Obituary:
Kenneth Smith, 32, of Wesley Township, the father of five young children, a seed company employee, was electrocuted Tuesday evening in the yard of his home while attempting to pull a pipe from an abandoned well. Smith and his brother-in-law, Harold Bertrand, 30, next door neighbors 9 miles southeast of Wilmington were both working on the project. They were pulling the pipe from the well by hand they had 36 feet of the pipe out of the ground with only 6 inches left in the well, when the pipe went out of control and fell across a 110 volt service line, burned though it and fell across a 2400 volt primary line, according to Harold Scheke, chief of the Wilmington Fire Department the 2400 volts passed through Smith's body. Bertrand who noticed what was about to happen shouted a warning and ran. Smith apparently tried to right the pipe. Bertrand told the Wilmington Firemen he tried to free Smith by pulling him by the shoes, but was unable to do so. Bertrand said he finally took a hammer and knocked Smith's left hand free of the pipe. He gave artificial respiration to Smith until the Wilmington Emergency squad arrived for more than an hour the firemen made an effort to revive Smith with a resuscitator. Smith's wife, Arvella, who is pregnant went into shock after the tragedy and was taken to the St. Mary's Hospital in Kankakee, she was released from the hospital today. Besides the wife he survived by the five children. Smith worked for the Lowe Seed company at Aroma Park. Deputy coroner Charles Reeves was called to the scene and moved the body to the Reeve's Funeral Home in Wilmington. The funeral arrangements are incomplete. Coroner Willard Blood said he would set the inquest date in the near future. - Joliet Harold News, June 6th 1956

Funeral services for Kenneth Smith, 32 of Wesley Township who was electrocuted accidently Tuesday night in a freak accident in the yard of his home will be Friday afternoon at Kankakee. The services are to be at 1:30 p.m. at the Hertz Memorial Temple at Kankakee with burial in Evergreen Cemetery at Chebanse. A native of Aroma Park he was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. George Smith. He lived in the Kankakee area most of his life until moving to Wesley three years ago. He and a brother-in-law were pulling a pipe from an abandoned well when the pipe fell against a high tension wire. Surviving is his wife, Arvella, who is an expectant mother and five children all under 7 years of age. Harold, David, Clara belle, Debra and Mary and two brothers, John of Blue Island and Raymond of Bradley; and five sisters, Mrs. Ethel Davis of Bradley, Mrs. Doris Cleary of Saunemin, Mrs. Pauline Brady of Chicago, Mrs. Marian Garrett of Chicago and Mrs. Jeanette LaFine of Bradley. - Joliet Harold News, June 7th, 1956.