Prickly Summer: Largely Attended Funeral

25 April 1937, Westerly Sun, Westerly, RI
courtesy of Barbara Fallon and the Westerly Library

At first when I read this, I didn't realize that such an awful thing to happen as suicide would have a "largely attended' service. But, I went back and read the write up of "Dead at Home" article and worked out the organizations that my grandfather belonged to plus I thought about the large number of people who worked at the Bradford Dye, on Bowling Lane and in the town of Westerly, RI where my grandfather lived after he married my grandmother and moved to Bradford, RI.

The Caledonia Society is an organization for people of Scottish heritage. The Highland Pipe Band was quite large and as you can see by the photos, Thomas was a member for a number of years. I have inherited a copy of another professional photo with some men identified which I will scan and post.

It is possible that they would have helped, along with the workers at the BDA to pay for the funeral and possibly pay for the headstones, The burial plot record, I have a photograph of, doesn't indicate any information about payment. I do think, from the time period, that it was a casket funeral for both my grandparents and that is why the headstones are close to the edge of the plot. 

Holding the funeral four days after the death did give family time to travel from where they lived to Rhode Island. I am quite sure that the John Broadfoot who is listed as a bearer was my grandfather's brother who lived in California. Dow and Wright were also family members.