Claassen, Martha Froese (d. 1962)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1962 Apr 26 P. 1

Birth date:

text of obituary:

Two Sisters, Formerly Of Buhler, On Plane Lost in Nevada

According to press reports an air search was under way early this week in the Wells area of Elko County in northern Nevada for a private airplane, missing since last Friday, which was carrying six California residents back to that state after a trip to the Midwest.

Among the passengers on the lost plane were Mrs. Carl Claassen of Woodland, Calif. and her sister, Mrs. Geo.. L. (Connie) Moore of Walnut Creek, Calif. The sisters had com to Kansas on the plane last week and visited their parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. K. Froese at Buhler, and brother, Edward J. Froese of Hutchinson. Mrs. Claassen is a daughter-in-law of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest J. Claassen of Newton.

On Thursday the sisters began the return trip to California on the plane, piloted by Al Hoffman of the Pacific Oil Seed, Inc. branch office at Fresno, Calif. Carl Claassen is president of the oil seed firm.

At Denver the group picked up Hoffman's wife and two sons, 12 and 11 years of age. The plane left Salt Lake City at 9:30 a.m. Friday and was scheduled to arrive at Woodland at 11:35 a.m. No trace of the missing craft had been found as of the Review's press time.

It was reported that the plane flew into a storm upon leaving Salt Lake City.

Carl Claassen, at the home in California, had just returned on Wednesday, April 18, from a business trip to Australia.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1962 May 3 p. 3

text of obituary:

MEMORIAL SERVICES IN CALIFORNIA SUNDAY FOR PLANE ACCIDENT VICTIM

Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Claassen of rural Newton and their children, Mrs. Frank Busenitz and Rev. Willard Claassen, are leaving this week for Woodland, Calif., where they will attend memorial services Sunday, at four p.m. for their daughter and sister-in-law, Mrs. Carl Claassen.

Mrs. Claassen was one or [sic] six persons in a plane which disappeared in a snowstorm somewhere over Nevada two weeks ago next Friday. Others in the plane were Mrs. Claassen's sister, Mrs. Connie Moore of Walnut Creek, Calif., the pilot Al Hoffman, his wife, and their two sons Tom and Bruce all of Fresno, Calif.

The two sisters were daughters of Mr. and Mrs. J. K. Froese of Buhler and had visited at the parental homes in Kansas prior to the tragedy. They were returning to California with the Hoffman family, who had been in the Midwest on a business trip.

The E. J. Claassens' son Carl is president of the Pacific Oil Seed Co., Inc. Besides the husband, also three daughters survive.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1962 Jun 28 p. 1

text of obituary:

Recover Bodies of Six Killed in Plane Crash

Buhler, Kan. — The site of an April plane crash which claimed the lives of two sisters, formerly of Buhler, was discovered recently on top of Pequop Peak in northern Nevada. The bodies of all six victims of the crash were recovered, according to information received here.

The bodies of Mrs. Martha Claassen and her sister, Mrs. Connie Moore, were returned to Woodland, Calif. and Walnut Creek, Calif. respectively, where commital services were held. They were the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. J. K. Froese of Buhler.

Mrs. Claassen was the wife of Carl Claassen, president of the Pacific Oil Seed Co. of Woodland, and daughter-in-law of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest J. Claassen of Route 4, Newton, Kan. The sisters were returning home after a visit in Kansas when the private plane piloted by Albert Hoffman of Fresno, an official of the oil seed firm, was lost after leaving Salt Lake City. Hoffman, his wife and two sons also died in the crash.

A recent report from Wells, Nev. told of the discovery of the crash scene by two Salt Lake City pilots. The bodies were recovered by Elko County sheriff's officers. From all indications, the victims were killed instantly.