ALLENHURST CEMETERY MARKERS

Pictures courtesy of Penny Boris
 

Odessa Couple Bridge Victims, Child Missing

Warsaw, Mo.--A couple from Odessa, Tex., were killed Monday when the heavy truck he was driving crashed through the timber floor of a suspension bridge and into the Grand River 40 feet below.

They were identified from personal papers as Lannie Walker, 46, and his wife, Lizzie, about 35.

The West Texas Metal Co. in Odessa, for which walker was driving, said it was believed the couple also had their 4-year-old son along. No trace of the child was found.

Divers pulled the bodies of the man and woman from the swift, rain-swollen stream after several hours. The water is 22 feet deep at that point.

The wood-floored bridge is on Missouri 7 about 7 miles west of Warsaw and 85 miles east of Kansas City. It is posted for a five-ton load limit.

West Texas Metal said Walker was transporting 20 tons of automobile radiator parts from Odessa to a Kansas City, Kan., foundry.

Mrs. Lewis Eisel, who operates a tavern on the north bank of the river, heard the floor of the bridge give way about 9:40 a. m. She and another woman then saw what looked like a truck loaded with steel plunge into the river.

Corsicana Sun, Corsicana, Texas, September 21, 1965

Odessa Youth's Body Recovered
Bridge Plunge Fatal To Trio

Warsaw, Mo.--The body of 4-year-old Elbert Walker was found Tuesday in the cab of the truck that plunged through a bridge into a raging Missouri river early Monday.

The bodies of his father, Lannie Walker, 46, 410 Dobbs, and his mother, Lizzie, were recovered about 6 p. m. Monday.

Divers, working in a swift current in 20 feet of water, pulled the bodies of Walker and his wife through the shattered windshield of the truck after an all-day effort to reach the submerged vehicle.

Divers and state police resumed their search early Tuesday in an effort to locate the body of the young boy.

It was found about noon Tuesday in a sleeping compartment behind the cab of the truck.

The Odessa couple and their son were killed when a swinging bridge collapsed beneath a truck loaded with metal which Walker was driving from Odessa to Kansas City, Kan.

He was an employee of West Texas Metals Co. of Odessa.

The truck plunged into the Grand River about 7 miles west of Warsaw.

Walker left Odessa Sunday enroute to Kansas City.

Officers in Missouri pressed a hunt for the small boy, although it was several hours before they could confirm that the youngster had accompanied his parents on the trip.

They feared at first that the boy's body had been washed through the broken windshield and carried away by the river, which was running 6 to 8 feet above normal.

Divers finally attached a cable to the sunken vehicle that permitted them to work in the current.

The accident occurred at 9:40 a. m., Monday and the adults' bodies were recovered shortly before nightfall.

The bodies were in Warsaw today, but were to be returned to Odessa for funeral services.

Odessa American, Odessa, Texas, September 22, 1965

Services Pend For Victims of Truck Accident

Services for Lannie Walker, 46, his wife, Lizzie and their 4-year-old son, Elbert, who drowned early Monday when the truck in which they were riding plunged through a bridge near Warsaw, Mo., were pending at Cummings Funeral Home.

The bodies were expected to be returned by Cummings ambulance late Thursday or Friday morning. The couple left Odessa Sunday enroute to Kansas City. Walker was driving a truck owned by West Texas Metals Co. of Odessa when it plunged into the Grand River about 7 miles west of Warsaw.

The adults' bodies were recovered shortly before nightfall Monday, but the body of the child was not found until noon Tuesday.

The family lived at 410 Dobbs.

Odessa American, Odessa, Texas, September 23, 1965

Services Slated For Victims Of Bridge Accident

Services for Lannie Walker, 46, his wife, Lizzie, and their 4-year-old son, Elbert, who were found drowned after the truck in which they were riding plunged through a bridge early Monday near Warsaw, Mo., have been set for 2 p. m. Sunday in Bay City with burial in a cemetery near there.

Cummings Funeral Home will direct burial. The family lived at 410 Dobbs.

Odessa American, Odessa, Texas, September 24, 1965
 

Brenda Kay Wiley

Funeral services for Brenda Kay Wiley, 50, of Clute, will be Saturday, January 12, 2008, at 11:00 a.m., at Brazoria First Assembly of God, with Pastor Kary Williams Jr. officiating.

Internment will follow at Allen Hurst Family Cemetery in Van Vleck, TX.

She died Saturday, January 5, 2008, at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center in Webster, Tx. She enjoyed fishing, playing bingo and the lottery and she also loved to play cards.

Brenda was preceded in death by her parents, Willie and Lela Wiley and daughter Sophie Wiley.

She is survived by her long time companion, Willie Thomas of Clute; daughter, Luisa M. Smithers (Reginald Sr.) of Pearland; brothers, Pastor Kary Williams, Jr. (Judy) of New Brighton, PA, Kenneth Wayne "Pig" Wiley (Bridget) and David Lee Wiley (Lynn) both of Houston; sister, Helen Vinson of Simonton; grandchildren, Brittney Scott (Perry, Jr.) of North Carolina, Lisa Wiley of Houston, Reginald Smithers, Jr., Janerick Smithers, Janera Smithers and Claudius Smithers all of Pearland; great grandchildren, Aaliyah and Bralynn Wiley, Santana, Alexis and Amari Scott.

Active Pallbearers will be Michael Jones, Quentin Wiley, Eddie Allen, Jr., Corey Thompson, Vince Peterson, Troy Green.

Honorary pallbearers will be Reginald Smithers, Jr., Janerick Smithers, Claudius Smithers, Pastor Kary Williams, Jr., Kenneth Wiley, David Wiley.

Visitation will be Friday, January 11, 2008 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. with a Wake from 7:00-8:00 p.m. at Dixon Funeral Home in Angleton. Final Arrangements entrusted to Dixon Funeral Home of Angleton at 979-849-8800.

Dixon Funeral Home, Angleton, Texas

Allenhurst Community          Allenhurst Cemetery at Find A Grave
 

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