William Mc GRIMES

August 28, 1885 - September 9, 1911
Son of John & ME Grimes

*Obituary
Benton County Democrat
Thursday, September 14, 1911

GRIMES, Will - Last Saturday afternoon about 3 o'clock Will Grimes, an electrician for the Rogers Light and Water Company, was electrocuted while putting in a transformer at the glove factory at Rogers. After receiving a shock of 2200 volts of electricity his body hung to the wires until the current was cut off when it fell a distance of about twenty-five feet. Mr. Grimes was twenty-six years of age and leaves a wife and son. He was a brother of J.C. Grimes, superintendent of the electric light and water works system at this place. The funeral was held at the home of his father, John Grimes, who lives about six and a half miles northeast of town and the body was interred in the cemetery near there. The bereaved relatives have the sympathy of a host of friends in their bereavement.

*Obituary
Rogers Democrat
Thursday, September 14, 1911

Will Grimes, lineman for the Rogers Light & Water Co., was killed Saturday afternoon about three o'clock while working on an electric light pole in the Blackburn Addition near the Dunham home. As he grasped a live wire with his pliers, 2200 volts of electricity flashed into his body, killing him before he could make an outcry. There were a number of eye witnesses to the accident and while someone ran to telephone the power house to shut off the current, others secured a ladder in an attempt to scale the pole and release the helpless body. Luckily they did not touch it or there might have been more deaths. When the current was cut off the body dropped to the ground some sixteen feet below. Mr. Grimes was removing a transformer and was working in the rain. He was not using his safety belt and had one leg over the cross arm. The wet pole and his wet clothes made an excellent conductor for the current and when one knee touched a telephone wire while the hand with the pliers touched the live wire, he received the entire voltage. His hand was quite severely burned and there was also a burn where his knee had touched the telephone wire. It has been suggested that he was only stunned by the shock and was really killed by the fall to the ground but those who saw him hanging to the wire feel certain that death must have resulted instantaneously. Mr. Grimes, who was 26 years old on August 28th, was a son of John Grimes, who lives north of Rogers and a nephew of Jas. Grimes of Prairie Creek. He was married six years ago to Miss Myrtle Conner of Lelia, Mo. and he leaves one child, a little boy about five years old. Mr. Grimes had been in the employ of the electric light company for several years, having worked at the plant as fireman and engineer and then later as a lineman. He was known to our people as for some months he had been reading the meters in the stores and homes. He was an industrious and popular young man and his sudden and untimely death is a great blow to the many friends and relatives. A brother of the deceased is in charge of the electric light system at Bentonville. Funeral services were held on Sunday afternoon at the home of the father and interment was at Tuck's Chapel. Rev. Douglas of Garfield had charge of the services. Mr. Grimes was an Odd Fellow, holding his membership at Collins, Mo. The funeral was attended by a number of the order from Rogers and the other nearby lodges and they had charge of the services at the cemetery.

Married to Myrtle Conner October 30, 1905

Note: Stone has William Mc Grimes...Mc could be McNary.

Contributed on 8/29/13 by judyfrog
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Record #: 922095

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