1945 Obituary for Lt. George M. Kern

Lt. George M. Kern Obituary – from the library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

Lt. Kern, widely known landscape architect and nurseryman, was killed early Friday in the wreck of the Empire Builder, which was struck by another section of the train at Michigan, ND, according to word received by relatives Sunday.  No details as to when the body would be shipped home were given in the message.  The officer was en route to Seattle for reassignment, following a 30-day leave at home.  His relatives knew that he was aboard the train and had anxiously awaited word from him following the accident. 

Graduate of Cornell University, he was commissioned in the Navy two and a half years ago and had been serving as an aerial gunnery instructor at Puerto Rico for two years.

A half-brother, Lt. Francis E. Reagen, 29, son of Mrs. Carl Ker, was killed in a plane crash in California several months ago, after having served as a Marauder pilot on 59 missions over Europe.  A brother, Capt. Earl Edward Kern Jr., recently was released from active duty after four and a half years of service in the armed forces.

Lt. Kern was associated with his father in Wyoming Nurseries.  He had been an active member of the Cincinnati Landscape Association and the Nurserymen’s Association and was a member of the executive board of the Cincinnati Flower Show Committee.  He also was a member of the Valley Kiwanis Club and the Wyoming Masonic Lodge.

Lt. Kern also leaves a three-year-old daughter, Ellen Francis, and two sisters, Mrs. Clark M. Stearns, Wyoming, and Mrs. Templin Licklider, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

The Vorhis funeral home in Lockland will be in charge of arrangements.