Pearl WADE, son of Mr. and Mrs. THOMAS B. WADE, was born August 27, 1895, and grew to manhood here in this immediate vicinity, and her endeared himself to almost every man, woman, and child, by his cheerful, sympathetic disposition and his industrious ways. Besides the father and mother there yet remain of the family one brother, Harry L. WADE, sgt. in the World’s war; three sisters, Mrs. Will SPARKS, Mrs. Ed OCKERMAN, and Mrs. Paris HATTABAUGH; beyond are one brother, Charles, and one sister, Mrs. Harvey SPARKS. When the U. S. government declared war on Germany, Pierl chose the naval branch for his line of service. He enlisted May 20, 1918, and after training at the naval school at Great Lakes, he was made first-class electrician on board the U. S. battleship Arkansas. On this ship, he saw service in Cuba, South America, British and French waters, and from its deck witnessed the surrender of the German high sea fleet November 21, 1918, of which he remarked many times that God was with him on that day. After twelve months of service, he received an honorable discharge and again entered vigorously upon the duties of civilian life. He accepted a call from a former employer of an electrical company and began on June 6 what he considered his best work, and was looking forward to the establishment of a home to which he could take a bride. The plans of these two young people; the hopes and ambitions of his friends concerning him, were all blasted when at 6 o’clock p. m. on June 28, at Grand Island, Nebraska, he received an electrical shock and fell from a high pole, badly fracturing his skull from the effects of which he died eleven hours later, on Sunday morning, June 29, 1919. In the home, he has ever been a thoughtful, affectionate and dutiful son and brother; in school, a jolly, mischievous pupil and an earnest play-fellow; in Sunday school, a regular supporting member of the young men’s class at Walnut Grove; in his work, a daring, strenuous man; in the service of his country, a cheerful courageous sailor. In all these lines of endeavor he will be sadly missed, but we are comforted by the fact that he played his part well during the short life God gave him here. He was a member of the Modern Woodmen of America of Park and also a member of the Red Men of Bloomfield.
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CEMETERIES OF EASTERN GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA, 1994, G.C.H.S., Richland Township, Walnut Grove Cemetery, Page 187, Column 3: WADE, Pearl, s/o Bun &Frances, 1895—1919, WWI; WADE, Bunion, s/o Andrew & Sabina, 1862—1937; WADE, Sabina, w/o Andrew, d/o Robert & Elizabeth McWHIRTER, 1845—1924.