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Thorman, Max, 1908-1938

THORMAN, MERLEY, KREBS, VERRIPS

Posted By: Lydia Lucas - Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 20:33:36

From the Sioux Center News, March 31, 1938:

Granville Man Killed in Car Accident

Max Thomas[sic], Granville, died in the Alton hospital Thursday evening as the result of an automobile accident which happened about midnight last Wednesday. Thorman was driving a 1935 V-8 and in attempting to pass the car in which Mr. and Mrs. Al Schnee of Alton were driving two miles east and one mile south of Alton, hooked the rear left fender, brushed passed the left side of the car, then rolled over ahead of the Schnee car.

Thorman was picked up unconscious and taken to the Alton hospital where he died, never regaining consciousness. With him at the time of the accident were Earl Meuhl and Ben Stalman, both of Granville. Stalman, a Grandville banker, was dazed in the accident and wandered from the scene. He was found Thursday morning by a farmer near Carnes. Both men and Mr.and Mrs. Schnee were bruised but none were seriously hurt.

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From the Alton Democrat, April 1, 1938:

Max Thorman of Granville Loses Life In Crash

Max Thorman, prominent Granville farmer, son of Mrs. George Thorman, died from injuries received when the car Mr. Thorman was driving collided with another car driven by Al Schnee of Alton, about four miles west of Granville on the crossroad to Remsen late Wednesday evening.

Ben Stallman, riding with Mr. Thorman, was cut about the head and bruised. Earl Muehl, another occupant, escaped uninjured, although he was badly shaken. Max Thorman suffered concussion of the brain and internal injuries. He was taken to Larson’s hospital at Alton where he passed away Friday at one o’clock A.M.

Max Thorman was the only son of Mrs. George Thorman and was thirty years and two months old at the time of his death. His father preceded him in death May 16, 1935.

Max Thorman was born January 12, 1908 on the farm where he resided till his death. He was married to Miss Florence Merley of Sheldon January 20, 1930. To this union two children were born. Surviving are the widow, one son, Gerald, one daughter, Shirley, his mother, Mrs. George Thorman, three sisters, (Clara) Mrs. Benjamin Ahlers of Adrian, Minn., (Margaret) Mrs. Henry De Vries of Ashton and (Helen) Mrs. Tony Hunt of Granville and by his aged grandmother, Mrs. Catherine Thorman.

Funeral services for Mr. Thorman were held at St. Joseph’s Catholic church at 9 o’clock Monday morniing with Rev. Gerlemann officiating. Burial was made in St. Joseph’s cemetery. Pallbearers were: Jake Spieler, Jerome Grady, Raymond Bunkers, Clarence Van Bergen, Joseph Ney and Frank Bernard.

Relatives from out-of-town attending the funeral were: Mr. and Mrs. Henry Merley and family of Sheldon, Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Ahlers and children of Adrian, Minn., Mr. and Mrs. Henry De Vries and family, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Tremmel, Mrs. John Tremmel, Mr. and Mrs. Jake Tremmel of Ashton, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Thorman of Ashton, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Thorman and family of Wilmont, Minn., Mr. and Mrs. Nick Ahlers, Jr., Nic Ahlers, Sr., of Gilbertsville, John Ralling of Kansas City, Mr. and Mrs. Jno. Schwebach and son Merlin of Paullina.

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From the Sioux County Capital, March 31, 1938:

Accident Fatal To Granville Man
Max Thorman Dies in Car Wreck

On Wednesday of last week, when three Granville men, Max Thorman, farmer, and driver of the car, Ben Stallman, banker and Earl Meuhl, son of the restaurant man were returning from a bowling match at Remsen at about midnight they ran into the car of Alphonse Schnee, who with his wife was returning from a visit to the country and were going in the same direction. The Thorman car took the Schnee car along for about a hundred and fifty feet, then released it, rolled over several times and landed in the middle of the road, wheels up. The wreck occurred close to the farm home of Mike Hansen, and the Schnees called Mr. Hansen who hastened to the rescue. It was found that Thorman was badly injured and that Stallman was badly scratched and bumped, but not dangerously, while Meuhl escaped with a few slight scratches.

While Hansen assisted the men out of the car and made ready to take the badly hurt Thorman to the Alton hospital, Stallman, who seems to have been dazed, disappeared into the night and could not be found, and it was thought that some passing motorist had picked him up and that he had gone home. However Sheriff Synhorst was notified and he, Deputy Sheriff Dykstra and attorney T. E. Klay scoured the countryside and inquired at the Stallman home, but he was not at home and could not be found.

After wandering away in his dazed condition for about eight miles, Stallman came to his senses on the farm of T. Koster, south of Carnes, and Koster took him to his home at Granville. Mr. Hansen took the seriously hurt Thorman to Larson’s hospital in Alton where he died the following day at about eleven p.m. Thorman was a farmer living near Granville, was married and the father of two small children.

The fenders were torn off the Schnee car on one side, and axle and wheel broken and other minor damages. The Thorman car is a complete wreck.

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RESEARCH NOTES

A brief news note about the accident in the Hawarden Independent (March 31) says that his car skidded in loose gravel and upset.

A notice in the Sioux County Capital (April 7, 1938) authorizes Florence L. Thorman, administratrix, to sell his farm property, and enumerates it. Unfortunately, about 1/3 of the notice is cut off at the left-hand margin. Chris Thorman (relationship not stated) was appointed trustee of the estate.

His death certificate has him as Max Ernest Thorman; born in O’Brien County, Iowa, January 12, 1908; parents Geo Thorman, born in Illinois, and Anna Kreeps, born in Alton, Iowa; died at 12:30 a.m. March 25, 1938 from cerebral contusion, bruises from violent force (automobile accident); buried at Granville.

His FindaGrave.com page gives his full name, Maximillian Ernest Thorman, and his birth date and place as 20 Oct 1908, in Granville, Sioux County; buried in Saint Joseph Catholic Cemetery, Granville; parents George Peter Thorman (1877-1935) and Anna Elizabeth Krebs Thorman (1882-1952); wife Florence Loretta Merley Verrips (1910-2003, married 1930); children Gerald George Thorman (1930-2018) and Shirley Ann Thorman Steuben (1935-1969). There is a photo of his headstone (Max E. Thorman). Florence’s FindaGrave page shows her second husband to have been Marion A. Verrips (1908-1974, married 1949).

Ancestry.com has a birth index record for Max Thorman, parents Geo Thorman and Anna Krebs, born 12 Jan 1908 in Caledonia, O’Brien County.

Their marriage certificate has groom Max Thormann, age 23, farmer, Granville, Iowa, parents George P. Thormann and Anna Krebs; bride Florence Merley, age 20, Sheldon, Iowa, parents Henry Merley and Margaret McGranahan; married January 20, 1930


 

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