KILLED BY FUMES FROM BASE BURNER

MRS. JOHN DIXON, 73, HAD BEEN COUNTY RESIDENT FOR MANY YEARS

Mrs. John Dixon, 73, passed away Monday night at her farm home in the Ft. Calhoun vicinity, her death being attributed to poisonous fumes cast off by a hard coal burner.

Held snowbound by the first winter storm of the season, Mrs. Dixon’s death was not discovered until late afternoon of the following day. Her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Curtis Dixon, and a neighbor, Mrs. John Autzen, became alarmed when they were unable to reach her by telephone, and upon investigation they discovered the fatal accident.

Mrs. Dixon, who lived alone, apparently had built a fire in the living room base burner just before going to bed, then had shut the damper. It is believed that she awoke, ill from the effect of the fumes, but she was too weak to summon help and collapsed almost immediately. The home was still full of fumes when her body was found.

As Frances May Gochenouer, Mrs. Dixon was born in Illinois October 5, 1870, and came to Blair as a child. She was married to John Dixon, Blair, March 12, 1889; the couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1939.

With the exception of two years spent in Chase county, the Dixons spent their entire married life on farms in the Fort Calhoun and Blair vicinities.

They were the parents of four children, a son dying in infancy. Other members of the family are Curtis of Calhoun, Ira of Laramie, Wyo., and Fred of Blair. Mrs. Dixon was preceded in death by her husband, who died April 9, 1942. Survivors include the immediate family: six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and the following sisters: Mrs. Lou Latta of Blair, Mrs. G. G. Hines of Lincoln, Mrs. O. M. Ireland of Plattsmouth and Mrs. Mary Knowington, Omaha.

During her lifetime, Mrs. Dixon was a prominent member of the Eastern Star. She also held membership in the Ft. Calhoun Presbyterian church.

Funeral services, scheduled for Friday afternoon, will be held at the Ft. Calhoun Presbyterian church at 2:30 o’clock, with burial in Blair cemetery.

#2-11 Nov., 1943 - The Enterprise

COAL FUMES KILL CALHOUN FARM WOMAN

Victim of Asphyxiation. Found Dead Of Gas Fumes From Stove

HUSBAND PASSED ON IN APRIL, 1942

The Calhoun vicinity and friends and relatives over the county were shocked with the sad news that Mrs. John Dixon, living southeast of Calhoun, had been found dead in her home, having died sometime during the night of November 9th.

The husband had passed away on April 9, 1942, and Mrs. Dixon had lived alone at the old home since that time. The son, Curtis, resided but a short distance and operated the farm. Daily, Curtis or some of the family made their visits to the Mrs. Dixon home, always looking carefully to her welfare and comfort.

Mrs. Dixon it appears had retired at her usual time on the night of November 9th. The home showed that after her duties of the day were complete, that she had retired in a peaceful, contented frame of mind to enjoy her rest. She had among other duties closed the dampers on her hard coal burner even to turning the damper in the pipe. This last act was apparently the cause of the tragedy as the gas, having no outlet in the stove pipe, poured out in the room. she was overcome and found dead the next morning.

Mrs. Dixon was born October 5th, 1870 in Kewanee, Illinois, and when a child the family moved to Blair where she grew to womanhood and met and married her husband, John L. Dixon, on March 12, 1889. After their marriage they lived for a time at Grant, Nebraska, but returned to this county in 1890 where they took up farming north of Blair.

About twenty years ago they bought the farm south of Calhoun and since then this has been their home. In 1939 they celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary, entertaining their friends at a dinner at the Koopman Inn, and later in a hall hired for that purpose. It was a joyous occasion and must be a pleasant memory to their children who were present and assisted in the event.

Three sons survive, Ira of Laramie, Wyo.; Curtis on the home farm, and Fred of south of Blair. Also six grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Besides the children, three sisters survive, Mrs. O. M. Ireland of Plattsmouth, Nebraska; Mrs. Latta of Blair; and Mrs. G. G. Hines of Lincoln.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, November 12th at the Presbyterian church in Calhoun of which she was a member with Rev. J. D.Johnson and Rev. D. D. Kennedy, both of Blair, officiating, and interment will be made in the Blair cemetery.

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

Find a Grave Memorial #113378952