Sunday's Obituary - Theresa Burns

Yankton Press & Dakotan
July 23, 1945
p. 6, Col. 7

Mrs. Slowey is Called Sunday


Mayfield, (Special) - Death after a long illness came at 11:30 p.m., Sunday, to Mrs. John Slowey, sr., of the Mayfield community.  Mrs. Slowey, who would have been 80 years old tomorrow, passed away at Sacred Heart hospital where she had been a patient for five weeks.

The deceased, resident of Mayfield for 60 years, was Theresa Burns before her marriage.  Her husband preceded her in death years ago, and she is survived by eight children, five sons and three daughters.  They are: Peter, Thomas and Clement Slowey of Yankton, John Slowey, Sioux City, and Clarence of Mayfield; Mrs. John Nooney, Utica; Mrs. John Gemmill, Volin; and Mrs. Roy Stephens, Yankton.

The body will be taken to the Clarence Slowey home in Mayfield Tuesday and rosary will be said there Tuesday evening at 8:30.  Funeral services will be 9:30 a.m., Wednesday from St. Columba church with the Rev. Fr. O'Conner officiating.  Burial, in charge of Kabeiseman-Donohoe morticians, will be in the Mayfield cemetery.

Sunday's Obituary - John Charles Slowey

April 27, 1928 - Yankton Press & Dakotan
p. 7, Col. 4


John Slowey


The death of John Slowey, pioneer farmer of Mayfield township, was announced yesterday.

John Slowey was born in Wisconsin, February 26, 1861 and was aged 67 years and two months, the day of his death.  He had lived in Yankton county for 56 of those years coming here with his parents when only 11 years of age.  He was married here to Miss Theresa Burns and has lived since his marriage at his farm home near Irene.  He came to Yankton to visit a daughter about six weeks ago and while here was taken ill.  He passed through a siege of pneumonia and was well enough so he had made plans to return to his home when he suffered a relapse and had been in grave condition since.

Mr. Slowey is survived by his wife, five sons, Peter, Thomas, John, Clarence and Clement, all of this county, and three daughters, Mrs. John Nooney, Mrs. John Gemmill, of Irene, and Mrs. Roy Stevens, of Yankton.  He also has four brothers, Barney, Thomas, Patrick, and Peter, all of Yankton county and three sisters, Mrs. Patrick Cunningham, Mrs. Matt Murray on Yankton and Mrs. James Murray of Sioux Falls.  Another sister, Mrs. Mike Cunningham died several years ago, and four children of Mr. and Mrs. Slowey are also deceased.

Funeral services will be held from Mayfield Catholic church, Saturday morning at 10 o'clock, Rev. J. J. O'Brien officiating.

John Charles Slowey - Wisconsin to South Dakota

John Charles Slowey is my 2nd great grandfather.  He was born February 24, 1861 in Wisconsin.  I believe this to be true - not because his death certificate shows his date of birth (oh no, that would be too easy) - but because his death certificate DOES give me his exact age of 67 years, 2 months, and 0 days.  John died on April 26, 1928.  I simply did the math.

It turns out that death certificates are chock full of information!  John died on April 26, 1928, in Yankton Township, Yankton County, South Dakota at Sacred Heart Hospital at 2:15 a.m.  He was the husband of Theresa Slowey and was a farmer.  His father was Patrick Slowey, born in Ireland, and his mother was Catherine McCabe, also born in Ireland.  He was sick from March 29, 1928 until April 26 when he died.  It looks like his cause of death was "multiple abscess of the lung" as a result of pneumonia that he contracted while in Irene, South Dakota.  He was buried on April 28, 1928 in Catholic Cemetery in Mayfield, South Dakota.  The undertaker, Joseph Frick, signed the certificate.  I wish I could read his doctor's name.  The "informant" for the certificate is listed as "Mrs. John Nooney."  I wonder how she fits into this puzzle ...

Whew!  All that from one piece of paper (which, it turns out, I have had in my possession since January 2000).

Obviously, I have some serious digging to do in order to discover more information about my great great grandfather.  Next stop ... census records!