Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Kern, John Arwin 1950 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/mi/mifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Sandy Heintzelman sheintz@iserv.net August 28, 2014, 10:44 pm Belding Banner-News, 3 Aug 1950 Large Stone Kills Former Local Star Friends and relatives of John Arwin Kern, 25, were shocked to hear of his accidental death near Greenville, Sunday, July 30. “Jack” as he was better known here, was a star athlete at Belding high school, taking part in football, basketball and track events. Following his graduation in 1942 he enlisted in the USNR and became a “Plank Owner” (member of the original crew) of the aircraft carrier USS Franklin. He remained with the ship throughout the war, receiving seven battle stars and a special citation from Admiral Halsey, commander of the Pacific Fleet, among other service honors. On receiving his honorable discharge at the close of the war he returned home where he married Miss Eleanor Corneil of Greenville, with their small daughter Sue Ann, survives him. Besides his wife and child he also leaves his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John W. Kern, Belding; two brothers, Merrill and Gary, Belding; one sister, Mrs. Donald Dimmick, Ionia; and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Otis Kern of Greenville, as well as many other relatives and a host of friends in this area. Funeral services were conducted, with a military honor guard from the Belding American Legion Post, at Brown’s Funeral Home, Greenville, Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. The Rev. S.C. Parsons officiated at the ceremony. Interment was in Montcalm cemetery. The young Navy veteran was the victim of a freak accident which occurred as he and his father-in-law, Fay Corneil, of Greenville, in the company of Ralph Walker, also of Greenville, were returning from a late evening swim at Baldwin Lake. The trio were enroute to the Corneil home and when passing through the Forest Home cemetery adjoining the lake, Walker was reported to have attempted to scale a 20-foot-high monument but failed in several attempts. On the basis of a dare Kern was reported to have reached the pinnacle which was adorned with a large stone ball. In grasping the large ball it became dislodged from its resting place and plummeted to earth pinning the youth to another marker at its foot. Kern was pronounced dead on arrival at the Greenville hospital and Dr. I.F. Lilly of Stanton, coroner, reported death was caused by a broken neck and internal injuries. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/ionia/obits/k/kern27929nob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/mifiles/ File size: 2.8 Kb