Obit: Grambort, Gerald (1929 - 1940)

Contact: Stan

Surnames: Grambort, Goldamer, Horn, Christensen, Ludovic, Ryder, Hoffmann

----Sources: Colby Phonograph (Colby, Clark County, Wis.) 03/07/1940

Grambort, Gerald (29 Apr. 1929 - 2 Mar. 1940)

Gerald Grambort, ten year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Grambort of Abbotsford, Wis., was killed in a truck accident on the Charles Goldamer farm north of Abbotsford Saturday morning. At the time of the accident, Gerald was standing against the end of one of the swinging barn doors looking into the barn when a light enclosed cattle truck, backing up to the open doorway to unload a cow, struck him, the back end of the truck striking his head and wedging it between the door and the truck body. Ralph Horn, age 16, driver of the truck, heard the boy cry out and stopped the truck. He and Carl Goldamer drove the boy to a physician’s office in Abbotsford, Wis. The boy’s father was near the office, and, finding the physician out, Mr. Grambort autoed the boy to the clinic at Colby but the boy was dead when the clinic was reached.

Ralph Horn and Gerald were in Prentice Saturday morning where they loaded a cow and had returned to the Goldamer farm to unload it. As the truck backed up to the barn door way, Gerald jumped off to open the swinging doors. Bud Goldamer, who was in the barn at the time, opened the doors when he heard the truck and it was while Gerald was standing by one of the open doors that he was hit by the backing truck, the driver of which was unable to see him.

Ralph Horn was a cousin of Gerald and made his home with the Grambort family. His parents reside at Ladysmith. He had been employed by Harold Christensen of Frankville, owner of the truck, for the past four months. Christensen operated several farms in this vicinity and deals in farms and buys and sells cattle. He had the Goldamer farm rented. The dead boy’s father is employed by Christensen as a cattle buyer.

Ralph Horn had been driving cars under a permit for two years and received his driver’s license last April when he reached 16 years of age. After an investigation of the accident, Coroner P. C. Ludovic of Neillsville stated that no inquest will be held.

Gerald was born April 29, 1929, in Colby, Wis., and was a fifth grade pupil in the Abbotsford public school. Surviving are his parents, two brothers, Ronald, age 8, and James, age 3, a sister, Darlene, age 6, his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Ida Reyer, and his paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Grambort of Colby, Wis.

Funeral services were conducted at the Zion Ev. Lutheran church in Colby Tuesday afternoon, Rev. O. Hoffmann officiating, and internment was made in the Colby cemetery.