Decatur Daily Democrat
Adams County, Indiana
Monday, May 5, 1947
DECATUR LADY'S BODY IS FOUND IN RIVER
Minnie DeVor Body is Found Saturday
Graveside funeral services were held Sunday at the Decatur cemetery for Mrs. Minnie DeVor, 41, wife of Dr. H. V. DeVor, whose body was found in the St. Mary's River at Fort Wayne Saturday. Finding of the body about noon that day culminated a concentrated search that had been underway since April 1, when it is believed she intentionally jumped into the river near Pleasant Mills. Dr. A. P. Hattendorf, Allen county coroner said he would return a verdict after a routine investigation into the circumstances. Condition of the body prevented the casket from being opened.
Identification was made by Mrs. Albert Beery, a sister, by means of Mrs. DeVor's white gold wedding ring and dental work. Guards at the Anthony Boulevard dam, who first noticed the body, said that it narrowly escaped being completely destroyed in the churning waters. Driftwood, wedged behind a log which had wedged against one of the dam rollers kept the body from going through the dam, where it undoubtedly would have been destroyed by heavy pieces of drift wood churning in the undertow. G. P. Porsch, a city guard at the dam, first saw the body about 9 a.m. Saturday and thought it was a dummy. About noon his attention was again called to the object by a passerby, C. E. Hostler, Fort Wayne. They decided to call police.
A police boat detail found the current too swift so a detail of firemen and police lowered themselves to a ledge along the north side of the dam, from which they maneuvered the body close to the masonry with pike poles. Then a rope was tied about the body and it was raised to the dam. Local authorites were notified and after the body was positively identified it was returned here by John M. Doan of the Gillig & Doan funeral home and sheriff Herman Bowman. It remained at the funeral home until time for the services Sunday.
Surviving Mrs. DeVor are the husband, a Decatur dentist and former army major; her mother, Mrs. Hattie Mills, of Decatur; three sisters, Mrs. Beery, Decatur; Mrs. Mary Oliver of Fort Wayne and Mrs. Dewey Anderson of Angola.
Mrs. DeVor was well known here. She was a registered nurse and had been prominent in social activities. Members of the family said that she had threatened to take her own life several times and that she had returned from the Easthaven hospital at Richmond only a few days before her death. She had been in ill health for some time. Finding of the body ended one of the most unusual searches for a drowning victim in the county's history. Members of the sheriff's department, state police, Fort Wayne police, the local and Van Wert, Ohio volunteer fire departments, several "experts", scores of relatives, friends and volunteer citizens had participated in the search at various times. Scores of theories concerning the probable location of the body were all given attention by police authorities and searchers, but proved futile. Unusually high waters and the accompanying swift current, as well as considerable inclement weather, hampered searchers during most of the month.
Minnie I De Vore
in the Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011
Name: Minnie I De Vore
Gender: Female
Race: White
Age: 40
Marital status: Married
Birth Date: 15 Mar 1907
Birth Place: Adams Co Indiana
Death Date: 1 Apr 1947; drowning; suicide
Death Place: Rural, Adams, Indiana , USA
Father: Lewis Mills
Mother: Hattie Andrews
Spouse: Harold De Vore
Informant: Dr. H. DeVore
Burial: May 4, 1947; Decatur Cem.
Contributor: Karin King (47469179) •
Adams County, Indiana
Monday, May 5, 1947
DECATUR LADY'S BODY IS FOUND IN RIVER
Minnie DeVor Body is Found Saturday
Graveside funeral services were held Sunday at the Decatur cemetery for Mrs. Minnie DeVor, 41, wife of Dr. H. V. DeVor, whose body was found in the St. Mary's River at Fort Wayne Saturday. Finding of the body about noon that day culminated a concentrated search that had been underway since April 1, when it is believed she intentionally jumped into the river near Pleasant Mills. Dr. A. P. Hattendorf, Allen county coroner said he would return a verdict after a routine investigation into the circumstances. Condition of the body prevented the casket from being opened.
Identification was made by Mrs. Albert Beery, a sister, by means of Mrs. DeVor's white gold wedding ring and dental work. Guards at the Anthony Boulevard dam, who first noticed the body, said that it narrowly escaped being completely destroyed in the churning waters. Driftwood, wedged behind a log which had wedged against one of the dam rollers kept the body from going through the dam, where it undoubtedly would have been destroyed by heavy pieces of drift wood churning in the undertow. G. P. Porsch, a city guard at the dam, first saw the body about 9 a.m. Saturday and thought it was a dummy. About noon his attention was again called to the object by a passerby, C. E. Hostler, Fort Wayne. They decided to call police.
