Rock Island tracks.
Dunmire's body was thrown nearly 100 yards through the air by the train, which normally passes through Earlham at full speed.
Frank Wengert of Earlham, member of a railroad section crew, witnessed the death. He told investigating officers that Dunmire was walking down the tracks, as the train came up behind him from the west. As the train approached, Wengert said Dunmire glanced over his shoulder several times. He then stopped, turned and faced the approaching train, and threw up both arms just before the impact.
The body was taken to the Earlham Funeral home.
Coroner Paul Eggleston of Winterset was called to the scene. After an investigation, he officially reported the death as a suicide.
Dunmire leaves a wife and five children all living in Montana. He had spent his early life in the Earlham community, later lived in Montana for some time, but had been back at Earlham for the last several years. He was employed there as a farm laborer.
------------------Dexter Library Obituary Collection
Dexter, IowaHarold Dunmire Killed by Train
Harold Dunmire, 46, Earlham, was killed Tuesday afternoon in Earlham when he was run over by the east bound Rocket near the depot.
Witnesses told Coroner Paul E. Eggleston that the man was walking along the tracks apparently watching for the train and appeared to walk in front of it deliberately. Eggleston said he would record the death as a suicide.
Dunmire was formerly married to Ellen Boyd, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Boyd of Dexter. He is survived by three sons, two daughters, a brother and his foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Dunmire. He was a veteran of World War II.
Private funeral services were held Thursday afternoon at the Evans funeral home at Earlham.
OBITUARY
Harold Mark Dunmire was born Feb. 13, 1914 in rural Dallas Co., Iowa, north of Earlham, the son of Sydney and Grace Mark. He died Nov. 29, 1960 in Earlham.
The mother of little Harold Mark died when he was two years of age and his father died when he was 11. At the age of seven, Harry and Mae Dunmire took him into their home. He attended rural school and the Penn Center Methodist Church where he became a member in 1923.
After he became a grown man, Harold was adopted by the Dunmires and took their name. He entered the United States Army in March of 1941 and served his country throughout the weary years of World War II with long service abroad.
In August of 1949, he married Ellen Boyd of Dexter, Iowa and to this union five children were born: twins, David Lee and Daniel Mark; Terry Michael; Dana Lynn; and Karla Marie.
Harold was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Marie and Greta; and his foster mother, Mae Dunmire.
He is survived by his wife, who is on the way to Iowa, and five children, all of Butte, Montana; his foster father, Harry Dunmire of Earlham; a brother, Claude Mark of Earlham, and through adoption, a half brother, Ronald Dunmire of Iowa City; and two half sisters, Barbara Clark and Veda Dunmire, both of Earlham.
The funeral services for Mr. Dunmire were held Dec. 1, 1960 at the Evans Funeral Home in Dexter. Pastor Robert D. Williams conducted the rites. Burial was at Penn Center Cemetery.
http://iowagravestones.org/gs_view.php?id=50458
Madison Obituaries maintained by Linda Griffith Smith.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen