Davis, Oliver L. (1943-1958)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1958 Jun 26 p. 1

Birth date: 1943

text of obituary:

Three Young People Killed, Five Injured

GARDEN CITY, KAN. YOUTH AMONG VICTIMS OF HEAD-ON COLLISION

Dodge City, Kan. — A car carrying five young people of the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite and one occupied by three other teen-age youths collided head-on west of here last Sunday afternoon, killing three of the youths and injuring the other five, several critically.

Killed were Vernon Lloyd Ratzlaff, 16, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Ratzlaff of Garden City who was with the Mennonite group, Oliver L. Davis, 15, and LaDonna Abrams,14, passengers in the other car.

Reported in critical condition in a hospital here were Alvina [sic Albina] Ratzlaff, 16, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John R. Ratzlaff of Cimarron, and Richard W. Koehn, 18, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ruben [sic Reuben] D. Koehn of Cimarron, Both were injured internally.

Also seriously hurt were Dorothy Koehn, 15, daughter of Louis Koehn of Cimarron, Margaret Ratzlaff, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jonas Ratzlaff of livingston, Calif., and Gary Gobin, the driver of the second car.

A witness reported that the car driven by Gobin pulled out to pass a car pulling a house trailer. His car and the oncoming car both swerved, but met head-on.

Funeral services for Vernon Ratzlaff were to be held Wednesday afternoon at the Phillips Chapel in Garden City, with burial in the Valley View cemetery.