Whittington - Joe P
FOUNTAIN COUNTY STAR NEWSPAPER Covington, Indiana Thursday, Jan. 21, 1982
Joe P. Whittington Jr., 21, RR 1, Kingman, was killed around 4 p.m. Wednesday in an explosion at a plant in Parke County. He was the son of the plant owner, which was being converted to a gasohol product operation, adjacent to the Sugar Creek Lumber Company about 15 miles north of Rockville on U. S. 41. Injured in the explosion was Judson G. Brown of Hanover, Massachusetts, believed to be a chemistry consultant. He was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Danville, Illinois with facial and chest injuries. Cause of the explosion was undetermined at press time. – thanks so much to “S”
Source: Indianapolis Star Fri 22 Jan 1982 p 18
Rockville, Ind – Too much pressure in a chemical cooker is being blamed for the explosion in the Woodland Feed Co near here Wednesday that killed one man and seriously injured another. Although no damage estimate is available, the blast leveled a brick building adjacent to Sugar Creek Lumber Co which also was extensively damaged according to Parke County Sheriff D. Michael Eslinger. Joe P. Whittington, Jr, 21, Kingman was killed when a mixture of sawdust and chemicals exploded in the cooker. The cooker was estimated at 30’ tall and 20- in diameter, Eslinger said.
Judson G. Brown, an engineering consultant from Hanover, Mass is in guarded condition in St. Elizabeth Hospital at Danville, Ill with burns on his face, hands and chest and a broke right ankle and left kneecap.
Whittington who worked part time for the western Indiana feed company as a carpenter was the son of the mill’s owner, Joe P. Whittington, Sr.
The mill, located about 12 miles north of here on US 41 was being converted to a gasohol blending facility.
Memorial services for Whittington, a lifelong resident of Kingman will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in Kingman Christian Church where friends may call after 9 a.m. until services.
He was born at Crawfordsville. Survivors include his parents, Joe P. and Janet Lowe Whittington, Sr; three sisters, Jean Costello; Lori Poer and Judy Whittington and two grandmothers, Irene Whittington and Helen Lowe. Bodine and Shelby Funeral Home at Covington is handling arrangements.