Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 61, Number 278, Decatur, Adams County, 25 November 1963 — Page 1

OL. LXI. NO. 278.

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Kennedy Assassin Murdered Sunday

DALLAS (UPl)—Police clo,sed the books today on Lee Harvey Oswald and the world will never know what was in his mind. He was shot to death as President Kennedy’s assassin by a self-appotnted executioner before a nationwide television audience. While the martyred President was being buried in Arlington National Cemetery, mourned by the world, the Communist-Cas-tro sympathizer accused of slaying him lay on a cold marble slab in a morgue, disgraced. He died with his lips sealed. He took to the grave with him the reason Kennedy was killed if, as police are convinced without doubt, he was the • assassin. The 24-year-old pro - Castro Marxist was being transferred in handcuffs from city jail .to a maximum security cell at the, county jail house when Jack Ruby, a one-time Chicago street brawler and owner of a Dallas striptease night club, leaped from* a crowd of newsmen and policefrteii "* With **« -« curse; jammed a snub-nosed 38 caliber pistol into Oswald’s side fired one shot. Could Do Nothing “You son of • a bitch,” he shouted. Oswald jerked back. So did the police bodyguards flanking him. But there was nothing they could do to stop Ruby. Dallas policeman P. T. Dean said Ruby told him he shot Oswald out of -concern for Mrs. Kennedy. Dean said Ruby did not want Mrs. Kennedy to “go through the ordeal of returning to Dallas” and testifying at Oswald’s trial. He said Ruby decided to “obviate” the legal process by executing Oswald himself. Oswald was quickly rushed to Parkland Hospital’s emergency ward where President Kennedy died Friday. At 1 p.m. (2 p.m. EST), 48 hours to the minute from the- official time of Kennedy’s death, Oswald’s heart stopped beating. Open Jieart massage failed. .He was pronounced dead at, 1:07 p.m. Henry Wade, Dallas. County district attorney, fried murder charges against Ruby and said

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DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY ' /

he would ask for the death penalty. Seeks Death Penalty “A second assassination doesn’t help (justify) the first one,” he said. “I will seek the death penalty for Ruby even if he pleads guilty because shooting a handcuffed man deserves the death penalty.” . . Oswald died without speaking a word. There was no' chance for a death-bed confession. He had steadfastly maintained that he had nothing to do with the assassination of Kennedy, the wounding of Gov. John Connally, who was riding with Kennedy, and later the slaying of Dallas police officer J. D. Tippitt. Wade said, however, that there was more than enough evidence to send Oswald to the ■ electric chair. Local Lady's Sister Is Taken By Death Mrs. Theodore R. Gephart, 53, of 3441 Addison Vve., Fort Wayne, died Saturday at Robert Long hospital in Indianapolis, where she was admitted Friday. She underwent heart surgery three years ago. xf ' • She was a native of Lorain, 0., and resided in Fort Wayne 27 years. Mrs. Gephart was a member of St. Jude’s Catholic church. Surviving are her husband two stepchildren, Keith Gephart and Mrs. Evelyn Timme, both of Fort Wayne; two brothers, Frank Rakoczy of Midlothian, Tex., and John Rakoczy of Huntington; and six sisters. Mrs. Martha Nichols, Miss Helen Rakoczy and Miss Ethel Rakoczy, all of Huntington, Mrs. Mary Willfong of North Webster, Mrs. Anna Fisher of Fort Wayne, and Mrs. Sophie Roberts of Decatur. Funeral services will be held at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Mungovan & Sons mortuary, and at 9 a.m. all St. Jude’s Catholic church, Msgr. A. Girardot officiating. Burial will be in Mount Calvary cemetery, Huntington. Friends may call at the funeral home until time of the services.

