George W. Sellers died very suddenly on Tuesday morning of heart failure, and the sad news brought sudden grief to us all for while he had been sick for some time past, yet the general impression was that he was improving and only a week before he was uptown and selected his fall goods from O. E. Berg’s samples. There were other complications, but the action of the heart was very weak and while perfectly conscious and apparently no worse than usual, he dropped back dead while his wife and the nurse were giving him a drink of water. The funeral will be held this afternoon at 4 o’clock and the service at the house will be conducted by Jordan Commandery. The blue lodge will then take charge and conduct the last sad rites at the grave. Mr. Sellers was born at Mt. Vernon, Ohio almost 44 years ago and located in Fremont, Neb. in 1881. He was married to Miss Adda McBride in 1891 and soon after went to Little Rock, Ark. where he remained about a year and a half. He then came to Blair and opened an exclusive gents’ furnishing house which was a success from the start. His wife and two children, beside his mother, one brother, who is expected out from Mt. Vernon, and two sisters, survive him. He carried a policy for $4,000 in the Bankers’ Life, having recently dropped about $15,000 he was carrying in other companies on account of the heavy expense. He was a kindly man and an ideal citizen whose loss will be keenly felt not only by his family and friends but by a large share of the public generally.

#2-18 Aug., 1902 - The Pilot - George W. Sellers

The funeral of G. W. Sellers held from the family residence last Thursday was unquestionably the largest attended funeral ever held in Blair, people coming from miles around to attend. The procession extended from the cemetery to the city. Not only was a fitting tribute paid by the large attendance and by the businessmen in closing up their places of business, but the floral offerings were both expensive and beautiful. Those noticed by The Pilot reporter were five large, handsome pieces given by five societies, namely: The A.F & A.M., Jordan Commandry, Adoniram Chapter, Eastern Star and Mystics. Among other floral offerings we noticed those given by F. M. Castetter, F. H. Claridge, Blair Clothing Co., Mr. and Mrs. Harry Higley and Miss Cain, Mesdames Anna Stewart, E. S. Beaty, W. G. Harrison, Paul Peterson, Lou Vaughan, C. Mencke, Mr. and Mrs. I. C. Eller. There were still many other floral offerings of beautiful designs, but the names of donors we were unable to learn. They were all beautiful tributes of the departed, and were fully appreciated by the family. Mr. Sellers was a man almost without a fault and without an enemy in the world. In his business affairs he was very methodical and left it in splendid shape for his successor whoever it may be.

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

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