Martin, Robert Wenger (1917-1955)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1955 Nov 3 p. 1

Birth date: 1917

text of obituary:

SEVEN KILLED IN PLANE CRASH, AUTO ACCIDENT

As the Review goes to press, word is received of fatal accidents at Harrisonburg, Va. And Metamora, Ill., which claimed the lives of seven persons.

A private plane flown by Elmer R. Berkey, 57, of Sheridan, Ore. crashed Saturday afternoon at Harrisonburg, killing Mr. Berkey, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Martin and Sanford Martin, all of Harrisonburg, and Samuel Kauffman of Pennsylvania.

A head-on auto collision near Metamora Sunday night claimed the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Schertz (Mrs. Schertz the former Esther Strubhar.)

---

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1955 Nov 10 p. 3

text of obituary:

Services Held For Plane Crash Victims

TRIPLE FUNERAL SERVICE HELDFOR 2 BROTHERS AND WIFE OF ONE KILLED IN VIRGINIA TRAGEDY

Harrisonburg, Va. — Triple funeral services were held at the Eastern Mennonite College chapel Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 2, for P. Sanford Martin, 24, Robert W. Martin, 38, and Mrs. Robert Martin, 35, who were among five persons killed in the crash of a twin-engine plane near here Saturday afternoon, Oct. 29.

Also killed were Elmer R. Berkey, 57, pilot and owner of the plane, of Sheridan, Oregon, and Samuel B. Kauffman, 27 of Park View. Mr. Berkey was a half-brother of Mrs. Robert Martin.

This community was stunned and grief-stricken by the sudden tragedy which removed three prominent young businessmen here and the wife of one of them, all of whom were active in church work. Sanford Martin was president of the Riteway Mfg. Co. here and his brother Robert was vice-president. Mr. Kauffman was vice-president of Superior Concrete, Inc., Harrisonburg.

Cause Unknown

Mr. and Mrs. Berkey had flown here from Oregon earlier in the week, and Mr. Berkey was taking the group on a short pleasure trip when the crash occurred. The exact cause will probably never be known. Witnesses said one engine of the two-engine craft apparently had stopped, when the low-flying plane suddenly banked and plummeted to the earth.

Bodies of Mr. Berkey and Mr. Kauffman were removed from the burning plane, but those of the Martins were removed after the fire had been extinguished by firemen.

The Martin brothers were sons of Mr. and Mrs. Perry S. Martin of Harrisonburg, who survive with seven brothers and sisters. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Martin leave two children, Robert 11 and Helen 8. P. Sanford Martin is survived by his wife, Shirley Ann, and two children, Perry S., 2, and Bryan Dale, seven months.

Mrs. Mary Shenk Berkey, mother of Mrs. Robert Martin (the former Mabel Berkey) and step-mother of Elmer R. Berkey, resides at Park View. A number of brothers and sisters also survive. Their father was the late Rev. E. J. Berkey.

Mr. Berkey, who operated a sawmill in Oregon, leaves his wife and four children. His body was sent to Sheridan for final services and burial.

After a service at a Harrisonburg funeral home, the body of Samuel Kauffman was sent to McAlisterville, Penn. Where final services were held at the Lauvers Mennonite Church. He is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John L. Kauffman of Park View, and one brother, J. Paul Kauffman of Ann Arbor, Mich.

The services for the Martins were in charge of Harold Eshleman, B. Charles Hostetter and Chester M. Helmick. Robert Martin had served as engineer for The Mennonite Hour broadcast and Sanford was a member of the chorus.

---

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1955 Nov 24 p. 11

text of obituary:

The Recent Tragedy in Va.

FAMILIES, COMMUNITY SUFFER GREAT LOSS IN HARRISONBURG'S WORST AIR CRASH

By Mrs. Moss Slabaugh, Harrisonburg, Va.

A SATURDAY afternoon that will long be remembered by many of us in a special way is that of Oct. 29, 1955. Our eleven year old son, Gordon, went over to play with our near neighbor's eleven year old son, Dwayne Martin. There is only a week's difference in their ages and the two boys are quite close pals. Gordon soon came back saying that Dwayne was crying so hard because his papa and mama had been killed in an airplane accident.

My husband and I just couldn't believe it and thought Gordon must have gotten his information mixed up somewhere. We went over to Dwayne's home and found not only had Dwayne's father and mother been accidentally killed, but also his two uncles and a neighbor man who lived down the street a little ways.

To walk into a tragedy like that does something to one that you can't explain and only the Lord knows what the family and friends go through. One of the home ministers stated in his sermon the next day that it would be a further tragedy if the community learns no lessons from this heart-breaking experience.