Union Thanksgiving Service Thursday Union Thanksgiving service, sponsored by the Associated Churches of Decatur, will be held Thursday morning at 9 o’clock at the Bethany Evangelical United Brethren church. The offering at the service will i be contributed to CROP for the ‘ needy of the world. » Hie public is invited to attend. The order of service follows; Prelude —“Thanksgiving Prayer.” Call to worship—Rev. Fuhrman Miller, pastor of Bethany Evangelical United Brethren church. Invocation. Hymn — “Come, Ye Thankful People.” Responsive reading—Rev. Huston Bever, Jr., pastor of the Church of God. Hymn — “We Praise Thee, O God.” Morning prayer — Rev. Elbert Smith, Jr., uastor of First Presbyterian church. Thanksgiving proclamation — Rev. Robert McQuaid, pastor of First Baptist church. t Offering— Prayer by Rev. Kenneth Angle, pastor of Union Chapel Evangelical United Brethren church. Anthem—“ Now Thank We All Our God,” by Bethany choir. Message — “The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving,” • Rev. Wilmer Watson, pastor of the Church of the Nazarene. Hymn—‘We Thank Thee, Lord.’ Benediction — Rev. Sylvester Martin, pastor of Nuttman Ave. United Brethren in Christ church. Postlude — “We Give Thee Thanks.” Funeral Today For Dallas Policeman DALLAS (UPl)—Three hours after the last muffled drum tap and the last volley echoes over vast Arlington Cemetery today, across the Potomac from Washington, another body will be lowered into the earth here. > There will be far less ceremony. Patrolman J. D. Tippitt, 39, devoted husband and father, will be buried in Laurel Land Memorial Park at 2 o’clock (3 p.m. EST) after services in the Beckley Hills Baptist Church on the south edge of Dallas. Less than an hour after President Kennedy was shot, Tippitt,an 11-year-veteran on the force, was shot twice by a pistol. Police say there is no doubt-LLee Harvey Oswald shot PresidentKennedy and he shot J." D. Tippitt. He used the initials, not a first name. ' Tippitt had spotted Oswald in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas and had pulled his cruiser over to the curb. He got out of the car. The gunman fired. Tippitt fell dead. He made $490 a month. Dallas police have no insurance. They are not covered by Social Security. But his widow will receive $225 a month from the police retirement fund. And donations running into thousands of dollars have been pouring in.

Decatur, Indiana, Mond

Mother Os Decatur Lady Dies Saturday Mrs. Sadie Westhoff, 91, mother of Mrs. Clark W. Smith of near Decatur, died Saturday at her home in Allison Park, Pa., following an extended illness. Mrs. Westhoff and her husband, F. H. Westhoff, celebrated their 69th wedding anniversity Jan. 1 of this year. Surviving are the husband, seven daughters and one soh, Another son was killed while serving in the nation’s armed forces in Germany in 1944 during World War 11. ~ A granddaughter, Miss Jeannie Smith, daughter oL.Mr. and Mrs. Clark W. Smith, and a senior at the Western Pennsylvania school of nursing, was at her grandmother’s bedside when she died. Funreal services have been tentatively set for Tuesday, pending arrival of a daughter from Florida. Mr. and Mrs. Smit h and daughter Deborah left Saturday for Allison Park. Young Democrats Os State Pay Respects The state commitfee' of the Young Democrats of Indiana met in Indianapolis Sunday for a memorial service for the murdered* president, following which a resolution of respect for the late president John F. Kennedy was passed. The organization also authorized a perpetual mass at Notre Dame university for the deceased president, and passed a resolution calling on the people of the state to rally behind the* new president, Lyndon Baines Johnson. The service opened with the Lord’s Prayer 1 ; and included several readings from the Bible, including Josua 1:1-2. Members of aH faiths were present for the nondenominational service. Attending from Decatur were Harry H. Hebble, Jr., fourth district Young Democrat chairman, and Dick D. Heller, Jr., fourth district publicity chairman. Clarence Walther Is Taken By Death Clarence Walther, former Decatur resident, died this past weekend at his home near Kokomo, it was learned here this morning. Walther was a 1936 graduate of Decatur high school -where he was a star football player, and Was relater to Mrs. Harry Yount?, 915 N. Fifth St. . Funeral services will be held at 2-p.m^.Tuesday at the Ellars funeral home 'in Kokorho. INDIANA WEATHER Cloudy and not so cool tonight. Tuesday mostly cloudy and turning cooler. Low tonight 34 to 42. High Tuesday in the 40s north, 48 to 56 south. Sunset today 5:23 p.m. Sunrise Tuesday 7:42 a.m. Outlook for Wednesday: Considerable cloudiness with no important temperature changes. Urns in the 40s. Highs 45 to 55.

Last Rites Are Held In Washington For GJ ’ ■ ■ ' . - - .- .'J . < , ■' ( . Martyred President

WASHINGTQN tUPD — The soul of John Fitzgerald Kennedy was commended unto God today at a simple 1 Roman Catholic funeral Mass attended by world leaders. Last rites for the assassinated President were conducted at St. Matthew's Cathedral by Richard Cardinal Cushing of Boston, the lifelong friend and pastor .who performed Kennedy's marriage ceremony and baptized his children. Kennedy’s flag-draped casket was borne to the cathedral from the White House, six blocks away, by ~the same horse-drawn caisson that brought the remains from the Capitol where an estimated 140,000 persons passed by the bier. Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, who was at her husband’s side when a sniper's bullet cut him dowh Friday, followed on foot behind the caisson. Walking behind her to the mournful cadence of muffled drums were President Johnson. former Presidents Eisenhower arsl Truman, foreign heads of state and other dignitaries. Proceed to Cemetery After the services, the cortege was to proceed to Arlington National Cemetery where the commander of PT-109 will rest forever among fellow comrades-in-arms of World War II and other heroic dead. The “Rest in Peace” Mass America’s first Roman Catholic President was offered in the presence of 1,200 persons who had come from near and far to make a final gesture of love or respect. “Life is not taken away . . . life is but* changed,” intoned white-haired* Cardinal Cushing, as he offered the ancient Catholic prayer for the departed: “Be, merciful, we beseech Three, O Lord, to the soul of Thy servqpt, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, whom You have just called out of this world . . ;. He put his hope and trust in You: Do not then let him undergo the pains of hell, but bring him to happiness without end.” By the siefe".of the griefnumbed was Atty. Gen. Robert _F- ..Kennedy, the late President’s brother and closest to him of all in the clbsely' knit "Kennedy family. ' Many World Figures Among the mourners were such diverse world leaders as Prince Philip of Britain; Anastas I. Mikoyan, first deputy pre.mier of Russia; President Charles de Gaulle of France;

