Louis G. Berkheiser 1880-1942

BERKHEISER, KNAPP

Posted By: Debbie Truitt (email)
Date: 4/5/2017 at 18:02:46

Obituary From “Ottumwa Courier,” Monday, November 30, 1942:

Up Curtain!

And Heavy Hearts Carried On The Show While A Friend Lay Dead Backstage. . .

Performers with the Polack Bros. Circus proved themselves real troupers here Saturday night when they continued on with the second half of the show at the coliseum, knowing that one of the best-loved members of the organization had died suddenly behind stage during intermission.

The deceased was Louis G. Berkheiser, 63, an attendant who had been with the show since its formation 10 years ago. He was stricken by a heart attack and died as he lay on a cot at the rear of the coliseum.

Although a doctor was summoned from the audience, the body was kept in the wings until after the performance so as not to cause a disturbance.

Officials of the circus said that Berkheiser was a close friend of all members of the show. The actors, despite this fact, held to the old adage that “the show must go on.”

Berkheiser’s home was at Buchanan, Mich. His survivors include a sister, Mrs. Roy Knapp, Buchanan, and two brothers, Allen Berkheiser and William Berkheiser, both of South Bend, Ind.

Short funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m. today, conducted by the Rev. Paul C. Alberts of St. Patrick’s church. Burial was in Shaul cemetery.

Berkheiser’s death came on the third night of a four-day stand the circus was making here under sponsorship of the Shrine lodge.