Beitelspacher, Henry 1911-1960

BEITELSPACHER, KLEIHAUER, GARDNER, HAUDENSCHIELD

Posted By: Janet Schuldt, Volunteer (email)
Date: 12/21/2010 at 11:44:36

Le Mars Globe Post, Le Mars, Plymouth, Iowa, USA Thursday, April 14, 1960

Henry Frederick Beitelspacher, route 3, Le Mars, 48 years of age, who resided in Grant Township will be buried Saturday, April 16 in Grant township Lutheran cemetery. Funeral services will be held at 2 p. m. on that day at Christ Lutheran church with Rev. B. Nagel officiating. Mauer funeral home in Le Mars is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Beitelspacher was born August 21, 1911 in Sioux County, Reading township. He was a lifelong resident of Sioux and Plymouth county and was a farmer and construction worker. He had resided on the present farm in Reading Township since 1940. His marriage to Etta E. M. Kleihauer took place April 14, 1936 in Grant township. His parents were Reinhold and Rose Gardner Beitelspacher.

Survivors include the widow; 8 children, Arley, Shirley, Betty, Sharon, Leonard, Larry, Henry, Alvin all at home. Also surviving is his mother, Mrs. Rose Beitelspacher of Le Mars; two brothers,.John of Maurice and Ernest of rural Struble: two sisters. Mrs; Sam (Caroline) Haudenshield. LeMars and Mrs. Louis (Louise) Toel of Le Mars.

Preceding him in death was his father and a sister, Emma. He was a member of Christ Lutheran Church.

Sheriff Scholer said that the victim died of a self-inflicted shotgun wound made by a 12 gauge single shot shotgun. He died 4 p. m. Tuesday at the Sacred Heart hospital. The sheriff was first called Sunday when the victim's wife and children called him and asked him to reason with Beitelspacher. Monday morning he was called again. Mr. Beitelspacher had driven all of the children from the home and the only ones there when the sheriff got there with deputy Jim Merles, was a brother-in-law and a son. They made a search of the house and could find nobody there. There is no basement in this house and sheriff Scholer said they were sure nobody was hiding there then.

However the sheriff came back at 2 p. m. Monday and in the evening after Mrs. Nick Feller, a neighbor caught a glimpse of him in the house.

The sheriff was told that Beitelspacher had told members of his family that .Sheriff Scholer would never take him alive. This caused a hunt for the shotgun and a rifle known to be in the home. The shotgun was gone and the sheriff checked Brunsville and Craig to see whether the man might have sold the gun to get money.

At first Beitelspacher was said to be drunk but the sheriff said he was sober when he shot himself, an unusual feature because when a person acts in a threatening way when he is drunk he is usually no danger to anybody when he sobers up. Early Tuesday morning Mrs. Nick Feller talked to Beitelspacher and told him he'd better give up to the Sheriff when he comes. Beitelspacher then withdrew into the house. Later the Sheriff and deputy Mertes were in the neighborhood to attend to some other business and went into the farmyard to see if anything was going on. While they were outside the house they heard a shot and rushed into the house to find the victim lying on a davenport in the kitchen. The gun was lying on the floor next to the davenport and was still smoking when the officers got there. The sheriff radioed to Le Mars for an ambulance.