CRAIG, William Joseph - Fountain County INGenWeb Project

Source: Unknown newspaper - article found in scrapbook of obituaries collected by Fauniel Hershberger,  - typed by: GA

Veedersburg, Ind. - Services for William Joe Craig, 29, of Veedersburg Route 4, will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Fishero Funeral Home here. The Rev. Conley Rowland will officiate and burial will be in Rockfield Cemetery. Mr. Craig was pronounced dead on arrival at Culver Hospital, Crawfordsville, yesterday. Death was attributed to a gunshot wound in the stomach. Crawfordsville police said Mr. Craig was shot accidentally by his estranged wife, Nellie, when she opened the door of her auto which was parked on a lot where she is employed in Crawfordsville. He had entered her auto, unknown to her, and triggered a gun to the door handle. He was in the back seat hidden under a blanket. Mrs. Craig resides on Crawfordsville Route 6. He was born May 20, 1937, son of Samuel Sr. and Beulah Kiger Craig. He was a Navy veteran and married Nellie Webster July 29, 1958. They separated last August. Survivors include his mother, of Veedersburg; the widow and three children, Mance Allen, Vanessa and Stacey; three sisters, Mrs. Beatrice Harshbarger of Veedersburg, Mrs. Thelma Gosnell of Chesterfield, and Mrs. Janet Booe of Veedersburg, and a brother, Samuel Craig Jr. of Veedersburg. He was preceded in death by his father in 1960. The body is at the funeral home and friends may call after 2 today.

William Craig, 29, Veedersburg, died early Monday morning at Crawfordsville in the rear seat of an automobile owned by his estranged wife. Police said that Craig had rigged a 30-06 hunting rifle to the door of the automobile to discharge when his wife, Nellie Craig who was unaware of the suicide plot, opened the door. A note indicating that Craig planned to end his life was found in his personal effects. Police stated that he had made four previous attempts at suicide, the last time in January. According to evidence, Craig had rigged the gun in his wife's car earlier in the evening and had tested the device. A Matron in the R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. told police that she heard what sounded like a backfire around 11:30 p.m. The police report stated that the bullet from this test had gone through the automobile and into another auto parked nearby. Emma Robinson, Crawfordsville, who owned the second auto in which the test bullet hit, walked out of the plant at 1 a.m. and noticed the damage. She called two nearby employees to inspect the damage. While standing at the Robinson car, the three heard a gunshot at the Craig auto. They told police that they saw Mrs. Craig standing at the door on the drivers side and that a figure in the rear seat rose up and then fell backward. Mrs. Craig drove immediately to the hospital where her husband was pronounced dead. Crawfordsville police located Craig's auto nearby and discovered the suicide note and a quantity of rifle shells in the car. William Joe Craig was born May 20, 1937, the son of Samuel and Beulah Kiger Craig. He was married to Nellie Webster in July, 1958. He was a veteran with service in the U.S. Navy and had been employed by the Veedersburg Grain Co. Survivors include the widow; his mother; three children, Vance Alan, Vanessa and Stacey; a brother, Samuel Craig Jr., of Veedersburg and three sisters, Mrs. Thelma Gosnell of Chesterfield, Ind., Mrs. Janice Booe and Mrs. Beatrice Hershberger, both of Veedersburg. His father preceded him in death in 1958. Funeral services will be held at the Fishero Funeral Home in Veedersburg today at 2 p.m. Rev. Conley Rolland will officiate. Burial will be in Rockfield Cemetery.