grave import

Obituary

The funeral of the late Fred L. Wagner, whose untimely and shocking death has called forth expressions of sympathy from the entire community, will be held to-morrow morning at 9:30 o'clock from the family residence on Summer street. The service will be held under the auspices of Excelsior lodge, No. 268, I.O.O.F., of which the deceased was an ardent and honored member for many years, and will be conducted by Rev. Schreiner, pastor of the Second German M.E. church, and Rev. Herman Zimmerman. The pall bearers will be Henry Cameron, Henry Eastman, Fred Hornung, Louis Walbridge, George Jamison and Theo. Kreichbaum. The deceased was born in Philadelphia on August 18, 1847, and came west with his parents, who settled in Burlington in 1850. Mr. Wagner passed his boyhood days in Burlington and he formed strong ties of friendship that endured throughout his useful and honorable life. With the exception of four years spent in Portland, Ore., Mr. Wagner had always made Burlington his home. in 1868 he embarked in the grocery business and had continued without interruption in that line until the sad fate of yesterday. Mr. Wagner was married at West Point, Iowa, to Miss Elizabeth Lauderback and his home life was one of great happiness. He was the ideal father and husband, and his great love for his family was marked. He leaves his widow and four children, two sons-George E., of St. Louis and Fred C., of Burlington-and two daughters, Olivia and Alma; also one brother, Charles Wagner, his partner in the grocery business and a sister, Mrs. F.C. Wehmann, of this city. Mr. Wagner took an active interest in city affairs and served five terms as a member of the city council from the Fifth ward. His record was a clean and honorable one, and his faithful and close attention to his duties was noted.

Under circumstances indicating suicide the body of Fred L. Wagner, the well-known South Hill grocer, was discovered in the small lake at Aspen Grove cemetery shortly before noon today by Gottlieb Binder, a young man employed by Fred Leicht, superintendent of the cemetery. Binder was passing along the roadway at the southwest corner of the lake when in glancing over the surface of the water his attention was attracted to a mans head bobbing above the surface and then disappearing, BInder ran along the west bank which is very steep for a distance of twenty yards, until opposite the body and attempted to drag it to the bank with a long pole. He was unsuccessful in this effort and the body sank beneath the waves and did no reappear. Binder at once hurried to the superintendent's house and notified Mr. Leicht, who in turn telephoned to Coroner Unterkircher. Superintendent Leicht, Binder, and a number of other workmen who had gathered for dinner, returned to the spot on the bank of the lake where Binder had attempted to reach the body, and while waiting for Coroner Unterkircher one of the laborers discovered the clew that revealed the identity of the drowned person. Lying on the steep grassy bank about ten yards from the water's edge were a gray coat and straw hat, where they had been carelessly thrown. A search of the pockets brought to light a dozen letters, all addressed to Fred L. Wagner and the complete identification was established. When Coroner Unterkircher with two assistants reached the lake, the work of securing the body was started, and after a half-hours thorough dragging with grappling irons, the remains were brought to the top at a point about sixty feet from the bank, in water ten feet deep. The body was taken to Unterkircher's undertaking rooms. When Binder was shown the hat and coat he was positive that he had seen a man similarily attired wandering about the hill to the west of the lake about an hour previous to his discovering the floating object in the water. The man observed by Binder was undoubtedly Mr. Wagner, as the family lot is in that vicinity, and he had probably visited it. no one else witnessed Mr. Wagner enter the cemetery or saw him walking about. Mr. Wagner left his grocery store at 501 South Central avenue at 8:30 o'clock this morning, telling his brother Charles, his partner in business, that he was going out to collect a few bills. his manner appeared in no ways unusual, and when Charles Wagner was informed of his brother's death he was at a loss to account for any reason why he should have taken his life. The deceased leaves a widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Wagner, two sons, Fred L. Jr., and George, and one daughter, Miss Alma Wagner. He was a member of Excelsior lodge Odd Fellows. He was fifty-three years old and was a lifelong resident of Burlington, where he was widely known and respected for many sterling traits of character. As a business man Mr. Wagner ranked high and he had succeeded in building up, in co-operation with his brother, a large and valuable business. The family home is at No. 522 Summer street. It is probable that ill health prompted Mr. Wagner to commit the rash deed that he did. It is stated that he had complained of late of violent pains in the head, and it is probable that he was seized with an attack of temporary mental aberration which ended in the shocking and sad deed of to-day. This is the second case of drowning (this article is wrong as this is the third drowning) that has occurred in the lake at Aspen Grove. About ten years ago a resident named Klindt suicided by plunging from the high bank into the muddy water below.