Obituary: Mary Brown Meyers KEPHART (1849-1936)

Obituary. Mary Brown Meyers KEPHART (1849-1936). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Life's Labor Ended for Much Loved Mother

Mrs. Mary B. Kephart passed peacefully away at an early hour Friday morning, August 28, at her home in Lakefield, of infirmities due to her advanced age. She was taken seriously ill on her 87th birthday, June 3rd, and was confined to her bed most of the time since. She was 87 years, two months and 25 days old.

Mary B. Meyers was born at Dubuque, Iowa, on June 3, 1849, and passed away on August 28, 1936. She was married to Alfred B. Kephart on December 26, 1867. He was a Civil war veteran, and passed away in December, 1921.

Mr. and Mrs. Kephart moved to Jackson county, Minnesota, in 1883, and had been continuous residents of the county ever since, where they also reared their family.

Twelve children were born to them, seven sons and five daughters. One daughter and three sons have passed away. Eight children, four sons and four daughters, survive. They are: (Bertha) Mrs. Eugene Palmer, Minot, North Dakota; (Lottie) Mrs. George Blakey, Jackson, Minnesota; (Ella) Mrs. Earnest Pearson of Jackson, Minnesota; (May) Mrs. R. R. Rost of Lakefield, Minnesota; Levi Kephart of Redwood Falls, Minnesota, and William, Roscoe and Earl Kephart, all resiednts [sic] of Lakefield.

Mrs. Kephart is survived by three brothers: Joe Meyers of Jackson, Geo. Meyers of Spirit Lake, Iowa, and Henry Meyers of Sangudo, Canada.

A good mother has gone to a wonderful reward. She will be sadly missed for a long, long, time for she was a wonderful friend and counselor and always ready with a willing hand to help anyone who needed it. Her influence will be felt for many years to come.

Funeral services were conducted at 1:30 p. m. at her home in Lakefield, and at the M. E. church in Lakefield at 2 p. m. Burial was made in the Riverside cemetery at Jackson beside her husband. The floral tributes were most beautiful and bore silent testimony of love and esteem.

Gravestones: Mary B. and Alfred B. KEPHART

Gravestones. Mary B. and Alfred B. KEPHART. Riverside Cemetery, Jackson, MN. Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Bertha KEPHART and Herbert Eugene Palmer

Bertha KEPHART and Herbert Eugene Palmer (Minot, ND: Hanson Photography, Date unknown). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Family Group Sheet for Bertha KEPHART Palmer (1869-1962)

Husband: Herbert Eugene PALMER

Born: 20 Sep 1869
Place: Dickinson Co., IA
Married: 30 Nov 1898
Place: Lakefield, MN
Died: 20 Feb 1946
Place: Minot, ND
Husband's Father: Jareb PALMER
Husband's Mother: Anna TERWILLIGER

Wife: Bertha KEPHART

Born: 23 Apr 1869
Place: Dubuque Co., IA
Died: 5 Dec 1962
Place: Minot, ND
Wife's Father: Alfred Brunson KEPHART
Wife’s Mother: Mary Brown MEYERS

---

Children

1. Florence M. PALMER

Born: 8 Sep 1899
Place: Renville Co., ND
Spouse: William LEE
Married: 6 Nov 1922
Died: 6 Sep 1998

2. Genevieve M. PALMER

Born: 5 Nov 1903
Place: Renville Co., ND
Spouse: Verne PARRIS
Married: 1 Nov 1924
Died: 9 Apr 2002

3. Herbert E. PALMER

Born: 15 Nov 1905
Place: Renville Co., ND
Spouse: None
Died: 21 Feb 1996

4. Mildred C. PALMER

Born: 11 May 1907
Place: Van Buren, ND
Spouse 1: Anton ROLES
Married: Unknown
Spouse 2: Dewey BRAATEN
Married: Unknown
Died: 15 May 1999

5. Alfred B. PALMER

Born: 1 Aug 1909
Place: Renville Co., IA
Spouse: Minerva SPELHAUG
Married: 12 Nov 1940
Died: 6 Jan 1998

6. Earl C. PALMER

Born: 11 Oct 1911
Place: Renville Co., ND
Spouse 1: Mildred HETTINGER
Married: 5 Jul 1934
Spouse 2: Gloria
Married: Unknown
Died:

Herbert Eugene Palmer Family

Herbert Eugene Palmer Family (c. 1913). Image courtesy of Verla Williams. From left: Florence, Genevieve, Mildred, Herbert Jr., Bertha, Earl, Alfred, and Herbert.