A police boat detail found the current too swift so a detail of firemen and police lowered themselves to a ledge along the north side of the dam, from which they maneuvered the body close to the masonry with pike poles. Then a rope was tied about the body and it was raised to the dam. Local authorites were notified and after the body was positively identified it was returned here by John M. Doan of the Gillig & Doan funeral home and sheriff Herman Bowman. It remained at the funeral home until time for the services Sunday.
Surviving Mrs. DeVor are the husband, a Decatur dentist and former army major; her mother, Mrs. Hattie Mills, of Decatur; three sisters, Mrs. Beery, Decatur; Mrs. Mary Oliver of Fort Wayne and Mrs. Dewey Anderson of Angola.
Mrs. DeVor was well known here. She was a registered nurse and had been prominent in social activities. Members of the family said that she had threatened to take her own life several times and that she had returned from the Easthaven hospital at Richmond only a few days before her death. She had been in ill health for some time. Finding of the body ended one of the most unusual searches for a drowning victim in the county's history. Members of the sheriff's department, state police, Fort Wayne police, the local and Van Wert, Ohio volunteer fire departments, several "experts", scores of relatives, friends and volunteer citizens had participated in the search at various times. Scores of theories concerning the probable location of the body were all given attention by police authorities and searchers, but proved futile. Unusually high waters and the accompanying swift current, as well as considerable inclement weather, hampered searchers during most of the month.
Minnie I De Vore
in the Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011
Name: Minnie I De Vore
Gender: Female
Race: White
Age: 40
Marital status: Married
Birth Date: 15 Mar 1907
Birth Place: Adams Co Indiana
Death Date: 1 Apr 1947; drowning; suicide
Death Place: Rural, Adams, Indiana , USA
Father: Lewis Mills
Mother: Hattie Andrews
Spouse: Harold De Vore
Informant: Dr. H. DeVore
Burial: May 4, 1947; Decatur Cem.
Contributor: Karin King (47469179) •
Decatur Daily Democrat
Adams County, Indiana
Monday, May 5, 1947
DECATUR LADY'S BODY IS FOUND IN RIVER
Minnie DeVor Body is Found Saturday
Graveside funeral services were held Sunday at the Decatur cemetery for Mrs. Minnie DeVor, 41, wife of Dr. H. V. DeVor, whose body was found in the St. Mary's River at Fort Wayne Saturday. Finding of the body about noon that day culminated a concentrated search that had been underway since April 1, when it is believed she intentionally jumped into the river near Pleasant Mills. Dr. A. P. Hattendorf, Allen county coroner said he would return a verdict after a routine investigation into the circumstances. Condition of the body prevented the casket from being opened.
Identification was made by Mrs. Albert Beery, a sister, by means of Mrs. DeVor's white gold wedding ring and dental work. Guards at the Anthony Boulevard dam, who first noticed the body, said that it narrowly escaped being completely destroyed in the churning waters. Driftwood, wedged behind a log which had wedged against one of the dam rollers kept the body from going through the dam, where it undoubtedly would have been destroyed by heavy pieces of drift wood churning in the undertow. G. P. Porsch, a city guard at the dam, first saw the body about 9 a.m. Saturday and thought it was a dummy. About noon his attention was again called to the object by a passerby, C. E. Hostler, Fort Wayne. They decided to call police.
A police boat detail found the current too swift so a detail of firemen and police lowered themselves to a ledge along the north side of the dam, from which they maneuvered the body close to the masonry with pike poles. Then a rope was tied about the body and it was raised to the dam. Local authorites were notified and after the body was positively identified it was returned here by John M. Doan of the Gillig & Doan funeral home and sheriff Herman Bowman. It remained at the funeral home until time for the services Sunday.
Surviving Mrs. DeVor are the husband, a Decatur dentist and former army major; her mother, Mrs. Hattie Mills, of Decatur; three sisters, Mrs. Beery, Decatur; Mrs. Mary Oliver of Fort Wayne and Mrs. Dewey Anderson of Angola.
