Lucille Bernhardt
March 24, 1885-Aug. 1, 1936
Niles Daily Star, Monday, August 3, 1936, page 1, col. 3, microfilm Niles District Library
Inquest in Gas Death of Woman Set Late Today
Husband Finds Mrs. Lucille Bernhardt Slumped Over Gas Range; Believes Her Asphyxiation Due to Heart Attack
Official verdict in the death of Mrs. Lucille Bernhardt, 51, whose death by gas asphyxiation was discovered late Saturday afternoon when her husband, Eugene, returned to their home at 925 North Fourth street, will be reached at the inquest this afternoon, according to Justice Thomas m. Farrell, acting coroner.
The hearing will be opened at 3 o'clock at the Rutherford mortuary, where Mrs. Bernhardt's body was taken after preliminary investigation by officers. The jury will be impaneled at the time of the inquest.
Dr. Robert Henderson, who examined the body, said Mrs. Bernhardt' had apparently been dead about five hours before her husband returned.
Mr. Bernhardt told officers he found her slumped over a gas range in the kitchen shortly after 4 o'clock and expressed a belief she had suffered an other attack of dizziness. Mrs. Bernhardt, it was said had been under treatment for six years for high blood pressure.
Carries Wife Out
The position of the body, as reported to officers by the husband, indicated Mrs. Bernhardt had possibly suffered an attack and knocked open one of the gas valves with her hand as she slumped into a chair before the range. Her body was leaning over the stove, the left arm doubled and her head resting on her hand.
Mr. Bernhardt said he carried his wife's body to the front porch, where he made a futile attempt at resuscitation before notifying police.
Both the front and rear doors of the house were closed, but neither was locked. Two kitchen windows were open.
Mrs. Bernhardt, who was born March 24, 1885, at Knoxville, Ind., had lived in Niles the last 30 years. She was married to Mr. Bernhardt Oct. 28, 1908. The only other survivor is an aunt, Mrs. William McGarver, Peoria, Ill.
The body will be at the home until Tuesday morning. The funeral will be conducted at 3:30 o'clock Tuesday afternoon at the Rutherford mortuary by the Rev. Louis Kling, Three Oaks. Burial will be in Silverbrook cemetery.
Niles Daily Star, Tuesday, August 4, 1936, page 1, col. 6, microfilm Niles District Library
WOMAN'S GAS DEATH CALLED ACCIDENTAL BY CORONER'S JURY
Physician Testifies to Spells of Dizziness Suffered by Mrs. Barnhardt
“Death by accidental asphyxiation.”
That verdict, reached late Monday by a jury impaneled by Justice Thomas M. Farrell, acting coroner, ended official inquiry into the death of Mrs. Lucille Barnhardt, 51, whose lifeless body was found Saturday in her gas-filled home at 925 North Fourth street.
It was reached after a brief hearing which began at the home when Eugene Barnhardt, husband of the victim, pointed out to the jurors how he found his wife slumped over the gas range when he returned from work about 4:45 o'clock Saturday afternoon.
Later, after the hearing was transferred to the Farrell office, Dr. H.C. Kling testified Mrs. Barnhardt had been subject to attacks of dizziness induced by high blood pressure, for which she had been treated several years. She had given no indication of melancholy, he said.
Rites Today
Barnhardt told the jury he believed his wife, stricken again, had accidentally knocked one of the gas valves open with her hand as she slumped beside the stove.
Three city firemen—Harold Dick, Walter Zimmer and Lawrence Atkinson—who used an inhalator in vain after speeding to the Barnhardt home, testified briefly of finding the woman on the rear porch, where she had been carried by her husband.
The jury was composed of A.E. Buchanan, Calvin Smith, S.A. Cook, John Vogelsang, R.S. Bishop and William crown.
Funeral services for Mrs. Barnhardt were conducted this afternoon at 2:30 o'clock at the Rutherford mortuary by the Rev. Louis Kling, Three Oaks. Burial was in Silverbrook cemetery.
Note: Cemetery records and Michigan Death Record have name “Bernhardt”.