Obituary of William Roy Robertson, Jr., LaSalle Parish, Louisiana


Copied and Submitted by :Kathy LeMay Kelly, P.O. Box 219, Trout, La. 71371

From The Jena Times - Olla Tullos Signal; 
Micro Film at the LaSalle Parish Library, Located in Jena, LaSalle Parish, La.
Thursday, August 26, 1954


Many Thanks to The Times - Signal for allowing the following to be added to
the Archives.
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Outing of Family Ends in Tragedy; Jena Man Drowns

Funeral services were held in Jena this (Thursday) morning for William Roy
Robertson, Jr. 27-year-old airman electrician on leave from his naval station,
who drowned Tuesday afternoon in Concordia parish while on an outing with
family and friends.

The Rev. J. R. Miller, pastor of the East Jena Baptist church conducted the
final rites which were held at the church. Interment followed in Hair Cemetery
on the Aimwell road with arrangements handled by Kinner and Stevens Home for
Funerals, Jena.

Dr. J. H. Pankey, Concordia parish coroner, returned a verdict of death by
accidental drowning after he had viewed the body shortly after it was
recovered from Workman's bayou in Concordia parish about two miles from
Monterey where the bayou joins Black River Lake. Following the coroner's
request, the body was taken to Comer Funeral home in Ferriday prior to being
transported to Jena.

Mr. Robertson is survived by his wife, the former Mavis Ganey; his parents,
Mr. and Mrs. William Robertson, Sr. all of Jena; three sisters, Camille and
Betty Jo Robertson, both of Jena, and Mrs. Cecil Jones of Eden and two
brothers, Charles of Alexandria and James David of Jena.

The body was recovered from the stream by volunteers a short time after the
tragedy. A rescue squad from the Natchez, Miss., fire department rushed to the
scene but did not arrive until after the body had been recovered.

Members of the family were reported as saying that Robertson's wife and sister
were on the edge of the bank, and the sailor was swimming with his brother,
Charles. But they were swimming in opposite directions, and his brother could
not reach him before he went under.

The members of the Robertson family, from Jena and Alexandria, with friends,
were holding a family reunion and outing on the bayou at the time of the
tragedy. It was the first time the family had been together in nine years,
according to the brother and others there. It was stated by his brother with
whom he was swimming that young Robertson was an excellent swimmer, and he
could not account for the fact that he went under so quickly.

Dr. Pankey, said there was no evidence of a heart attack, and Robertson had
not been ill.

He was a member of the East Jena Baptist church, and well known in LaSalle
Parish, where he lived all of his life.

The