12/17/1957 - 1/26/1974
Tractor victim grandson of Geneva area couple Thomas Mark Murphy, 16, a Bryant high school freshman and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Murphy of R.R. 4, Portland, was killed at 9:42 a.m. Saturday when his tractor ran off Jay county road 60, one-fourth mile west of the county line road.
The lad’s mother was the former Sue Lybarger, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Lee Lybarger of near Geneva.
The youth was driving a tractor pulling
a wagon loaded with soybeans which he was hauling to the elevator at St.
Anthony, Ohio. His mother was following in a car and after the lad had
negotiated a turn in the road his mother saw the tractor upset. When she
arrived on the scene the lad was under the tractor, so completely covered
she could not see him. He received a broken neck and crushed chest. Though
just a freshman, he was a rugged 6-2, well liked by everyone and a popular
favorite.
It is believed the youth may have taken his eyes off the road
for just a second and the tractor apparently got into the soft ground along
the road.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by Jay County Deputy Coroner Dr. R.E.
Schenk.
The accident, Jay county’s first traffic fatality of the year,
was investigated by Jay County Police Capt. George Meehan and State Trooper
Walter Bougheske.
The lad was born December 17, 1957. He was a member
of the Bryant high school reserve basketball team.
The youth is
survived by his parents; two brothers, Mike and Mitchel, both at home; two
sisters, Mrs. Roger (Kathy) Fox of Geneva and Donna, at home and the
grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Lee Lybarger, Geneva, and Mr. and Mrs. Ernest
Murphy, Bryant.
Services will be Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at the
Baird-Freeman Funeral Home where calling will be after 3 p.m. today. Burial
will be in Gravel Hill cemetery west of Bryant. The youth attended the
Winchester church.
Decatur Daily Democrat, Adams County,
Indiana; Tuesday, Jan. 29, 1974
Contributed by Karin King
Buried in Gravel Hill Cemetery