Obituary

Ruben Klaassen, 75, Route #1, Whitewater was fatally injured in a farm accident in a field near his rural home. His tractor and baler rolled forward over him after he evidentally stopped the tractor and got off to work on the baler. The accident was discovered about 10 a.m. Wednesday when his nephew, Melvin Klaassen, went to look for him. It is believed that the accident occurred possibly Friday afternoon. A neighbor, Jacob A. Harms, reported assisting Klaassen with some work on the baler Thursday or Friday. Mr. Harms said he checked for him twice but decided he had taken the farm equipment to an implement company for additional repairs. The tractor and baler were not visible from the road as the equipment had rolled down a hill at the north end of the field and near a shelter belt area. Services were conducted August 7 in the Grace Hill Mennonite Church with Rev. E. J. Miller officiating. Burial was in the church cemetery. He was born December 31, 1899 near Whitewater, and had been a lifelong resident of the area. He married Ethel Wiebe September 27, 1929 at Brainerd. She died March 19, 1970. Survivors: one son, Victor E., Wichita; two brothers, Fred, Whitewater and Nathan, Burrton; two sisters, Mrs. Alfred Harms, Whitewater and Mrs. Boyd Ferguson, Wichita.