WILKES-BARRE RECORD ALMANAC

DEATHS IN LUZERNE COUNTY

	Among prominent men and women claimed by death from December 1, 1949, to November 30, 1950

The following information is posted for the sole purpose of family research within the 
Yahoo Group, The Court House Gang. It is not to be published to any other web site, 
mailing list, group, etc. without prior written permission and guidelines from the group 
owner, to ensure that proper credit is given to the group and all of our volunteers that 
helped with this project.


DECEMBER, 1949

	4, G. Mason Foote, 75, manager of city office of Western Union; George R. Stecker, former county 
recorder of deeds; 5, Dr. Edward R. Myers, 71, Pittston physician; 9, Thomas H. Cooke, 68, former Nanticoke 
councilman; 12, Col. Walter C Sterling, 73, agent for Lehigh Valley  Coal Company; 15, Rev. Rees J. Rees, 
pastor emeritus of Bethesda Congregational Church; 19, Frank P. Slattery, Sr., attorney; 20, Dennis F. Crolly, 
74, veteran newspaper and advertising man; 22, Attorney Wesley E. Woodruff, 82, associate editor of Times-
Leader, Evening News; 29, Franz N. Rupprecht, 58, mining engineer.

JANUARY, 1950

	4, Stanley Barney, 77, former building contractor; 7, Rev. Martin Jordan 66, Parsons native and pastor 
of St. Patrick’s Church, Olyphant; 8, Rev. Martin Fleming, pastor of Holy Name Church, Swoyersville; 9, Dr. 
Homer B. Wilcox, physician; 13, Rev. Basil Pelesh, chorister at Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Church; 14, 
Charles H. Blochberger, 60, Kingston insurance agent; 24, James F. McKeone, general superintendent at Vulcan 
Iron Works; 31, Thomas F. Carmody, 59, former city policeman.

FEBRUARY

	5, Charles F. Wharen, 72, White Haven attorney; 6, Byron J. Lewis, West Pittston native and newspaper 
executive; 9, Mrs. William Davis, Nanticoke funeral director; 10, Rev. Francis Straub, pastor of St. Boniface 
Church; 12, William Powell, 89, former Wilkes-Barre Record employe; 17, Joseph Whalen, manager of Scranton 
Spaulding Bakeries plant; 22, Burrell Swortwood, instructor at Kis-Lyn Industrial School; 24, Mrs. Ellen 
Dingwall, retired city school teacher; 25, Joseph Sherman, 42, Hazleton attorney; 26, Rev. Harry Fichter, 
former pastor of East End Primitive Methodist Church.

MARCH

	8, Karl G. Kuehn, 49, Dallas druggist; 11, Dr. Andrew W. O’Malley, 66, Clarks Summit physician; 19, 
Isidor Blum, city merchant; William J. Singleman, 71, music supervisor of Hughestown Schools; 25, Bernard 
Banks, 81, retired city health officer; Rev. John J. Hefferan, 80, pastor of St. Leo’s Church, Ashley; James 
F. Hanlon, 45, druggist; 27, Dr. Donald Newsbigle, 33, chiropodist; Rev. Richard A. Rinker, 75, pastor 
emeritus of Pittston First Presbyterian Church.

APRIL

	2, James S. Williams, 75, former Edwardsville chief of police; 3, Theodore Stanton, Wilkes-Barre 
Record printer; 4, Nicholas Tate, 79, retired Forty Fort building contractor; 9, Dr. Maurice B. Ahlborn, 73, 
city physician; 18, William E. Willingale, 76, chairman of board of Hanover National Bank; 20, W. Ivan 
Rowbotham, Kingston plumbing contractor; 22, Dr. John Bauer, Plymouth chiropractor; 23, John C. Hermansen, 68, 
former State Representative of the Fourth Legislative District; S. Dayton Beishline, 52, supervising principal 
of Huntington Township schools; 25, Patrick J. Conway, former county commissioner; 26, Robert Zarr, Sr., 78, 
former official of Edwardsville and Nanticoke banks.

