Obit: Oestreich, Robert (1935- 1969)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Oestreich, Beeler, Reindel, Kanennberg, Mickelson

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 3/13/1969

Oestreich, Robert (21 August 1935 - 10 March 1969)

Funeral services will be held in Loyal this (Thursday) afternoon and in Neillsville Friday afternoon, for two men killed in a truck crash at the junction of highways 10 and 12 about noon Monday.

The dead, first fatally injured on Clark County highways this year, were: Robert Oestreich, 33, of Rt. 3 Neillsville and a former Loyal resident; and Donald E. Richmond, 30, of Neillsville, proprietor of the Pool Hall in Neillsville. A third man riding in a pickup truck driven by Richmond, Jerome Gurney, 22, also of Neillsville, is in Memorial Hospital here with head, face and back injuries; but his condition is not considered serious.

All three men were occupants of a pickup truck driven by Richmond when the fatal crash occurred. They were enroute to an auction at Alma Center, making the trip by way of highways 10 and 12.

The pickup truck was struck in the middle of the left side with considerable force. The pickup box and housing built over it were torn from the chassis. The steel frame of the pickup was bent on both sides almost to a half-moon shape.

The Ludeman truck, a cab-over job driven by Robert Olson, was damaged severely, but was driven away under its own power. The Richmond truck was a shambles. Olson escaped injury.

Oestreich died in the ambulance enroute to Memorial Hospital, 16 miles from the accident scene. Richmond succumbed to his injuries shortly after his arrival there.

Services for Oestreich will be held at 2 p.m. today from the Loyal Methodist Church, with the Rev. Conrad Mickelson in charge. Military rites will be held, with Kenneth Kanennberg, commander of Post No. 175, American Legion, in charge. Burial will be made in the Lutheran Cemetery at Loyal. The Myre Funeral Home at Loyal is in charge of arrangements.

A naval veteran who served during the Korean War, Oestreich was born August 21, 1935, in Marathon. He received his education in the Loyal Schools, and completed four years of naval service in 1956.

On November 9, 1957, he was married in Chili to the former Marlene Beeler. The couple lived in Loyal until five years ago, when they moved onto a farm near Christie.

Surviving are his wife; three daughters, Debbie, Rhonda and Sandy, and a son, Marty, all at home; a sister, Mrs. Donald Reindel of Scottsdale, Ariz.; two brothers, Donald and Richard, both of Loyal; and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Everett Oestreich, also of Loyal.