Death Car-Bonaparte Youth Dies Last Friday: 1968

GORDON, SWIFT

Posted By: Volunteer: Sherri
Date: 6/14/2017 at 16:30:38

**Handwritten: Reg. 14 Nov. 1968
Death Car - Bonaparte Youth Dies Last Friday

Under picture:
Gene Gordon, 17, of Bonaparte was killed outright in a two-vehicle crash at 11 a.m., Friday, four miles north of Bonaparte.

He was driving a car which collided headon at the crest of a hill with a pickup driven by Robert Swift, 23, also of Bonaparte. Swift was a patient at Van Buren County Memorial Hospital with serious injuries but was transferred Monday to University City Hospitals where he underwent dental surgery on Tuesday. He had two teeth lodged in his sinus cavities. His wife, Janie, accompanied him. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Swift of Hillsboro.

Van Buren County Deputy Sheriff Herschel Dickey said both the 1964 model car and the 1968 pickup were demolished. No charges have been filed.

The dead youth was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Gordon of Bonaparte and he was a senior at Harmony Community High School near Bonaparte. Funeral services were held Sunday Nov. 10, at the Catcott Funeral Home in Keosauqua and on Monday, Nov. 11, at the Methodist Church in Biggsville, Ill. Burial was at Oquawka, Ill.
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Beside picture:
Gene Leland Gordon, Bonaparte, 17-year-old senior at Harmony Comm. High School, was killed about 11 a.m. Friday in a car-truck collision on a county gravel road 8 miles north of Farmington.

He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Lester Gordon of Bonaparte.

Van Buren County Sheriff Orville Lee said the car driven by Gordon and a pick-up truck driven by Robert Swift, 23, of Bonaparte crashed head-on at the crest of a hill. Gordon was pinned in the car. He was dead when officers arrived.

Swift suffered severe facial injuries and was taken to Van Buren County Memorial Hospital, Keosauqua. It was reported Saturday that he was to be transferred to University Hospitals, Iowa City, for dental surgery. He is married and has a 5-months old son, Gary. His parents are Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Swift of Hillsboro.

Both vehicles were demolished. Sheriff Lee was assisted by the Iowa Highway Patrol in the investigation. No charges were filed.

Source: Van Buren Co. Genealogical Society Obituary Book J, Page 33, Keosauqua Public Library, Keosauqua, IA