On June 12, 1925 Vera, a friend, Gladys Robison, and some family left their home on West Owings for a church function at Waples Methodist, and took a short cut across the railroad tracks. Hearing an approaching train, Vera moved to the wrong track of a double track and her foot got stuck in the rails.  Her family could do nothing.

The train was unable to stop until it passed Sugar Bottom, in the vicinity of Armstrong Avenue.  It was said that the engineer, Wiley Pipkin, of the MKT Texas Special sobbed uncontrollably and ran crying back to Vera’s family, who were in shock, still beside the tracks. Vera was 13 years old; she died a few minutes after being struck by the Texas Special.

Later, the MKT Railroad offered a settlement.  Annie said no; give my sons jobs.

NOTE:  A search of public repositories in Denison, Grayson County, and the State of Texas could find no mention of Vera’s death and no death certificate.  Vera’s death was undocumented except by her grave in Fairview Cemetery, mentions of the tragedy in newspapers, and the memories of her siblings.

Sources:
Conversations with Oleta Littleheart Hardy Whaley
The Portal to Texas History https://texashistory.unt.edu/