Randall Scott Lathrum (1980)
LATHRUM, CHICKERING, GOODWIN
Posted By: Pat Hochstetler (email)
Date: 2/10/2013 at 07:53:11
Winterset Madisonian – September 17, 1980
OSHA Investigates…
Ditch Cave-In, Two DieFriends, relatives and courageous volunteers who toiled unsuccessfully Saturday to rescue two young men from dying beneath tons of wet dirt, are slowly recovering from the tragic accident. Crushed to death Saturday morning when a rain-soaked sewer trench caved in were Randall Scott Lathrum, 19, of R.R. 1, Winterset, and Larry Lyle Hager, 18, of 408 S. Seventh St. in Winterset.
Lathrum and Hager were laying pipe in the nine-foot-deep trench for Drake Construction Co. The tragedy occurred about 10:55 a.m. Saturday at the project site on Highway 92 near Fourth Avenue in north Winterset. Several tons of freshly dug dirt, which was piled about five feet above the north side of the trench, fell into the ditch where the two men were working. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene.
Funeral services for Randall Scott Lathrum were held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, at the First United Methodist Church in Winterset with Rev. Byron Ayers officiating. Burial was at the Winterset Cemetery with the following casket bearers: Tim Baker, Jeff Jones, Brian Gambrall, Keith Halderman of Des Moines, Todd Olson and Jeff Jackson. Honorary casket bearers were Greg Davis, Scott Emerson, Scott Morgan and Quentin Morgan.
Born on July 14, 1961, in Winterset, he was the son of Ed and Sherry Chickering Lathrum. He grew up on his parents’ farm five miles northeast of Winterset and graduated from Winterset High School in 1979.
Except for working in the Oklahoma wheat fields this past summer, he lived near Winterset all of his life. He had many friends who described him as a happy person who enjoyed the outdoors. Tim Baker, a close friend, said Lathrum was an “all around nice guy.” He liked motorcycles and enjoyed horseback riding.
Following graduation from high school, he worked several jobs, including at B.B. & P. Feed and Grain. This past summer, Lathrum and Baker travelled to Oklahoma to work in the wheat fields during harvest. Upon returning to Winterset, Lathrum began working at Drake Construction.
Surviving are his parents; a sister Angela and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Lathrum and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Goodwin, all of Winterset.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Ross Chickering, and Vivian Lathrum.
Gravestone Photo
Madison Obituaries maintained by Linda Griffith Smith.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen