Thomas - Kenneth
Source: Crawfordsville Journal Review, August 12, 1978
A Montgomery County man, missing since Thursday night, was found dead about 12:30 p.m. Friday by a friend who found him at the bottom of a small ravine where he had apparently been crushed by his tractor. Kenneth Thomas was last seen about 5 o’clock Thursday evening riding a tractor with a mower attachment near his home at 300S (Barcus Orchid Road) and 325W. A man, who said he was a friend and did not want to be identified, said he did not know Thomas was missing until Friday morning. “I just figured I’d go find him,” the friend said. The man said Thomas did several mowing jobs round the small flat areas in the hills east of Balhinch. “There are lots of streams around there,” the man said, “and I thought he might have fallen into the water and drowned.” Thomas, according to the friend, could not get around too well because of a back problem. The friend found tracks coming onto the road to Thomas’ home from a small field. By following the tracks, the man found Thomas and the overturned tractor almost hidden by small trees and brush off the opposite side of the road from the small field. Deputy Sheriff John Dixon checked the tracks and found a post near the entry to the small field. It is Dixon’s opinion the tractor might have hit the post leaving the field, “but I don’t think he got caught on the post.” A farmer, who examined the tracks said it appeared to him the mower attachment was dragging on the ground and the tractor’s front wheels were elevated making it impossible to steer. Trooper Thomas McCarty checked the accident scene and determined the tractor slide down the bank and did not roll over. The tractor was on its right side and Thomas was next to it on the ground but not pinned down, McCarty said. Services for Mr. Thomas will be at 2 p.m. Monday in Powers Funeral Home at Crawfordsville with burial in Oak Hill Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 4 p.m. Sunday. Mr. Thomas, 61, was born April 13, 1917, at Mudlick, Ky. He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Floane Thomas. He was married to Norma Walker. Surviving are a son, Kenneth L. V. of Tennessee; two daughters, Mrs. Charlotte L. Lee of Texas and Mrs. Rita V. Honaker of Linden; two brothers, Jack of Twelve Mile, Mich., and William of Battleground; three sisters, Erline, Clarice and Eagle; and eight grandchildren. A daughter is deceased. – jlr