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Slabaugh, Vernon Dale (1949-1964)
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1964 Jul 30 p. 3
Birth date: 1949
text of obituary:
Four Teen Age Young People Victims of Drowning Accidents
Lancaster, Pa. — Two Mennonite teen-age young people of Lancaster County drowned recently in separate accidents.
Ivan Lee Witmer,14-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Witmer of Martindale, drowned July 18 while on a family outing on Delaware Bay near Rehoboth Beach, Md. About 20 family members were digging clams when Ivan stepped into a deep channel and disappeared. The body was recovered several hours later.
The youth leaves his parents, four sisters, and the grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Sensenig and Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Witmer. The funeral was conducted at the Martindale Mennonite Church, of which he was a member.
Anna Mary Charles, 19, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. Earl Charles of Route 1, Leola, drowned July 20 in a pond at the Landis Homes Retirement Community where she was employed.
Anna Mary and a companion, Anna Mae Graybill, were wading in the pond when they slipped into a deep hole. Anna Mae swam to shore, but help came too late to save Anna Mary.
Funeral services were held at the Landis Valley Mennonite Church. Besides her parents she leaves three sisters and two brothers.
Goshen, Ind. — Vernon Dale Slabaugh, 15-year-old Amish youth and son of Daniel and Katie Slabaugh of Route 2, Nappanee, drowned in a gravel pit southwest of Nappanee the evening of July 23.
The young man was in the pit with about 15 other youths when he apparently got into trouble in deep water. He was reportedly a poor swimmer. The body was recovered several hours after he was reported missing.
Belleville, Pa. — Eighteen-year-old John Yoder and his brother Noah Yoder, sons of Jonas D. and Nancy Yoder, went swimming in the farm pond at the Samuel Metz farm near Allensville on July 20 after a day of threshing.
John soon called for help, but all efforts to rescue him were in vain. He was a swimmer, and it is not known what caused him to go down. The body could not be recovered until some of the water had been pumped out of the pool.
The youth was a member of the Amish church.