Herbert Eugene Palmer Family (Minot, ND: Hanson Photography, Bef. 1946). Image courtesy of Verla Williams. Back row: Herbert Jr., Genevieve, Earl, Alfred, and Florence. Front row: Mildred, Herbert, and Bertha.

Herbert Palmer Farm and House

Herbert Palmer farm (Date unknown). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.


Herbert Palmer farmhouse and family (c. 1913). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Obituary: Bertha KEPHART Palmer (6 Dec 1962)

Obituary. Bertha KEPHART Palmer (6 Dec 1962). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Mrs. Bertha Palmer

GLENBURN - The funeral will be Monday at 2 in Glenburn Baptist Church for Mrs. Bertha Palmer, 93, longtime resident of Glenburn who died Wednesday in a Minot hospital where she had been a patient for several weeks.

Mrs. Palmer was born April 23, 1869, at Dubuque, Iowa. She spent her early years there and on Nov. 30, 1898, married Herbert E. Palmer at Loon Lake, Iowa. The couple came to the Glenburn area in 1901 and filed on a homestead in Van Buren Township, Renville County. Following Mr. Palmer's death in 1946, Mrs. Palmer had made her home in Glenburn.

She was a member of the Glenburn Baptist Church and active in-church women's activities. She was a charter member of Waterford Township Homemakers Club.

Surviving are three daughters, Mrs. William Lee and Mrs. T. N. Roles, both of Wenatchee, Wash., and Mrs. Verne Parris, Route 1, Minot; three sons, Herbert, Rapid City, S. D., Earl, Glenburn, and Alfred, Route 1, Minot; three sisters, Mrs. May Rost, Lakefield, Minn., Mrs. Ella Peirson and Mrs. Lottie Blakey, both of Jackson, Minn.; two brothers, Ross and Levi Kephart, both of Lakefield; 17 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.

Rev. Norman Grainger will officiate at the funeral. Mrs. Palmer will be buried beside the body of her husband in Glenburn Cemetery.

Thompson-Larson Funeral Home at Minot is completing arrangements. Friends may call there after 4: 30 p.m. Friday.

Bertha KEPHART Palmer Memorial (1869-1962)

Bertha KEPHART Palmer Memorial Service (10 Dec 1962). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Descendants of Bertha KEPHART Palmer (1869-1962)

Descendants of Bertha KEPHART Palmer (1869-1962).

Lottie and Mae KEPHART

Lottie and Mae KEPHART (1893). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Lottie KEPHART and George Edward Blakey

George Blakey and Lottie KEPHART Blakey (21 Nov 1894). A. C. Roberts, Jackson, Minn. Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Lottie KEPHART and George Blakey's information may be found at A Blakey Blog.

Wilthorn "William" KEPHART Memorial (1873-1961)

Memorial. "Wilthorn" William KEPHART (3 Sep 1961). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Family Group Sheet for Levi Naugle KEPHART (1876-1968)

Husband: Levi Naugle KEPHART

Born: 10 Jun 1876
Place: Dubuque Co., IA
Married: 16 Nov 1904
Place: Spirit Lake, IA
Died: 13 Jul 1968
Place: Redwood Falls, MN
Buried: Lamberton, MN
Husband's Father: Alfred Brunson KEPHART
Husband's Mother: Mary Brown MEYERS

Wife: Carrie M. Brown

Born: 21 May 1884
Place: Unknown
Died: 21 May 1964
Place: Redwood Falls, MN
Buried: Lamberton, MN
Wife's Father: William Nicholas BROWN
Wife’s Mother: Myra Jane HAYDEN

