Joseph, Wallowa County, Oregon
Mrs. Vic Crow Fatally Injured in Auto Crash
Mrs. Victor M. Crow was instantly killed Saturday evening when the Crow car met with a violent accident as they were on their way to the basketball tournament in Wallowa. The accident occurred about three-quarters of a mile west of Lostine. Mrs. Crow apparently died from severe head injuries. The automobile was completely demolished.
A pickup, owned by Darrell Rysdam had stopped on the edge of the highway to retrieve one of the sideboards that had blown off. The Crow’s automobile crashed into the left rear of the truck while Rysdam was in the borrow pit picking up the sideboard.
The impact of the collision threw the truck across a bridge abutment while the Crow’s automobile spun around and careened off of the opposite side of the road facing the east. Vic, himself, was thrown from the car and landed in the middle of the pavement receiving extreme cuts and bruises.
He was taken to the doctor in Wallowa for immediate treatment and was later transferred to the Wallowa Memorial Hospital. His injuries included a slight head concussion along with the extensive cuts and soreness. How long he will have to remain a patient at the hospital was not determined at first report.
Rysdam, who lives at the top of Minam Hill about a mile north of the highway on the Palmer Junction Road, had left his wife in the truck while he looked for the lost sideboard. Mrs. Rysdam was injured by the impact and was treated for her injuries in Elgin. Also in the back of the Rysdam truck was a pony that Rysdam had just purchased from Bill Steen. The pony’s leg was broken but it is reported that the leg was set satisfactorily.
After the Crow’s car came to a stand still there was a small fire in the front of the car that was controlled by the Lostine fire department. Warner Crow, brother of Vic, was at the scene with the Lostine fire department.
When the accident occurred Mrs. Crow’s brother, LeRoy, one of the referees at the tournament, and Mr. Crow’s two children, who were also at the game, were contacted immediately.
Mrs. Elda Mae Crow was the daughter of Lee and Bessie Childers and was born November 2, 1926 at Cove. Prior to her marriage on June 12, 1959 at Boise, Idaho to Victor M. Crow, she had taught at the Greenwood elementary school in La Grande since 1947. She was a member of the National Education Association and was featured by that organization in 1959 as an outstanding teacher. She was an active member of the Joseph PTA.
Mrs. Crow belonged to the Methodist Church of Joseph and was a member of the Women’s Society of Christian Service. She was a member of Beta Sigma Phi and of Delta Kappa Gamma, and belonged to the county Democratic club.
Survivors include her husband, Victor M. Crow, a son, Philip, and a daughter, Lou Ann, all at the family home near Joseph; her mother, Mrs. Bessie Childers, and a brother, LeRoy Childers, both of Cove; and a sister, Mrs. Irl (Iola) Robinson, of Salem.
Memorial services will be conducted today (Thursday) at 2 p.m. by the Bollman Funeral Home at the Joseph Methodist church with the Rev. Floyd E. White officiating. Interment will be held in the Lostine cemetery. The body will lie in state at the Bollman chapel until 12 noon today (Thursday).
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa, Oregon
Thursday, February 3, 1961
Front Page
Contributed by: Tom Childers
Portland, Oregon