Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Owen, Gordon 1918 ************************************************ 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 September 25, 2019, 1:39 pm Ionia Daily Sentinel, 15 Oct 1918 Gordon Owen Died Today in Nebraska Message of Young Ionian’s Death Follows Closely One Received of Illness One can read of the hundreds of deaths all over the United States and the prevalence of the epidemic of Spanish influenza but hardly realized it fully until it strikes suddenly among us. When a message came at two o’clock that afternoon from Omaha, saying that Gordon Owen was dead, it was not only a shock, but hard to believe. A letter from Gordon was received Monday afternoon by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Owen, saying “I am down with the influenza, in hospital but getting along fine.” This was followed at eight o’clock this morning by a wire from the hospital in Omaha, saying “Gordon is in a critical condition and wants to see his father. Come at once.” Mr. Owen received this message just in time to catch the 8:29 train for Grand Rapids, but at two this afternoon came another message saying that the young soldier was dead. It was hoped to catch Mr. Owen in Chicago, and prepare him for the blow that is to fall. Gordon was born in Carson City, and came when a little one with his parents to Ionia county, his father having charge of the building of the Wagar dams up the river. The family later moved to Ionia, where Mr. Owen finally became manager of the Ionia Electric Light and Power company, and Gordon naturally became a competent electrician. A few years ago he went to Howell, where he was electrician for the Howell Electric Motor company, and returning to Ionia he was for a year in the Ionia Electric office. Last March he decided to enlist and was sent to San Antonio aviation field, where he remained until he was transferred to Florence aviation field in Omaha, Nebraska. He was a good soldier and has given his life to his county, winning stripes as a corporal during the all too short period he was in the service. He was a member of Ionia commandery Knights Templar, and it is understood a still higher degree after his arrival in Omaha. He was a bright, keen, aggressive young man, just the kind a community loves to honor, and unstinted sorrow and sympathy go to this stricken home, where a father and mother lost their only child as a contribution to the fortune of war. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/ionia/obits/o/owen10070gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/mifiles/ File size: 2.8 Kb