Obituary of David W O'Dell, Crawford County, Illinois Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives Copyright 2000 Cindy McCachern Obituary of David W. O'Dell   19 Feb. 1915, Oblong (IL) Oracle   David W. Odell Dies   Succombs to Operation Performed for Appendicitis and Other Ailments   Oblong has lost, in the general terms of the street, her most popular and useful man in the person of David W. Odell.  A couple weeks ago he was stricken with severe attack of bowel disorders which laid him up for a few days.  He grew better and thought he was well on the way to recovery when he took suddenly worse which resulted in his being taken to St. Anthony's Hospital at Terre Haute a week ago last Sunday.   He was at once operated upon for appendicitis which revealed other minor causes of illness.  The operation was quite successful and the patient seemed to be getting along very well but on Sunday evening he took a violent coughing spell which broke the stitches holding the wound together.  The breaking open of the wound showed that a low vitality had prevented a reuniting of the tissues and from that time on he gradually grew worse until the end.   Death came at one o'clock Tuesday p.m.  Arrangements were immediately made to return home, arriving Tuesday night at 10:03.  A large number of friends and relatives went to Sullivan in the evening to meet the funeral party and accompany them home, including Rev. M. C. Foltz and wife and J. A. Vance, cashier of the First National Bank and a number of Odd Fellows.   A very large crowd gathered at the depot to meet the party and preceeded by the Odd Fellows a cortege marched to the home of the deceased on East Main Street, the family and friends being conveyed by automobile.   Mr. Odell laid in state in the parlor from Wednesday morning till Thursday noon where many friends and admirers called to see and shed a tear over the loss of "so valuably a friend."   The deceased has been actively engaged in the business affairs of Oblong for a quarter of a century, except for a short duration while residing at Robinson.  Mr. Odell was born on a farm, two miles southwest of Oblong, coming to town in 1891 when he with his brother Dennis purchased the W. E. Gooch stock of general merchandise.  Dennis was already here and was running a limited grocery store.  This was united with the portion of stock purchased of Gooch and together as the firm of Odell Bros. launched out upon the uncertain sea of business.   From that time on in various businesses, located at different places in town the deceased was actively engaged until his earthly tenure was cut short.  Thus in 1900, after trying to pursuade Zach Wirt and others to start a bank, did the Odells conceive the idea of such a business venture.   In an exceedingly limited way was the Oblong Bank, a private institution started.  Its first home was in the rear of Odell Bros. store, the same building now being occupied by Kirk Bros.  The business grew very rapidly from the start and the Odells, the far seeing business men that they proved to be, saw the immediate necessity of providing permanent quarters.  This was done when the room now being occupied by the Fisher grocery was erected for a banking house.  The business contineud to grow and a change was made to its present quarters on Range and Main streets, the removal resulting from a disposition of the property formerly occupied.  They purchased the old Mucamore drugstore corner where they erected the present large business block, the corner of which is being occupied by the bank.   The business of the bank continued to grow very rapidly and in 1909 the private bank was reorganized as a national bank with a capital of $25,000.  D. W. and D. J. Odell, J. M. Sheets, Henry Wirt, Dr. L. E. James, Dr. J. W. Kirk and O. B. Kirtland being the incorporators.  D. W. Odell was elected president, which position he filled from date of institution of the private bank till his death.  Inside of four months the capital was necessarilly increased to $50,000 and includes a list of stock holders of the leading farmers, business and retired men of the country and city.  And thus did Mr. Odell realize his dream of a great banking business center.   The deceased likewise was always interested in anything purporting to be in the interest and upbuilding of the town.  He was at the time of his death president and director in various business enterprises in Oblong, some of which he realized a neat profit and others sustaining severe losses in order to try the propositions out to see if they would be of any value to the town he loved so well.   His place in the business, social and religious life of the community will be hard to fill.  As councellor, Mr. Odell was many times appealed to and whatever the condition he was ready to do his best. If it was financial aid he assisted if he could; if it was legal advice he gave it if he knew; if it was sympathy it flowed sumptuously, many such tears being shed by him with his auditor in the council room of his institution.  Such a man was Dave Odell.  Whatever the condition he endeavored to meet it where he could do the most good.   Much more could be truthfully said of this golden charactered man and without a single padded word but his true worth to this community will be more severely felt than it can be read in these columns.  It sums itself up in the few words that he was a friend to anyone in need and a true councilor to those that souhght his aid.   Not the least of his admirable traits was his love of his home and family.  Married three times with three sets of children, there was no home anywhere where tranquility and the spirit of home love existed so completely as in the home of the deceased.  In this interest Mr. Odell burdened himself with a load of life insurance for the protection of his family, amounting to $45,000, which is liberally and evenly distributed among his children and companion.  In addition to this he had amassed property and stock to the value of perhaps $30,000 to $40, 000.   Mr. Odell was a member of the Modern Woodmen, carrying a policy of three thousand dollars, the Knights of Pythias and the Odd Fellows. He was not, however, much of a lodge man, always preferring to spend his time with his family when not necessarily engaged in business pursuits.   He was a prominent member of Central M. E. church in which he took an active interest during the fund raising and building campaign.  He was a member of the board of trustees and always exercised the prerogatives of his position to the very best interests of his church. Funeral services were held from the churchof his membership yesterday afternoon and was the largest attened of any funeral, perhaps ever held in Oblong.  The services were conducted by the Rev. M. C. Foltz who beautified the character of his splendid subject and discoursed most interestingly, logically and appropriately for the occasion. All that remained mortal of the deceased was deposited in the family lot in Oblong cemetery. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb Archivist with proof of this consent. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Cindy McCachern