---

Children

1. Ruth Mae KEPHART

Born: 6 Dec 1905
Place: Jackson, MN
Spouse: Eugene BIGOT
Married: 6 Nov 1942
Died: 26 Dec 2002

2. Fern KEPHART

Born: 18 Dec 1910
Place: Revere, MN
Spouse: George FREEMAN
Married: 15 Jun 1933
Died: 26 Oct 1979

3. Maynard KEPHART

Born: 9 Jun 1919
Place: Revere, MN
Spouse: Agnes MUSIL
Married: 25 Jan 1947
Died: 9 May 1982

Carrie M. Brown KEPHART Memorial (1884-1964)

Memorial. Carrie M. KEPHART. Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Obituary: Levi N. KEPHART (13 Jul 1968)

Obituary. Levi N. Kephart (13 Jul 1968). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Kephart Funeral Held in Lamberton

Funeral services were held July 15 at United Methodist Church of Lamberton for Levi N. Kephart, 92, of Sanborn, who died July 13 at the Redwood Falls hospital. The Rev. Fred Shandorf officiated.

Interment was in the Lamberton cemetery with Kluegel Funeral Home of Lamberton in charge.

Mr. Kephart was born June 10, 1876, in Dubuque, Ia., the son of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Kephart. He moved with his parents to the Lakefield area. He married Carrie Brown in Spirit Lake on Nov. 16, 1904. They farmed north of Lakefield before moving to a farm north of Revere. In 1926 they moved to a farm near Redwood Falls and in 1943 retired and moved to Sanborn.

Survivors include one son, Maynard of St. Paul; two daughters, Mrs. Eugene (Ruth) Bigot of Springfield and Mrs. George (Fern) Freeman of Walnut Grove; seven grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Mrs. Reinhart Rost of Lakefield and Mrs. Ern Pearson of Jackson.

He was preceded in death by his wife, three infant sons and 10 brothers and sisters.

Descendants of Levi Naugle KEPHART (1876-1968)

Descendants of Levi Naugle KEPHART (1876-1968).

Della and Lottie KEPHART

Della and Lottie KEPHART (Date unknown). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Roscoe and Della KEPHART Brown

Roscoe and Della KEPHART Brown (c. 1898). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Obituary: Della KEPHART Brown (1878-1899)

Obituary. Mabel Della KEPHART Brown (1878-1899). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Died:-In Middletown township, May 17th, 1899, Della Brown, wife of Roscoe W. Brown, age 20 years, 6 months and 26 days.

Della Kephart was born at Cottage Hill, Dubuque County, Iowa, Oct. 22, 1878. In 1883 she came with her parents to Jackson County. On June 29th, 1898, she was united in marriage with Roscoe W. Brown, of Dickenson county, Ia.

For a few months after their marriage they lived in Spirit Lake, Ia., last fall moving to Jackson county where they have since made their home. Two years previous to her marriage she was engaged in school work in Jackson county where she made many warm friends.

In her life Della was kind, loving, loveable and loved, making many friends wherever she went. She leaves a host of relatives and loving friends to mourn her untimely death. A year ago last winter she gave her heart to God and has since striven earnestly to live a Christian life.

She died happy, fully trusting in the merits of the blood of Jesus Christ, for she said a short time before she died, "I am going home to Jesus." The she said to her husband, "I am going to leave you, but am only going before to make a home for you on the other side of the river."

Then she named over all of her absent relatives and sent some loving message to each, then bidding all those present goodbye, her husband last, bidding him a very affectionate goodbye, she sang two verses of that beautiful hymn, "'Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus." She soon closed her eyes in that last sleep that has no waking.

Everything was done that loving hands and kind friends could do to keep her here, but it was all of no avail. Her work on earth was done and the Lord called her home to that better land where sorrow and pain are not known.

Funeral services were held Friday in the church in Middletown, by Rev. Abbott, after which the remains were laid at rest in the Jackson cemetery.

Della KEPHART Brown Memorial (1878-1899)

Memorial. Della KEPHART Brown (1878-1899). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.


