CONNER, Robert E. Jr. (1937-1960)

CONNER

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 11/24/2020 at 20:52:24

Robert E. Conner
(1839 – October 7, 1960)

Robert Conner Killed When Ditch Caves In
Indianola, Iowa, Tues., Oct 11, 1960
Robert E. Conner Jr., 23 was killed last Friday afternoon when a sewer ditch in which he was working caved in. The accident occurred in front of a residence at the corner of South O St. and W. Sixth Ave. in Buxton’s Addition. Ernest Johnson, 32, of Ackworth was also in the ditch when one side caved in , burying both men under from 4 to 5 feet of dirt. Members of the Indianola Rescue Squad and other volunteers worked for more than an hour before both men were freed. Earl Heggen, foreman for the McCord Real Estate Co., said he had been talking to the next house, at first attempted to use planks in an effort to pry the earth away from the men. Finding their efforts futile, they notified Mrs. Max McCord, who lives only a short distance away, and she in turn called for the rescue squad.
Johnson’s face was protected by a chunk of dirt which provided an air space through which the rescue squad was able to force oxygen until his face could be uncovered. He was rescued after about a half hour of digging and taken to Mercy hospital in Des Moines with a compression of the chest. It was another half hour before Conner’s body was removed. Members of the rescue squad used the resuscitator for some time before Dr. S. F. Yugen, who had been working in the ditch with the rescue squad, pronounced the man dead.
Funeral services for Robert Conner were held Monday afternoon at the Trinity United Presbyterian Church. Interment was in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery. He was born in Milo and had attended school at Indianola. He is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Conner; one son, Robert Conner III, and a daughter, Jodi Ann, who reside with their mother in Des Moines; a grandmother, Mrs. Addie Lindquist; one brother, Fred D. Conner, and one sister, Mrs. Joan Watson, both of Indianola.