*          *          * A Careful Pilot

ON THE Wednesday morning previous to the accident, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Berkey from Sheridan, Oregon, arrived in Park View on a week's surprise visit to friends and relatives. Mr. Berkey had taken one of his employees to a funeral in Missouri. They had travelled in Mr. Berkey's twin engine private plane. While there, Mr. and Mrs. Berkey visited a daughter of theirs and then decided that while they were this far east, they would just fly to Harrisonburg, Va. before going back to Oregon again.

On Tuesday evening the Berkeys' were within twenty minutes flying distance of Harrisonburg, but since Mr. Berkey is a very cautious pilot, he stayed at Elkins, W. Va. rather than have it get too dark for him to land. On Wednesday morning when the Berkeys' arrived at the J. J. Hostetter home which is Mr. Berkey's sister, they found no one at home. They waited an hour and then Mrs. Hostetter drove in, Mr. Berkey went out on the porch and invited his sister to come in and make herself at home.

*          *          * Children Left Behind

ON THURSDAY Mr. Berkey took some of his relatives for a ride in his plane and then again on Saturday afternoon some more rides were planned. After a family reunion dinner at the home of his step-mother, Mrs. E. J. Berkey, friends and relatives started for the local airport in several cars. As the first plane ride began, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Martin waved goodbye to their two children who were supposed to have been in the plane also, but arrived a little too late because they stopped to buy chewing gum and someone else took their places.

That plane never returned. The passengers who perished in the plane were Elmer Rhodes Berkey, 57, of Sheridan, Oregon; his half-sister, Mrs. Mabel Berkey Martin, 35; her husband, Robert Wenger Martin, 38, his brother, Perry Sanford Martin, 24; and Samuel B. Kauffman, 27, all of Park View near Harrisonburg, Va.

According to eye witnesses the Piper Apache plane crashed about 3:45 p. m. from a low altitude in a field two miles north of Harrisonburg and about half a mile east of Route No 11. The plane burst into flames a moment after it struck the ground with a heavy thud. The cause of the worst airplane accident ever to occur in this area is not known. Mr. Berkey had the reputation of being an extremely cautious flyer and was always having the motors of his plane checked. Those who saw the plane's plummet-like descent said the pilot was apparently trying to bank when the second motor stalled.

*          *          * Funeral Services Held

A SPECIAL dinner for friends and relatives of the Oregon guests had been planned for Sunday but instead Mr. Berkey's widow started back to Oregon on Sunday afternoon with the corpse of her husband. Monday evening memorial services were held at the Lindsey Funeral Home for Samuel Kauffman and then on Tuesday afternoon last rites were held for him at the Lauver's Church near McAlisterivlle, Pa.

Wednesday afternoon one of the largest funerals this community has ever witnessed was held at the Eastern Mennonite College Chapel when respect was paid to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Martin and Sanford Martin. Officiating clergymen were Pastors B. Charles Hostetter, Harold G. Eshleman, Chester M. Helmick, John L. Stauffer, Lehman Longenecker, and John R. Mumaw. Vocal selections were rendered by The Mennonite Hour Chorus and The Mennonite Hour Quartet.

Local families involved in the catastrophe requested that flowers be omitted and that the money normally used for this purpose be contributed to The Mennonite Hour Program whose address is P. O. Box 22, Harrisonburg, Va. Bro. Robert Martin was assistant engineer of The Mennonite Hour. Bro Sanford Martin was a member of The Mennonite Hour Chorus, and Sister Mabel Martin helped mail out tapes to the fifty radio stations over which The Mennonite Hour is broadcast.

*          *          * Active in Church, Business

AT THE time of his death, Robert Martin was a member of the Church Council of the Chicago Avenue Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, also chairman of the Y.P.B.M committee. Both Bro. and Sister Martin have served as Sunday School teachers in the past. Bro. Samuel Kauffman helped for four months in a builders unit at Hesston, Kansas. He had also served as a Sunday School teacher at a mission church at Elkton, Va. and had been active in their cottage prayer meeting work.

All the departed were active in business circles. Berkey owned and operated a sawmill in Oregon. Samuel Kauffman was vice-president of Superior Concrete, Inc. of Harrisonburg. Robert Martin was treasurer and factory superintendent of the Riteway Manufacturing Company of Harrisonburg and Mrs. Robert Martin was secetary [sic] to the president of the same company. Sanford Martin was gifted as an inventor and designer of mechanical equipment and was employed by Riteway as an engineer and Mechanic.