Lawrence Ralph Stuart (1937)

STUART

Posted By: Treva Patterson
Date: 5/3/2007 at 18:14:01

The Winterset Madisonian
Winterset, Iowa
Friday, October 8, 1937

SERVICES FOR RALPH STUART WEDNESDAY

Lincoln Township Road Man Crushed to Death Under Tractor

Funeral services for Ralph Stuart, Lincoln township road maintenance worker, who was crushed to death Monday when his caterpillar tractor overturned, were held Wednesday from the Tidrick funeral home in charge of the Rev. A. R. Weed of Carl. Burial was made in the King cemetery southeast of Winterset.

The fatality occurred as Stuart was working on the road that runs down the Middle River bluff just west of the Guy Adams farm, on a steep hill. The "cat" which Stuart was driving overturned into the grader ditch, pinning him under the cab. Clarence Baker, a farmer who was working on the road, witnessed the accident and was the first to reach the scene. Stuart's chest was crushed and he was apparently unconscious. Shortly after Baker's arrival, the tractor's gas tank caught fire and the flames licked at the dying man. Baker worked himself into physical exhaustion trying to free Stuart and had to be taken home under a physician's care. The body could not be removed from under the tractor for almost an hour.

Stuart was 42 years of age and was the son of William Stuart of Winterset. He leaves three children. His former wife lives at Peru.
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Coordinator's note: First name taken from his Iowa Death Certificate.

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