Obituary of the family of Edward and Marie (Smith) Peitz

Litchfield, Minnesota Review, July 9, 1937, page 1.

Five Killed In Auto, Train Crash

Litchfield Family of Three Wiped Out by Accident Sunday Near Paynesville

     Four persons were killed outright and one died later as the result of an automobile-train crash near Paynesville early Sunday evening. Two more were seriously injured and were taken to the Eitel hospital in Minneapolis for treatment of their injuries.
     The accident wiped out entirely a Litchfield family of three, its members meeting instant death:
     Edward Pietz [sic, correct spelling is Peitz], 31.
     Mrs. Edward Pietz [nee Marie Smith], 30.
     Wilfred Pietz. 8.
     The other dead are George Harris, 72, Paynesville resident, and Dean, the two year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Isenberg of Atwater.
     The injured are Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Harris, who together with the two year old baby were placed on the train and hurried to the Eitel hospital in Minneapolis where the child died on Monday. Mr. and Mrs. Harris are the grandparents of the child. The little body was taken to Atwater.
     Mr. and Mrs. Pietz and family and the Harris family occupied a Lake Ripley cottage jointly into which they had moved only last week. On Sunday morning the two families and the baby drove to Paynesville to visit at the home of George Harris, father of Ernest Harris, where they remained until early evening. George Harris joined the group of six in their light 1929 model car. They had planned to drive to the farm of John Harris, a son and brother, resident east of Paynesville and north of the Soo Line track.
     It was while crossing the track that the party was run down by a Soo Line passenger train, running as a special. The engineer of the train stated that he saw the car stop and then start. He blew the whistle, making all the noise he could in order to warn the car driver, who evidently did not hear the approaching train nor see it, possibly because his vision may have been obscured by the bright sun which was low in the west. The engine threw the car and occupants in all directions.
     The bodies of the Pietz family were taken to Litchfield and the body of the aged Mr. Harris to Paynesville.

Funeral Held Wednesday

     Funeral services for the Pietz family were held Wednesday at the Johnson Funeral Home, conducted by Rev. James M. Burns of Hutchinson, former pastor of the Litchfield Methodist church. Burial followed in the Forest City cemetery.
     Mr. Pietz was born in North Dakota May 1, 1906, but had been a resident of Meeker county the greater part of his life, and a resident of Litchfield for several years, and was on WPA labor rolls.
     Mrs. Pietz was born in Forest City town April 20, 1907, and is survived by her mother, Mrs. John Smith, and by a sister, Mrs. Robert Jones, both resident at Watkins.
     Wilfred Pietz was born February 17, 1929, and had only recently celebrated his eighth birthday.
     Mr. and Mrs. Harris have also been Litchfield residents for several years and before coming here had lived at Rosendale for a time. Mr. Harris was also a member of the WPA labor rolls.

[Mrs. Edward Peitz (Marie), was the daughter of John Riley Smith and Anna Britney.]

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