Family Group Sheet
NameWalter Heeter, Half 3C3R
Birth26 Nov 1886/1887, Indiana
Death1959, Indiana
BurialOak Lawn, North Manchester, Wabash Co., Indiana
FatherJohn A. Heeter (1860-1936)
MotherMartha J. ("Mattie") Tuckey (1865-1942)
Marriage22 Nov 1910, Wabash Co., Indiana
SpouseLela Marie Ream
Birth11 Feb 1887, Indiana
Death1959, Indiana
BurialOak Lawn, North Manchester, Wabash Co., Indiana
FatherJ. W. Ream
MotherPleasance A. Jontz
Notes for Walter Heeter
On their application for a marriage license in Wabash Co. application Bk 4, p. 225, Walter Heeter lists his birthdate as Nov 26, 1886, and his parents as John A. Heeter & Mattie Tuckey. (Note the year of birth is in conflict with the 1900 census.) Lela Marie Ream lists her birthdate as Feb 11, 1887, and her parents as J. W. Ream & Pleasie A. Jontz. The returned license is filed separately, in Bk 16, p. 385. I did not consult it, so it is possible that the actual marriage date was later.
Joint stone in Oak Lawn cemetery reads Walter Heeter 1886-1859 Lela M. Heeter 1887-1959.
Wabash County History, Bicentennial Edition 1976, has article on p. 389 by Mrs. Dale Heeter on the family of John C. Heeter, that includes the passage: "One of the unusual happenings during John A. and Martha (Tuckey) Heeter's lifetime came in 1905 when son Walter became ill with what a local doctor pronounced as appendicitis. Unable to relieve the situation himself, he contacted a surgeon from Ft. Wayne who came by train to Sidney, a town seven miles north of the home. A member of the family met the surgeon in a buggy and rushed back to the patient who by this time was far along in infection. The local doctor had secured a North Manchester nurse named Williams, who was on duty before the Ft. Wayne physician arrived. With the help of the family, she had scrubbed and disinfected and had the patient ready for surgery. A large dinner table was moved to the front room where all the furniture had been removed. The operation proceeded. To the dismay of all, the surgeon gave up after noting the burst appendix. The surgeon stopped only long enough for the nurse to rise in indignation and remind him he had a patient to bring through. Gauze was handed to him and, reluctantly, the surgeon applied it. This done, proper drainage was obtained, and the operation was over. The patient was now in the hands of the local doctor and Miss Williams who stayed by the young man, sitting on a straight chair, never sleeping for many days and nights. The family had to climb an outside ladder to sleeping rooms because no one was allowed into the sick room which had the stairway opening. Walter recovered and steadily regained health."
Joint stone in Oak Lawn cemetery reads Walter Heeter 1886-1859 Lela M. Heeter 1887-1959.
Wabash County History, Bicentennial Edition 1976, has article on p. 389 by Mrs. Dale Heeter on the family of John C. Heeter, that includes the passage: "One of the unusual happenings during John A. and Martha (Tuckey) Heeter's lifetime came in 1905 when son Walter became ill with what a local doctor pronounced as appendicitis. Unable to relieve the situation himself, he contacted a surgeon from Ft. Wayne who came by train to Sidney, a town seven miles north of the home. A member of the family met the surgeon in a buggy and rushed back to the patient who by this time was far along in infection. The local doctor had secured a North Manchester nurse named Williams, who was on duty before the Ft. Wayne physician arrived. With the help of the family, she had scrubbed and disinfected and had the patient ready for surgery. A large dinner table was moved to the front room where all the furniture had been removed. The operation proceeded. To the dismay of all, the surgeon gave up after noting the burst appendix. The surgeon stopped only long enough for the nurse to rise in indignation and remind him he had a patient to bring through. Gauze was handed to him and, reluctantly, the surgeon applied it. This done, proper drainage was obtained, and the operation was over. The patient was now in the hands of the local doctor and Miss Williams who stayed by the young man, sitting on a straight chair, never sleeping for many days and nights. The family had to climb an outside ladder to sleeping rooms because no one was allowed into the sick room which had the stairway opening. Walter recovered and steadily regained health."
