Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Sprout, William R. September 1, 1920
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Marilyn Ransom mlnransom@chartermi.net May 9, 2010, 9:46 pm

The Portland Observer, Thursday, September 2, 1920
Headlines:  William R. Sproat, Boxer and Athlete is Victim of Unconquerable 
Disease.  Was Hurt While in Military Service.  Bad Bump Received at Camp Dix, 
N.J., Had Fatal Effect; Is Buried in His Army Uniform.  Anemia Fatal to 
Soldier of The Late War.

Reduced from a strong, well built, athletic type of man to nothing more than a 
shadow as a result of a long illness with pernicious anemia, William R. 
Sproat, a young man who had seen many palmy days in the boxing arena and who 
at one time was expected to reach the professional class, died at 1:15 
Wednesday morning at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Sproat in 
this village.  Despite the best medical care and treatment, Mr. Sproat’s 
vitality had been wasting away steadily since he came here from Grand Ledge 
last February, and the end had been almost momentarily expected for several 
days.  The unfortunate young sufferer had been bedfast for three months and to 
all appearances fully realized that the end was not far off.

Mr. Sproat’s illness is attributed to a bad bump he received when he was 
wearing the khaki in the service of his country.  He was walking around in a 
darkened barracks at Camp Dix, N.J., when he heard a startling noise behind 
him and turning quickly struck his right temple on a door sill with violent 
force.  This occurred in the winter of 1918.  From that time on he was never 
quite himself again, either mentally or physically, and acquaintances who had 
seen him within the past few months were struck with surprise at his emaciated 
appearance.  

Mr. Sproat was just rounding out his 29th year at the time of his death, 
having been born in the village of Portland October 28, 1890.  He had spent 
practically all of his life here with the exception of the time he was in the 
military service during the late war.  He enlisted in 1917, at Lansing, was 
sent from there to the Carolinas and from there to Camp Dix, N.J. where he 
spent a large part of his time giving boxing instructions to the soldiers.  He 
had been in the ring many times himself and had been victorious in many 
contests.  Only last year he and his two brothers, Charles and Max, gave a 
boxing exhibition at the harvest festival given by the business men of 
Portland.

After receiving his honorable discharge from the military service Mr. Sproat 
went to Grand Ledge, where he remained until coming to Portland last February.

Surviving Mr. Sproat are the parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Sproat, two brothers, 
Charles and Max Sproat, and a sister, Lucilee, of Portland, a sister, Mrs. 
Charles Stewart, of Muir, and another sister, Mrs. Edward Sweet, of Grand 
Ledge.

Funeral services were held at the Sproat home at 2:00 o’clock this (Thursday) 
afternoon, Rev. Floyd L. Blewfield, pastor of the M.E. church and chaplain of 
the Dale E. Hyland Post, American Legion, officiating.  Six world 
war “buddies” of Mr. Sproat—members of the Hyland post—escorted the body to 
the grave and acted as bearers.  The young soldier was buried in his army 
uniform, beside the grave of his sister, Addie Sproat, who died here a number 
of years ago.


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