D. Gillette Commits Suicide

The sad news reached Blair Monday that L. D. Gillette, formerly of this place but now of Kearney, Neb., had committed suicide by hanging. His death occurred Sunday and the body was found some time during the night hanging from a support in the basement of his home.

Mr. Gillette will be well remembered in Blair, having married Miss Rosa Brenbarger, a sister of Mrs. John Christensen of the Blair Telephone Co.

In his early life Mr. Gillette was a fine upstanding young man of fine physique and manly character, well liked and respected by all who knew him.

After his marriage he went west and was engaged in mining and while thus occupied suffered an accident by explosion which nearly cost him his life and deprived him of his eye sight. The wife met the calamity like a heroine and did her best to keep the husband and one infant son in comfort and she succeeded.

Later Mr. Gillette made a study of piano tuning at which he became ? and which profession he has followed for a number of years past.

Of late he has been in poor health and it is thought that this caused him to become despondent which ended so sadly.

The people of Blair who remember both Mr. and Mrs. Gillette will sympathize deeply over the sad ending of one who had so patiently borne an affliction which would cause the bravest of us to shrink and prefer that the Almighty take us rather than live in eternal darkness.

Gillette, L.B., 55

Published in Tribune on 5 February 1925

Friends of L.B. Gillette, formerly of this city, but for the past several years a resident of Kearney, will learn with regret of his death at his home last Sunday. He was fifty-five years of age and after suffering an accident in a mine blast in the west which destroyed his sight a number of years ago took up piano tuning and became an expert at it. He has made frequent trips here to tune pianos and had been in very poor health of late. He is survived by his widow and one son. His widow was a Brenbarger girl , a sister of Mrs. John Christensen of this city. Mrs. Christensen attended the funeral and spent a few days in Kearney.

Note: Since the actual death date was not given, the news article date was used.