James Roy McKee (1921)

MCKEE

Posted By: Pat Hochstetler (email)
Date: 11/12/2014 at 14:37:03

Earlham Echo
Earlham, Iowa
Thursday, December 8, 1921
Page 1

Young Farm Hand Dies Suddenly

James Roy McKee, a young man who has been working almost continuously for Riser Bros. since the first of October, died suddenly at their home at 2:30 a.m. Sunday after being sick but an hour. Mr. McKee came here from his home at Thorpe, Wis. to secure work and thereby to support his parents and their family during the winter, they apparently being on the verge of destitution. He was employed by Riser Bros. at corn picking until a short time ago, when he went to work for Wm. Caudle, residing east of the Sears school house. It was here that he first became ill with acute indigestion and congestion of the kidneys, and was under the physician’s care for some time, until he seemed to have improved. On the Monday before his death he returned to the Riser home to complete his recovery, being as yet unable to resume work. The fatal attack came upon him shortly after midnight Sunday morning, and he died before medical aid could be given him, uremic poisoning being assigned as the cause.

A brother, residing in Illinois, arrived here on the evening train Monday and accompanied the body on the trip east the same evening. Burial was made at Stanley, Wis.

The circumstances of the death of this young man, aged 31 years, two months and five days, were unusually sad. He was a good type evidently of an excellent family and died among strangers while making a heroic effort to guard his parents from poverty. It is significant that when he was paid off by Riser Bros. he obtained a draft for all but two dollars of the total amount and sent it to his mother. His late employers have nothing but praise for the character and industry of James McKee. He was a hard worker and his habits were beyond reproach.

James was an ex-service man and was wounded in the battle of Chateau Thierry, receiving a scalp wound from a machine gun bullet that kept him in the hospital until the signing of the armistice. A dozen of his comrades in arms escorted him to the depot Monday evening and placed his body on the train for its long trip back to the broken-hearted mother.