...»- — to jgr» i 1 T-J'ijS ,1, J .>■ . Mrt ‘'""' I rMA '.j AVON BURK, left, elevator man in Adams county for the past 51 years, is shown with the new owner of the Burk Elevator, Don Stockman, of Argos, who will operate the business under the name a of Stockman Farm Service.

Burk Elevator Co. Sale Is Announced 1 Don StockrAan, of Argos, in Marshall county, has purchased the Burk Elevator Co. from Avon and Sim Burk, whose father founded the elevator 57 years ago. The elevator will now be known as Stockman Farm service. Sim Burk will retire from the business, and Avon Burk will continue running a wholesale Servall Stazdry litter and bedding busmens under the name of the Burk Distributing Co. Burk still owns elevators at Willshire and Wren, O. the name Willshire

Chancellor Ludwig Erhard of West Germany; King Baudouin of Belgium: President Eamon De Valera of Ireland; and Sir Alec Douglas-Home new prime minister of Britain. Across America, millions of Kennedy’s countrymen said their own prayers for the repose of his soul. President Johnson declared a national day of mourning and "earnestly recommended” that every American attend his place of worship “to pay homage to the memory of a great and good man.” St. Matthew’s Cathedral which was Kennedy’s parish church, is a drab red brick building with a 200-foot high dome. Standing since 1898, and begrimed by the soot of the dqwntown area it occupies, it is far from, impressive in its external appearance. Glittering Interior But its interior is a glittering example of Romanepque-Bzyan-tjne architecture, with pillars of magnificent red-and-whitc carrara marble and richly colored mosaics of Venetian glass. Its showpiece is a magnificent high altar of white marble, carved in India and decorated with colored insets in the same manner as the famed Taj Mahal. Kennedy's casket rested in faont of this altar and just underneath the soaring dome of the cathedral. : In keeping with Catholic liturgical tradition, there were no flowers on the altar or around the casket. The usual white candles on the altar were replaced candles of unbleached yellow' wax, the sign of a funeral Mass. Cardinal Cushing wore black vestments instead of the brilliant scarlet robes of his office as a prince of the church. Ave Maria Sung One of Kennedy’s favorite hymns, the Ave Maria, was sung before the Mass by Luigi Vena, a Boston tenor who also sang at the late President’s wedding. The cathedral choir then sang the ancient funeral hymn “Libera Me’’ (which begins with the words, “Deliver me, oh Lord, from everlasting death . .) in a ne w setting by the Italian composer Perosi. The service conducted by... Car? dihal Cushing was wnat is known technically as a "low” Mass, which means that it was the simplest type of Mass, spoken rather than sung, with a single priest officiating rather than the three who would have been required had the family

Grain and Supply. They entered the business as a partnership with their father 51 years ago, in. 1912. They also formerly owned elevators at- Monroe, Peterson, a- n d Craigville. * Stockman who sold an elevator in Argos in August, has been in the business for 15 years, owning his' own -elevator the last eight. His new elevator employs ten people at the present time. He attended high school with Leo Seltenright, former county agent here. The Stockmans plan to move to Decatur about the middle] of December; they have purchased a home on High street. The Stockmam have one daughter, Ramona, nine, in the fourth grade.

chosena Solemn High Mass. There was no eulogy. Insofar as the service. itself went, the deceased son of the church before the altar might have been an unknown laborer rather than the President of the United States. The emphasis of the service was strongly focused on the Christian conviction that death is Yiot the end, but the beginning of a larger, eternal life. Read From St. Paul Cardinal Cushing read the words of St. Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians warning Christians against falling into the pagan custom of grieving over the dead “as others who have no hope." “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so with him God will bring those also who have fallen asleep through Jesus." He also read the words of Christ recorded in St. John's Gospel: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me, even if he die, shall live.’’ Following the Mass proper, Cardinal Cushing came down from the high altar and approached the casket to bestow a final absolution on the moTtal remains of the late President. While the congregation stood in reverent silence, the 68-year-old ’archbishop of Boston pronqunced the ancient prayer for the forgiveness of a merciful God: “Oh Lord, do not bring thia thy servant to trial, for no man .becomes holy in Thy sight un-

