Death date from tombstone

Printed in the August 24, 1972 Enterprise, Blair, Nebraska

Boy, 9, Drowned Near Blair Bridge Saturday Afternoon

Mother Almost Drowned When Pair Stepped Off Ledge In River

A nine-year-old lad drowned and his mother narrowly escaped drowning Saturday afternoon when they stepped off a ledge on a sandbar in the Missouri River. The accident occurred on the Iowa side of the river at the Blair Bridge. Kenneth Sigsby, Jr. was the victim.

The body was not found until Monday when it was located nearly fifty miles downstream near Bellevue.

Kenneth and his four brothers and sisters and his parents had been living in a car which had been stationed near the river in the South Omaha area where Kenneth’s father worked. The family had searched for housing which they could afford but had been unable to find any and had been taking advantage of the warm weather to live in the car and save money for colder weather which will come in a few weeks. Mr. Sigsby worked for Ford Bros. Van and Storage Co. as a furniture packer.

Saturday they decided to have an outing so they drove to Blair where they crossed the bridge to spend some time in the small park near the Iowa approach to the bridge. The mother and Kenneth were wading in the water near the bank. Kenneth, not realizing the dangers, got out too far on the sandbar and stepped off a ledge into deeper water and the current. His mother made an effort to rescue him but failed. Her husband reached for the boy but was not successful and then turned his efforts to saving the mother. With some difficulty she was pulled ashore but the boy had disappeared.

The family, originally from Amarillo, Texas, had drifted about for some time. They had lived a year at Springfield, Missouri and had been in Omaha several months. For a short time they had a house, but were asked to move and since that time they had lived in the family car.

The parents of both Mr. and Mrs. Sigsby are deceased and they have no other living relatives.

~~~~Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Association. Newspaper clippings on file in the Public Library, Blair, Nebraska ~~~

FindaGrave memorial # 82431896