Individual Details

Death

at age 23 (Hanssen, 146)

 THE ANAMOSA JOURNAL, ANAMOSA, IOWA, JUNE 13, 1946, PAGE 1
MAN DROWNED NEAR AAMOSA FRIDAY NIGHT
Laverne Eilers First '46 Victim For Jones County
Laverne Eilers, 23, son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Eilers, Anamosa, was drowned early Friday evening when he fell into the Buffalo river about a mile west of Anamosa.  Laverne was fishing with a friend, Don Allen, and his brothers James and Galen Eilers when he fell into the river at a place where the river is believed to be about 10 feet deep.  
Call Firemen
Emory Welch, Anamosa, who was fishing downstream from the accident, pulled Eilers out of the water and summoned the Anamosa fire department who worked about two and one-half hours with their oxygen mask without success. Welch is employed at the Jones County Hatchery.
Laverne was born Oct. 9, 1922, in Lovell township, Jones county, and moved to Anamosa with his parents when he was 10 years old.  He was the oldest child in the family. He attended the rural schools in Lovell and Wayne townships and at Langworthy. He had helped at the Ernest Dirks farm  north of Anamosa quite a bit of the time, and lately had been working around home.
He joined the Congregational  church in 1943.
Survivors Named
Surviving are his parents, Paul and Hannah Eilers, five brothers, Jimmy, William, Robert, Glen and Eddie Eilers; one sister, Joan Eilers, all of Anamosa, and several aunts and uncles.
Funeral service was held Monday at the Loder Funeral Home and the Congregational church.  Burial was made at Riverside cemetery. Pallbearers were Merle Zimmerman, Walter Schafer,  Jack Day, Laverne Townsend, Dale and Donald Allen.