Memorial (Reverse). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Roscoe Conklin and Clara (Vilmo) KEPHART

Roscoe "Ross" and Clara (Vilmo) KEPHART (Date unknown). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.


Ross and Clara KEPHART (Date unknown). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Family Group Sheet for Roscoe Conklin KEPHART (1881-1965)

Husband: Roscoe Conklin KEPHART

Born: 13 Mar 1881
Place: Dubuque Co., IA
Married: 7 Jul 1909
Place: Jackson, MN
Died: 9 Jan 1965
Place: Aitkin, MN
Buried: Jackson, MN
Husband's Father: Alfred Brunson KEPHART
Husband's Mother: Mary Brown MEYERS

Wife: Clara Elizabeth VILMO

Born: 4 Feb 1889
Place: Manistee, MI
Died: 16 Feb 1964
Place: Lakefield, MN
Buried: Jackson, MN
Wife's Father: Otto VILMO
Wife’s Mother: Elizabeth OELKE

---

Children

1. Della Ella KEPHART

Born: 1 Sep 1909
Place: Lakefield, MN
Spouse: Lester NORGRANT
Married: 1 Sep 1928
Died: 26 Dec 1992

2. Gladys Pearl KEPHART

Born: 7 Dec 1914
Place: Lakefield, MN
Spouse: Harlan PETERSON
Married: 12 Jul 1937
Spouse: Harm IHNEN
Married: Unknown
Died: 16 Dec 2000

3. Seth Robert KEPHART

Born: 18 Jun 1920
Place: Lakefield, MN
Spouse: Gwen MALCHOW
Married: 12 Mar 1940
Died: 16 Oct 1993

Obituary: Clara Elizabeth (Vilmo) KEPHART (16 Feb 1964)

Obituary. Clara Elizabeth (Vilmo) KEPHART (16 Feb 1964). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.



Kephart Rites Set Wednesday At Lakefield

LAKEFIELD -- Funeral services for Mrs. Rose [sic, Ross] C. Kephart, 75, Lakefield, have been set for Wednesday.

The family service will be at 1:30 p.m. at the Rost funeral home and the public service will be at 2 p.m. at the First Methodist church in Lakefield.

The Rev. Russell Hubbard will officiate and burial will be in the Riverside cemetery at Jackson.

Mrs. Kephart died in her sleep early Sunday morning at her home. She had suffered heart condition but death was unexpected.

Mrs. Kephart was the former Clara Vilmo and was born Feb. 4, 1889, at Manistee, Mich. On July 7, 1909, she married Ross C. Kephart of Lakefield. Mr. Kephart was a blacksmith for many years.

She is survived by her husband, two daughters, and one son. They are Mrs. Lester Norgrant of Spirit Lake; Mrs. Harm Ihnen, of Seal Beach, Calif. and Seth of Aitkin, Minn.

Also surviving are two brothers, Edward and William Vilmo of Ada; two sisters, Mrs. Lillie Thies of Ada and Mrs. Lucy Griewe of Boyes Hot Springs, Calif.; eight grandchildren, twenty-four great grandchildren, and two great great grandchildren.

Obituaries: Ross C. KEPHART (9 Jan 1965)

Obituary. Ross C. KEPHART (9 Jan 1965). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Retired Blacksmith Succumbs

LAKEFIELD -- Ross C. Kephart, a blacksmith for many years at Lakefield, died early this morning in an Aitkin, Minn. rest home. He was 83.

Mr. Kephart, who had been living with a son at Aitkin until just recently, died of complications of old age.

Mrs. Kephart died last February and he went to Aitkin to stay with his son, Seth.

He was born March 13, 1881 at Cottage Hill, Ia., one of 12 children. On July 7, 1909, he married Clara Vilmo.

They are survived by the one son, Seth, and two daughters, Mrs. Lester Norgrant of Spirit Lake, Ia. and Mrs. Harm Ihnen of Seal Beach, Calif. Two sisters, Mrs. R. R. Rost of Lakefield and Mrs. E. E. Pearson of Jackson, also survive. There is a brother Levi Kephart of Sanborn, Minn., eight grandchildren, 27 great grandchildren, and two great great grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are pending at the Rost [funeral home . . . ].