4 City Pays Tribute To Pres. Kennedy

Decatur’s weekend was appro- — priately filled with memorials for ■ the assassinated President, John J; F. Kennedy, culminating in the* closing of many businesses today for the funeral. . . - , __ . — The Decatur post office was notified, about 4 p.m. Saturday that thcy be’ eloSr>d”loaSy, and. there would be no mail deliveries in the city or by rural route, and that collections will be made by the regular holiday schedule. Pubic Buildings (lowed AH public buildings in Decatur were also closed, as were all . schools in North Adams Community schoools district. Most of the public buildings throughout the state Were closed. Many meetings scheduled for today were cancelled. The associated churches of Decatur extended theft sympathy in the following announcement from the Rev. Gerald I. Gerig, President of the Decatur Associated Churches; “We have just passed through one of the darkest hours of Amercan histor l y. Although we go under the name of Christian America. the’ act of Friday proves once again that sin still reigns in the hearts of men and women. The loss of President Kennedy is a loss to the world. Although many of different political views tok opportunity to question his decisions at times, no one in the ■ world could eVer question his devotion tq,. this great Nation. It is tragic -to think that a man can survive the opposition of foreign nations at war timer; only to return and be shot down by a fellow American. “We of the Associated Churches of Decatur wish to express our deepest and most sincere’ sympathy at .this time to Mrs. Kennedy, her lovely children, and the entire relationship. As president of the Associated Churches, I would like to personally urge people of all faiths to seek God’s face at this critical time of our history and earnestly pray for whose shoulders now rests the President Lyndon Johnson, upon burdens of the world. “It was reported that many churches paused in their morning ‘ services Sunday to pay tribute to President Kennedy and to have prayer for the new President. Many of the Protestant churches were open during the funeral for

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less Thou dost grant him forgiveness of all his sins. “We implore Thee, therefore, do not let the verdict of thy judgment so against him, whom the loyal prayer of Christian faith is commending to thy mercy ...” The cardinal walked around the bier, sprinkling the casket with holy water, three times on the right side, three times on the left side. w Exchanges Holy Water Then he exchanged the holy water for incense, and again walked around the bier, waving the burning silver pot of incense at the casket three times on each side. "Dominus vobiscum” — "The Lord be with you,” said the cardinal. “Et cum spiritu tuo" — “and with thy spirit” replied choir arid congregation. "Recquiescat in pace"—“May he rest in peace." "Amen." While the cardinal recited the prayer known to Catholics as the “Our Father," and to Protestants as “The .Lord's Prayer,” Vena sang its words, in English, in a musical setting by composer J. Alfred Schehl. As pallbearers removed the casket to the hearse waiting to transport it to Arlington for burial, the cathedral choir sang a recessional hymn in Gregorian chant. It is called “In Paradisium” and is a triumphant reassertion of the Christian hope of everlasting life in heaven.

_ those who .wanted to pray." Special Services j At 5 p.m. Saturday the St.' • Marys Catholic church held .. a requiem mass for the President, ' the Very Rev. Msgr. Simeon Schi ttt preaching the sermon on the text. “Dust thou art, to dust At 9:45 am. Sunday a special requiem mass, granted by the apostolic delegate to the United States, requiem as masses are not generally permitted on Sunday. was celebrated by the Very Rev. Msgr. Schmitt before an overflow crowd. . The sermon was given by the Rev. Eugene Fekete, who described the president’s service ps a Christian service, and • told of his own presence at his inaugueration January 21, 1961. Most .of the Protestant churches in pecatur also reported over-, flowing crowds on Sunday. At the First Presbyterian church, which held a Special service at Noon today, chairs had to be moved into the Sunday school room for the overflow. A special 10 a.m. service was also planned at the First Methodist church today. Many people stayed home to watch thp tragic funeral events in Washington om TV. Tn Decatur; as elsewhere in the United States, many people actually witnessed the murder of the assassin Oswald over TV as he was moved from the city to the county jail. • Other Church Services Several other local churches held special memorial services today, while many others opened the doors of their churches, affording people the opportunity for prayer and meditation. The Zion Lutheran church held memorial services from 12.30 -tn I p m. today, and a brief memorial service was held' at the Zion United Church of Christ at 11:30 a. m. The Assembly of God church held" prayer services immediately following the burial of the late President Kennedy. Both the Trinity and Bethany congregations of the Decatur E. U. B. church were open all day and Rev. Fuhrman P. Miller. Bethany pastor, said all church members had been “urged to come in today for meditation and prayer.” I The First Baptistphurch was (Continued on Phge Six)

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