HARRY SAMUEL SPURRIER ( DEC. 28, 1897-SEPT. 11, 1929)
HARRY SAMUEL SPURRIER WAS BORN IN MOUNT AYR ON DECEMBER 28, 1897, AND HE WAS THEREFORE THIRTY-ONE YEARS, EIGHT MONTHS AND FOURTEEN DAYS OLD AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH. IN THIS CITY HE GREW TO MANHOOD AND RECEIVED HIS EDUCATION, BEING GRADUATED FROM THE MOUNT AYR HIGH SCHOOL IN THE CLASS OF 1916. DURING VACATIONS AND OUT OF SCHOOL HOURS HE WORKED IN HIS FATHER’S PRINTER’S TRADE AND BECAME AN ADEPT IN ALL LINES OF NEWSPAPER WORK.
THE NEXT FALL AFTER HIS GRADUATION FROM HIGH SCHOOL HE BECAME A STUDENT IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AT MINNEAPOLIS. THE FOLLOWING YEAR WHILE WORKING IN THE RECORD NEWS OFFICE, THE UNITED STATES ENTERED THE WORLD WAR, AND HARRY AT ONCE DETERMINED TO VOLUNTEER. HE ENLISTED IN THE NAVY AT WASHINGTON, D.C., AND DURING THE CONTINUANCE OF THE WAR WAS ATTACHED TO A DESTROYER OF THE ATLANTIC FLEET.
AFTER HIS DISCHARGE FROM THE NAVY AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAR, HE RETURNED TO IOWA, AND FOR TWO YEARS WAS EMPLOYED AS A LINOTYPE OPERATOR ON THE DES MOINES REGISTER. HE THEN DECIDED TO GO TO CALIFORNIA WHERE HE HAS SINCE RESIDED. DURING MOST OF HIS RESIDENCE ON THE COAST HE HAS BEEN INSTRUCTOR IN PRINTING IN THE POLYTECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL OF LOS ANGELES, WHERE HE HAS TAKEN HIGH RANK AS A TEACHER.
DURING LAST JULY HE RETURNED TO MOUNT AYR WITH HIS WIFE FOR A VISIT AT THE HOME OF HIS PARENTS, THE TRIP BEING MADE BY AUTOMOBILE. HE SEEMED TO BE FEELING FAIRLY WELL WHILE HERE, AND AFTER A VISIT OF TWO WEEKS RETURNED TO CALIFORNIA, ARRIVING IN LOS ANGELES THE LATTER PART OF THE MONTH. THE NEXT DAY AFTER HIS ARRIVAL AT HOME HE WAS ORDERED OT THE HOSPITAL BY HIS PHYSICIANS, WHERE HE WAS SOON OPERATED UPON FOR THE REMOVAL OF AN INTERNAL ABSCESS. IT WAS THOUGHT THAT HIS RECOVERY WAS ASSURED AND NO FEARS WERE ENTERTAINED OF A POSSIBLE CHANGE FOR THE WORSE. THE TELEGRAM RECEIVED HERE ON THURSDAY WAS THE FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT HIS PARENTS HAD THAT HIS CONDITION WAS SERIOUS.
HE WAS UNITED WITH THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF THIS CITY IN EARLY YOUTH, DURING THE PASTORATE OF L.C. SWAN, AND FOR YEARS WAS A MEMBER OF THE CHOIR AND A CONSTANT ATTENDANT AT DIVINE SERVICES.
THE DECEASED IS SURVIVED BY HIS WIFE AND PARENTS, ONE BROTHER, FRANKLIN AT HOME; THREE SISTERS, MRS. MARGARET TENNANT, OF WALTERIA, CA.; MRS. HELEN WIESE OF MANNING, IOWA AND MISS MYRTLE AT HOME.