Obituary. Ross C. KEPHART (9 Jan 1965). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Ross C. Kephart, 83, Dies at Rest Home

Ross C. Kephart, 83, who lived in Jackson County the greater share of his life, died at an Aitkin rest home Saturday, where he had resided only a short time. He was a Lakefield blacksmith for many years. Mrs. Kephart died last February and he later went to Aitkin to stay with his son Seth.

Ross Kephart was born March 13, 1881, at Cottage Hill, Ia. On July 7, 1909, he was married to Clara Vilmo.

Survivors are one son, Seth; two daughters, Mrs. Lester Norgrant of Spirit Lake and Mrs. H. Ihnen of Seal Beach, Calif.; two sisters, Mrs. E. E. Pearson of rural Jackson and Mrs. R. R. Rost of Lakefield; one brother, Levi Kephart of Sanborn; eight grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were held on Tuesday afternoon at the Lakefield Methodist church. The Rev. R. Hubbard officiated and interment was in Jackson Riverside Cemetery.

Descendants of Roscoe Conklin KEPHART (1881-1965)

Descendants of Roscoe Conklin KEPHART (1881-1965).

Mary Ella KEPHART and Earnest Pearson

Earnest and Ella KEPHART Pearson (1906). Jackson County Pilot (22 Dec 1976). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.


Earnest and Ella KEPHART Pearson. Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Family Group Sheet for Mary Ella KEPHART Pearson (1886-1981)

Husband: Earnest E. PEARSON

Born: 11 May 1880
Place: Hardin Co., IA
Married: 26 Dec 1906
Place: Lakefield, MN
Died: 24 May 1979
Place: Jackson, MN
Buried: Riverside Cemetery, Jackson, MN
Husband's Father: Jesse George PEARSON
Husband's Mother: Samantha Jane CAMPBELL

Wife: Mary Ella KEPHART

Born: 1 Mar 1886
Place: Jackson Co., MN
Died: 15 Mar 1981
Place: Jackson, MN
Buried: Riverside Cemetery, Jackson, MN
Wife's Father: Alfred Brunson KEPHART
Wife’s Mother: Mary Brown MEYERS

---

No Children

"So We Let the Mule Roll Down the Hill"

Deb Chapdelaine, "So we let the mule roll down the hill," (1980). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

"So we let the mule roll down the hill"

BY DEB CHAPELAINE

Ella Pearson, 94, remembers the town of Jackson back in the horse and wagon days. Jackson wasn't so populated then. "It was hills, mostly," says Ella. "I remember one time when father and I were on top of a real steep hill with the wagon. It was spring and real muddy. That hill was so steep and so slippery we couldn't get down any other way, so we just let the mule role down." I asked Ella if that mule was still alive after that incident and Ella said sure, it didn't hurt 'em.

Ella was born March 1, 1886, and has lived all her life in Jackson County. She had five sisters and six brothers, and she was third from youngest child. They never had a telephone in her childhood home.

Teens had taffy pulls and went on hayrides or sleighrides for fun. On Sundays, families would go visiting. The men used to play cards, while the women sat and talked and the kids scattered outside to play.

Didn't the women play cards, too? No, says Ella, they didn't care for it much. Back then playing cards was more of a man's game, said Ella.

On Saturdays, everyone would make their weekly trip into town, where you met all your neighbors and everybody truly knew everybody else. At the stores everything was in big barrels and you bought it in bulk, said Ella. "You'd never see anybody buy any bread," said Ella. "In those days, everybody baked their own."

Ella was 12 when Jackson celebrated the turn of the century. She remembers the settlers picnic held in Ashley Park. "Everybody came. And lots of them camped right there because they'd come too far to go back home for the night." The Civil War veterans marched in their uniforms, making a wonderful parade for all the settlers to see, she said.

