Payette County ID Archives Obituaries.....Levers, Stewart 1915
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Cheryl Hanson ihansonb@fmtc.com December 9, 2005, 4:15 pm

Payette Enterprise 7-29-1915
Payette Enterprise
Payette, Idaho
Thursday, July 29, 1915

STEWART LEVERS COMMITS SUICIDE

WELL KNOWN BUSINESS MAN RESORTS TO DEADLY SHOTGUN TO PUT AN END TO HIS TROUBLE

Stewart Levers, the well-known Payette coal merchant committed suicide between 
twelve and one o'clock Monday afternoon, by shooting himself through the heart 
with a shotgun in the back room of his place of business.

The dead body of Stewart Levers was found by his 17-year-old son Lloyd, lying 
on the floor in the back room of his place of business at one o'clock Monday 
afternoon, upon opening the door between the office and wareroom, when he 
returned from his lunch. An investigation subsequently made by Dr. J. C. 
Woodward, deputy county physician, went to clearly indicate that it was a case 
of suicide, that the deed had been committed with a 12-gauge shotgun found by 
the body, that death had been instantaneous and had evidently occurred only a 
few minutes previous to the discovery of the body.

Dr. Woodward questioned several persons who were present when he reached the 
scene of the tragedy and made full notations of the condition of the body, the 
surroundings and other circumstances, after which he permitted the removal of 
the dead man to the undertaking establishment of Wood & Spaulding, to await 
the arrival of the county coroner.

All the circumstances pointed unerringly to the fact that Stewart Levers made 
deliberate preparation for the ghastly work which his mind had decided upon. 
He used his own gun, firing the fatal shot by touching the trigger with a yard 
stick in which he had cut a notch. He evidently slipped into the building 
during the noon hour while his son Lloyd was at lunch, as the door between the 
front and back rooms had been open during the forenoon and he had not been 
seen about the building or at his home since 11 o'clock Sunday night and the 
time when his dead body was discovered.

Coroner Farris, upon his arrival later, made an investigation and was 
satisfied that it was not necessary to hold an inquest. There was found in the 
pocket of the deceased a brief note bidding his wife "goodbye" to his family 
when taking his departure from his home Sunday night.

Stewart Levers had been a resident of Payette some 15 years and had been 
engaged in the coal business almost continuously during all that time. He was 
honest and straightforward in the conduct of his business affairs, was public 
spirited and liberal to a fault, idolized his children and from appearances 
endeavored to gratify their every wish, and but for a habit which was his only 
enemy, might today be living the useful life he was fitted for. He leaves a 
wife and six children to mourn his untimely death, to whom will go out the 
heartfelt sympathy of every citizen of this community.

Funeral arrangements have been made for today at 2:30 o'clock, to be conducted 
from the family residence.

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/id/payette/obits/l/levers449nob.txt

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