MAY

	6, Dr. Thomas Fleming, 75, Exeter physician; 15, Andrew M. Hontz, 72, retired Sweet Valley teacher; 17, 
Peter B. Jeckell, Ashley constable; 19, Michael P. McGroarty, furniture dealer; 20, Joseph Sudnick, 48, 
Plains banker and insurance man; 21, Dr. Paul Schmidt, Nanticoke dentist; 24, Dr. Cornelius A. Mundy, city 
dentist; 31, Attorney Edward N. Noll, 69, deputy register of wills and assistant clerk of Orphan’s Court.

JUNE

	1, James W. Jones, music supervisor of Larksville Borough schools; 3, Martin Bohinski, former Plains 
school director and justice of the peace; 5, Mrs. Cora J. Rhys, wife of county assessor; 8, James t. Brennan, 
68, attorney; 12, Karl F. Reudelhuber, retired city fireman; 13, Willard R. Long, 76, retired Wilkes-Barre 
Record printer; Dr. Edward J. Sullivan, retired Forty Fort osteopath; 16, Max Bergsmann, president of Keystone 
Bottling Company; 20, L. J. Van Laeys, 63, vice-president and general manager of Wilkes-Barre Publishing 
Company; 21, James A. Goldsmith, 71, president of Hess, Goldsmith and Company; 26, Mrs. Jessie Sleppy, former 
Kingston tax collector; 30, Joseph Morris, former county treasurer and register of wills.

JULY

	1, Peter A. Mollahan, retired assistant city assessor; 5, Patrick F. Walsh, former Pittston Councilman; 
11, Rev. Emil Semetkovsky, 66, pastor of St. Mary’s Greek Rite Catholic Church, Kingston; 17, J. Harley 
Gritman, president Gritman Throwing Corporation; 30, Rev. Thomas W. Carmody, Catholic priest.

AUGUST

	3, Michael Gray, 45, Plains, former professional baseball player; 8, John T. Jones, 50, Wilkes-Barre 
Transit Corporation engineer; 13, Benjamin F. Morgan, 87, member of prominent family; 16, Catherine E. 
Hourigan, retired city school teacher; William J. Thomas, Luzerne hotel proprietor; 22, Henry r. Owens, 
Kingston, retired mine inspector; 30, Thomas Haughney, former Miners Mills school director and borough 
treasurer.

SEPTEMBER

	1. Ralph Ferdinand, Hazleton, Hazle-Maid Baking Company official; 5, Frank J. Flannery, 57, attorney; 
7, Frank Z. Donn, 71, retired Plymouth undertaker; 8, Martin L. Kaiser, 82, retired plumbing contractor; 14, 
Rev. Samuel McDowell, 77, pastor emeritus of Douglass Presbyterian Church; 20, James Craig, Pittston 
contractor; 24, Mrs. Lily Lewis, widow of Bear Creek lumber king; 25; Theron G. Osborne, 88, retired Luzerne 
Borough supervisor of schools; 28, Stanley Raykowicz, city detective; Dr. Byron H. Creasy, 62, city dentist; 
29, Ben Fierman, 50, valley businessman; Nathan Schleicher, 50, Nanticoke businessman.

OCTOBER

	2, Harry J. Ryan, 64, president of First National Bank of Pittston; 8, John Gilroy, 96, prominent 
Pittston resident; 9, Capt. John C. Hegarty, 78, Spanish-American War veteran; 11, Mrs. Hedwig Slazyk, 105, 
Avoca; 13, Rev. John P. Lenahan, 49, priest; Patrick Naylis, member of Edwardsville School Board; 15, Dr. 
Joseph V. Connole, 61, physician; 16, Fred Brokenshire, Sr., 77, former Kingston burgess; Daniel Hurley, 102; 
18, Dr. Almon C. Hazlett, 59, physician; 20, William G. Sites, retired Pittston funeral director; 21, Rev. 
George E. Harrison, Sr., 58; 26, Arthur E. Meixell, 60, former burgess of White Haven.

NOVEMBER

	10, Torrence MacHenry, 84; Mrs. LaRoy Ziegler, YMCA president; 12, Mrs. Eliza B. Taylor, 83, mother 
of Police Chief J. Russell Taylor; 16, Dr. Ernest W. Hogg, 60, veterinarian and city meat inspector; 24, 
B. N. Davis, 61, founder of Kingston Provision Company; Louis F. Rave, Jr., 63, Plymouth, retired jeweler; 25, 
Mrs. Sam B. Hirshowitz, civic leader.


Typed by Robin and Cynthia Stone,  May / June 2004