Barn dancing was another way Jacksonites of old used to have fun, said Ella. "Square dancing and waltzes ... oh, how I loved to waltz," she said with a happy look in her eyes. "Every Saturday night there'd be a barn dance with the old and young together and lots of good dancing." She sees the new kind of dancing on television's "American Bandstand" and laughs. "It tickles me to see those young people hoppin' up and down and thinking they're dancing.

To cool off at those dances, young people drank water or lemonade. Soft drinks like soda pop just weren't there. As for beer, "the old folks drank beer, and usually in the house. Even if there was a keg in the corner of the barn, you seldom saw a young person drink beer," said Ella. The barn dances started dying out in World War II when, as Ella puts it, "if you had a dance, you had to have a cop."

Ella was married in 1906. "I married my kid sweetheart," she says with a smile. She and her husband Ernest, lived and worked on a farm out in Middletown Township. She says a farm wife "had to be a hired man as well as a housekeeper." Ella and Ernest were married for 72 years and had no children.

In 1910, four years after her marriage, electricity came to the Pearson farm. "I thought it was a big help," says Ella. "Before that we just had oil lamps."

Automobiles were another new-fangled thing. "I remember when the first car came into Middletown," says Ella. "A man by the name of Webb was driving it. I thought it was a crazy idea, it scared our horses."

I asked Ella if she thought automobiles were an improvement over horses. "Well, yes, it was faster," she said. "Still, I liked the horses. They were slower, but you'd see more. You could pay more attention to what's going on around you."

When Ella sees some of today's fashions, she thinks "what crazy styles!" But she also recognizes styles that were the rage in her day. "Women might just as well kept the old dresses and wear them today," she laughed.

"We never had too many dresses at one time," she remembered. "If you had one of those new percale dresses, with the rick-rack around it, why that was nice," said Ella, emphasizing the 'nice'.

She like the hair style that was popular for women then, the pompadour. Sweeping the hair up and out of the way just seemed so practical for her. "That way when you're cooking, it doesn't fall in your face." Her used to be down to her waist. Each morning she would put it up, using what she called "snarls" or "rats" to give the necessary height to the hair. Sometimes she would just back-comb her own hair to give it that puffed out effect. And every night she would faithfully comb that waist-length hair out.

Ella makes her home at the Good Samaritan Center now and in her 94 years, she has seen a lot of changes. She went from oil lamps to electric bulbs; from horses to automobiles. And all those years have not marred her mind. Her memory is still sharp; sharp enough to recall in detail the old days and the old ways.

Earnest E. Pearson Memorial (1880-1979)

Memorial. Earnest E. Pearson (1880-1979). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Ella M. KEPHART Pearson Memorial (1886-1981)

Memorial. Ella M. KEPHART Pearson (1886-1981). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Gravestone: Ella and Earnest Pearson

Ella and Earnest Pearson gravestone. Riverside Cemetery, Jackson, MN (Jul 1993?). Image courtesy of Vince Williams. To the right of the Pearson stone, one can just make out the gravestones for Alfred B. KEPHART, Jr. and George W. KEPHART, brothers of Ella, who both died in childhood.

George Earl and Clara (Rost) KEPHART

George Earl and Clara (Rost) KEPHART (Lakefield, MN: J. A. Bellinger, c. 1911). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Family Group Sheet for George Earl KEPHART (1888-1944)

Husband: George Earl KEPHART

Born: 15 Apr 1888
Place: Jackson, MN
Married: 20 Dec 1911
Place: Jackson Co., MN
Died: 23 Jan 1944
Place: Rochester, MN
Husband's Father: Alfred Brunson KEPHART
Husband's Mother: Mary Brown MEYERS

Wife: Clara Martha ROST

Born: 24 Jul 1886
Place: Jackson, MN
Died: 6 Jun 1972
Place: Lakefield, MN
Wife's Father: Hermann ROST
Wife’s Mother: Augusta NEUMANN

---

Children

1. Alfred Richard KEPHART

Born: 27 Aug 1913
Place: Lakefield, MN
Spouse: Agnes HANSEN
Married: 12 Apr 1941
Died: 1 Jul 1993

