John Nees Shaeffer

October 11, 1893 – August 18, 1929

John N. Shaeffer, 35, of Arkansas City, Kan., fireman for the Santa Fe railroad, was killed almost instantly Sunday night in the explosion of an oil-burning engine in the Santa Fe yards in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

Born October 11, 1893, in Kansas, he was the son of Benjamin and Ella Blanche (Butts) Shaeffer. He graduated from Perry High School in 1915 and worked as a clerk at the Lindeman Grocery Store.

On July 17, 1915, he and classmate Helen Kerns were married at the home of her parents in Perry. They made their home in Arkansas City.

Shaeffer, who had been with the Santa Fe for 11 years, came to Ponca City a few days ago from Arkansas City. Fireman Shaeffer had been marked up on the board as an extra engineer, but met his death before having had the opportunity to make his first trip following his promotion.

Members of the family surviving him are his wife and three sons, Lloyd, 13, Marvin, 10, and Leslie, 3; his father, Benjamin Shaeffer, Keystone, Okla.; three sisters, Mrs. Noel LeMaster, Hominy, Okla.; Mrs. Carl Hicks, Skedee, Okla; Mrs. Harold Higgins, Ness City, Kansas; and one brother, Hugh Shaeffer, Oklahoma City.

The funeral will be held next Tuesday at the Baptist church in Arkansas City. The burial will be in the state of Washington, where Mrs. Shaeffer’s people live.