Mrs. DeVor was well known here. She was a registered nurse and had been prominent in social activities. Members of the family said that she had threatened to take her own life several times and that she had returned from the Easthaven hospital at Richmond only a few days before her death. She had been in ill health for some time. Finding of the body ended one of the most unusual searches for a drowning victim in the county's history. Members of the sheriff's department, state police, Fort Wayne police, the local and Van Wert, Ohio volunteer fire departments, several "experts", scores of relatives, friends and volunteer citizens had participated in the search at various times. Scores of theories concerning the probable location of the body were all given attention by police authorities and searchers, but proved futile. Unusually high waters and the accompanying swift current, as well as considerable inclement weather, hampered searchers during most of the month.
Minnie I De Vore
in the Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011
Name: Minnie I De Vore
Gender: Female
Race: White
Age: 40
Marital status: Married
Birth Date: 15 Mar 1907
Birth Place: Adams Co Indiana
Death Date: 1 Apr 1947; drowning; suicide
Death Place: Rural, Adams, Indiana , USA
Father: Lewis Mills
Mother: Hattie Andrews
Spouse: Harold De Vore
Informant: Dr. H. DeVore
Burial: May 4, 1947; Decatur Cem.
Contributor: Karin King (47469179) •
Adams County, Indiana
Monday, May 5, 1947
DECATUR LADY'S BODY IS FOUND IN RIVER
Minnie DeVor Body is Found Saturday
Graveside funeral services were held Sunday at the Decatur cemetery for Mrs. Minnie DeVor, 41, wife of Dr. H. V. DeVor, whose body was found in the St. Mary's River at Fort Wayne Saturday. Finding of the body about noon that day culminated a concentrated search that had been underway since April 1, when it is believed she intentionally jumped into the river near Pleasant Mills. Dr. A. P. Hattendorf, Allen county coroner said he would return a verdict after a routine investigation into the circumstances. Condition of the body prevented the casket from being opened.
Identification was made by Mrs. Albert Beery, a sister, by means of Mrs. DeVor's white gold wedding ring and dental work. Guards at the Anthony Boulevard dam, who first noticed the body, said that it narrowly escaped being completely destroyed in the churning waters. Driftwood, wedged behind a log which had wedged against one of the dam rollers kept the body from going through the dam, where it undoubtedly would have been destroyed by heavy pieces of drift wood churning in the undertow. G. P. Porsch, a city guard at the dam, first saw the body about 9 a.m. Saturday and thought it was a dummy. About noon his attention was again called to the object by a passerby, C. E. Hostler, Fort Wayne. They decided to call police.
A police boat detail found the current too swift so a detail of firemen and police lowered themselves to a ledge along the north side of the dam, from which they maneuvered the body close to the masonry with pike poles. Then a rope was tied about the body and it was raised to the dam. Local authorites were notified and after the body was positively identified it was returned here by John M. Doan of the Gillig & Doan funeral home and sheriff Herman Bowman. It remained at the funeral home until time for the services Sunday.
Surviving Mrs. DeVor are the husband, a Decatur dentist and former army major; her mother, Mrs. Hattie Mills, of Decatur; three sisters, Mrs. Beery, Decatur; Mrs. Mary Oliver of Fort Wayne and Mrs. Dewey Anderson of Angola.
Mrs. DeVor was well known here. She was a registered nurse and had been prominent in social activities. Members of the family said that she had threatened to take her own life several times and that she had returned from the Easthaven hospital at Richmond only a few days before her death. She had been in ill health for some time. Finding of the body ended one of the most unusual searches for a drowning victim in the county's history. Members of the sheriff's department, state police, Fort Wayne police, the local and Van Wert, Ohio volunteer fire departments, several "experts", scores of relatives, friends and volunteer citizens had participated in the search at various times. Scores of theories concerning the probable location of the body were all given attention by police authorities and searchers, but proved futile. Unusually high waters and the accompanying swift current, as well as considerable inclement weather, hampered searchers during most of the month.
Minnie I De Vore
in the Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011
Name: Minnie I De Vore
Gender: Female
Race: White
Age: 40
Marital status: Married
Birth Date: 15 Mar 1907
Birth Place: Adams Co Indiana
Death Date: 1 Apr 1947; drowning; suicide
Death Place: Rural, Adams, Indiana , USA
Father: Lewis Mills
Mother: Hattie Andrews
Spouse: Harold De Vore
Informant: Dr. H. DeVore
Burial: May 4, 1947; Decatur Cem.
Contributor: Karin King (47469179) •
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