Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Zeller, Robert Louis February 15, 1955
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Nan Wheaton wheaton1624@yahoo.com January 4, 2014, 11:54 am

Ionia Sentinel-Standard - Wed. Feb. 16, 1955

DEAD MAN WAS IONIA RESIDENT

  The Zeller Referred to in the Following Story Formerly Resided in Ionia, 
According to Information Received From the Associated Press.
  A Check at the Ionia City Clerk's Office Revealed that Robert Zeller Resided 
at 338 1/2 North Dexter Street, and Left Ionia in March 1952.
  The Bodies are Being Brought to Ionia By Harry Myers and Funeral Services 
Will be Held Friday Afternoon.

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP)- A 19- month-old  boy tipped over a can of gasoline Tuesday 
night, touching off an explosion that killed six persons in a basement home at 
Highland Heights, 18 miles west of Pontiac.

The blast wiped out a family of four and killed two members of another family.

Dead on arrival at Pontiac General Hospital were: Samuel Fowler, 29; his 
3-year-old daughter Jeannie; Robert Zeller, 28; his wife Anita, 22; and their 
two children, Gloria Jean, 7 months and Robert Jr., 19 months.

State police said neither the blast nor the resulting fire caused the six 
deaths. The victims suffocated when the sudden blast snuffed out all the oxygen 
in the room.

The explosion occurred while Zeller and Fowler were cleaning automobile parts 
with gasoline in Zeller's three-room home. It shattered windows and caused 
heavy damage to the inside of the house. Flames erupted momentarily but died 
out quickly for lack of oxygen.

Patricia Zeller, 16-year-old sister of Zeller, described the tragedy.

Firemen broke through the wreckage to find the victims, dead or dying, 
scattered about the living room. 

Additional Comments:
Services: Fri. 18 February 1955
Easton Cemetery #543



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