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Rempel, Theodor B. (1913-1938)
Christlicher Bundesbote obituary: 1938 Jul 19 p. 14
Birth date: 1913
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1938 Jun 15 p. 1
text of obituary:
Death Overtakes Ted Rempel Shortly after the Accident.
An air-compressor tank explosion at Hillsboro Monday evening caused the sudden death of Ted Rempel and seriously injured Jake Funk, a vistor. Funk's injuries were so serious that one leg was amputated immediately.
The accident happened at the Goerz garage and filling station in Hillsboro. Others in the building at the time of the explosion were Ed Ewert, who suffered a broken leg, and Miss Martha Ebel, bookkeeper, who escaped injury.
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1938 Jun 22 p. 5
text of obituary:
Detailed Report Of Recent Accident at Hillsboro, Kansas.
Funeral services for Theodore Rempel of Hillsboro, Kans., whose tragic death was reported in the Review last week, were held at the Brudertal church Friday afternoon June 17. An unusually large crowd of sorrowing friends and relatives attended the funeral.
The Hillsboro Star, in its last week's issue, gives the following details of the accident in which Mr. Rempel was killed:
Theodore Rempel, employee of the Goertz Motor & Oil Co., is dead and Jac. F. Funk, another employee, is in a critical condition as well as Ed Ewert, a farmer east of town, who was in the station to buy a tire when the air tank on the power lift exploded about six o'clock Tuesday evening.
Mr. Ewert had brought a trailer load of wheat to town and had stopped at the service station to buy a tire. Mr. Rempel had just completed the sale and being the only man on duty at the time evidently failed to notice that the pressure on the tank had gone beyond the safety point. It is reported that he was reaching up to shut off the compressor motor when the tank went to pieces.
The accident happened about six o'clock, a minute before or after Jake Funk, another employee had just come and walked to the middle room and right into the explosion. Mr. Ewert had two small children with him and they had just run out of the station to the car in a hurry to get home, neither were hurt.
Miss Martha Ebel, bookkeeper in the station, who was in the front office at the time of the accident was scratched by fragments of the tank or by falling parts. The explosion was so terrific that Mr. Rempel was blown into the back room of the station. Just what caused the accident or the exact details will never be known as Mr. Rempel was unable to talk from the time of the accident until he passed away about eleven-thirty last night.
Mr. Rempel suffered a badly fractured right arm and hip, his left leg was also broken and he received cuts on the face and chest. His chest was evidently crushed and internal injuries caused his death. Mr. Funk received a badly fracture right leg which had to be amputated above the knee, about midnight. His left arm was also broken. Mr. Ewert also suffered a broken leg and bad bruises.
The room at the station where the compressor and tank was located was almost completely wrecked, the bottom of the air tank was blown out through a window in the station. Valves and other parts of the tank were hurled through partitions and against the victims.
This tragedy comes as a distinct shock to the entire city and community. Mr. Rempel was married only last August and had a bright future before him. He was an industrious, dependable young man and his untimely death will not only be a loss to his young wife, but relatives and friends as well.
The Mennonite obituary: 1938 Jul 26 p. 12
