Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Tower, Osmond Holmes 1943
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Sandy Heintzelman sheintz@iserv.net April 14, 2011, 5:34 pm

Ionia Sentinel Standard, 11 Sep 1943

Tower Rites Held Friday; Long Career

Funeral services for Lieut. Col. Osmond Holmes Tower, 70, were held in Lansing 
Friday from the Gorsline-Runciman funeral home at 1:00 p.m. and the body was 
brought to Ionia for burial in the family lot at Highland Park cemetery, where 
the grave services were held by Ionia lodge 548, B.P.O.E., with Exalted Ruler 
Richard Hawley and other officers of the lodge carrying out the Elks ritual 
service.

Rev. Henry A. Hanson, rector of the Episcopal church, officiated at the service 
here, and bearers were fellow member of the Ionia Elks, K.R. Smith, Fred. T. 
Wortman, J.B. Pierce, Dan Campau, Henry Voelker and George R. Banhagel.

Military Respects

Accompanying the funeral party here were Gen. Leroy Pearson, Col. John S. 
Bersey of the Michigan military department, and Col Samuel D. Pepper, head of 
the selective service in the state, and long-time associates of Lieutenant-
Colonel Tower in military service. Commander Don Oyler of the John F. Girard 
post, American Legion, represented the American Legion at the grave service, 
and Frank Wirtz sounded taps.

Attending the service here were Miss Margaret Tower and Mrs. W. G. Gaegley of 
Lansing, daughters; Mr. Gaegley, Osmond dean, a grandson, of Lansing; Dr. and 
Mrs. Elbert A. Tower of Cedar Springs, Mrs. Faye Klopp? of Jackson, Mrs. Henry 
Frost of Grand Rapids, and Mr. and Mrs. Horace Lynnes of Lansing.

Services at Lansing were conducted by Rev. W. S. Carpenter.

Lieutenant-Colonel Tower was a .. [unreadable].. division, Michigan National 
guard, with which he served in France in World War I, and for 40 years had been 
connected with Michigan military activities.  He retired in 1937 because of ill 
health, and had been incapacitated for months by an apoplectic stroke suffered 
in February, 1942.

In World War

He served as a private in the United States infantry during the Spanish-
American war, with Company F, 32nd Michigan volunteer infantry.  Subsequently 
he served from June 19 to November 1, 1916 on the Mexican border with the 
Michigan National guard, and from July 10, 1917 until July 2, 1919, he was on 
the staff of the Red Arrow division overseas.  During World War I he 
participated in the Alsace defensive, the Aisne-Marne, Aisen-Aisne, and Meuse-
Argonne campaigns, and was with the army of occupation in Germany as finance 
officer of the 32nd division.

Colonel Tower was a member of the American Legion, serving as finance officer 
in 1919; member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, serving as commander of the 
Michigan commandery for one term; a member of the 32nd Division Veterans’ 
association, serving as finance officer in 1922; a member of Ionia lodge, 548, 
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
America.  He was also a member of the Michigan State Bar, with a law degree 
from the University of Michigan, and a member of the sigma Alpha Epsilon 
fraternity.

Practiced Law

While attending the University of Michigan Colonel Tower met and married Miss 
Gertrude Brown of Bay City, who died in 1931, and was buried in the family lot 
here.  Following graduation from the University of Michigan he practiced law 
for several years in Grand Rapids and then went to Lansing.

He was born in Ionia April 3, 1873, the son of Mr. and Mrs. James F. Tower, 
attended schools here, and was graduated from the Ionia high school with the 
class of 1892.


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