The death of Claus Sprick (Nov. 24, 1942)

Sometimes the dive into the family trunk turns up some dark and sad things. But it's all part of our family history. In 1942, our grandfather Claus Sprick's health deterioriated rapidly, and he died on Nov. 24 of that year. The items that follow tell the story: The photos, taken two months before he died and at his burial in Lake City (that's Adelaide behind his casket); Claus' note about his funeral wishes; the telegram sent to Ed, who was in Army basic training in Indiana in preparation for joining the front lines in Europe; the funeral bill and the obit from the Lake City Graphic. Claus was born on Sept. 13, 1874, in Germany and arrived with his family in the United States on July 4, 1876. (A reminder that if you click on an image, including the documents, you'll get a nice, big, readable version of it.)