2. Lorraine KEPHART

Born: 25 May 1916
Place: Lakefield, MN
Spouse: Joyce B. Evenson
Married: 16 Jun 1937
Died: 14 Jan 1973

Earl and Clara KEPHART's Children

Alfred and Lorraine KEPHART (c. 1916). Caption by photo: "Alfred, age 3, Lorraine, age 1." Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Earl and Clara KEPHART's Family

Earl and Clara KEPHART's Family (Date unknown). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Obituary: George Earl KEPHART (23 Jan 1944)

Obituary. Earl KEPHART (23 Jan 1944). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Earl Kephart, 55, Dies Monday At Rochester

Funeral Services Will Be Held Friday At Immanuel Church

Earl Kephart, 55 years old, died at St. Mary's hospital in Rochester on Monday morning, Jan. 23, following an operation on the previous Friday for tumor of the brain.

Mr. Kephart became ill of the prevailing flu epidemic on Nov. 20 and was confined to his bed about a week at that time. On Dec. 13 he was taken ill again and remained in bed at his home until Jan. 6, when he was removed to Immanuel hospital at Mankato, where he could have constant attention of nurses. As treatment did not respond favorably, he was removed to Rochester, where an operation was performed on Jan. 21, which disclosed a condition which surgeons believed could be cured by X-ray treatment. However, his resistance had been so lowered by his illness of flu that his death followed in a couple of days.

Funeral services will be held tomorrow, Friday, at the home at 1:30 and at the Immanuel Lutheran church at 2:00 p. m. Rev. A. E. Wenger in charge. Mayor C. H. Wendt requests that all business places close from 1:30 to 3:00 p. m. in honor of our fellow townsman.

Earl George Kephart was born in Middletown township April 15, 1888. He came to Lakefield with the family when about 15 years old and about 40 years ago began business with his brother, Ross C. Kephart, when they bought the James Rost implement business. In later years Earl Kephart gave most of his attention to conducting a machine shop while his brother continued the blacksmith business.

Mr. Kephart has been a consistent booster for Lakefield in season and out and was one of the leaders in working for every worthy project to put Lakefield in the front ranks of progressive villages in the state. For 14 years he was chief of the local Volunteer Fire department; he served as village trustee, also served as member of the board of education. About 18 months ago he was asked by Uncle Sam to take a position as teacher in the N. Y. A. school at Shakopee. When the school closed last fall he secured employment with the Brown-Bigelow company in Minneapolis, working on defense projects for which the company had a contract.

Mr. Kephart is survived by his wife and two children: Alfred of Glencoe, Minn., and Lorraine, Mrs. Joyce Evenson, of Fulda; three brothers, William and Ross of Lakefield and Levi of Redwood Falls; four sisters, Bertha, Mrs. H. E. Palmer of Minot, N. D., Lottie, Mrs. George Blakey, south of Jackson; Ella, Mrs. Ernie Pearson of Middletown township, and May, Mrs. Reinhold Rost.

Complete obituary in next week's Standard.

Obituary: Clara (Rost) KEPHART (6 Jun 1972)

Obituary. Clara (Rost) KEPHART. (6 Jun 1972). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Sentinel Area Deaths
Mrs. Clara Kephart

LAKEFIELD--Service for Clara M. Kephart, 86, of Lakefield will be 2 p.m. Thursday at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lakefield. Burial will be in the church cemetery.

Friends may call anytime at Rost Funeral Home. Mrs. Kephart died Tuesday morning at Lakefield Hospital.

She was born July 24, 1886 in Rost Township, Jackson County, and was married to Earl G. Kephart on Dec. 20, 1911 in Rost Township. Following their marriage they lived in Lakefield.

Survivors include one son, Alfred R. Kephart of Minneapolis; one daughter, Mrs. J. B. Evenson of Fulda; two grandchildren; one brother, Reinhold R. Rost of Lakefield.

Descendants of George Earl KEPHART (1888-1944)

Descendants of George Earl KEPHART (1888-1944).