Wallace Morden
| Date of Interment or Death | 06/14/1961 |
|---|---|
| Location | Old Fairview |
| Section | C |
| Block-Lot-Grave | 1-7-5 |
Obituary
Wallace E. Morden Dies in Minneapolis Wednesday Night
Wallace E. Morden, 71, resident of Wahpeton since 1897 and operator of Bassett Jewelry for many years, died Wednesday evening at the Veterans hospital in Minneapolis where he had undergone major surgery earlier in the month. Funeral services will be held at a date not yet set, pending the arrival of relatives.
Wallace Everett Morden was born to the late David E. and Sarah Morden at Cavalier, N. D. on Oct. 21, 1889. The family subsequently moved to Pembina, N.D., where the senior Morden had been appointed deputy sheriff of Cavalier county, serving under the late George H. McCabe sheriff.
On May 1, 1897, the family moved to Wahpeton where Wallace spent his boyhood and grew to manhood. He attended the public schools here.
Showing an early interest in the military, Wallace joined Company I of the 164th Infantry, North Dakota National Guard, on January 1, 1908. He participated in all company maneuvers and attended encampments every year, including the one in 1908 at American Lake, Wash., which later became known as Fort Lewis. He went with the company (as a first sergeant) when it was sent to help quell the Mexican insurrection in 1918.
Morden served through World War I. After entering the service, he was sent to Camp Greene, N.C., then transferred to Camp Mills, N.Y., and later to Camp Merritt, N.J. He went overseas with a contingent on Dec. 14, 1917, and was honorably discharged from the army on July 10, 1919, with the rank of second lieutenant.
Following severance from Military service, Mr. Morden returned to Wahpeton and was employed in various capacities. During that period, he was active in a number of civic undertakings and for a while was city police magistrate. He was a member of the Mexappa Hook and Ladder company of the Wahpeton fire department and served continuously for 13 years. He resigned from the department in 1925.
Having always evidenced an interest in law enforcement, and being recognized for his courage and tenaciousness, Mr. Morden was appointed by the late O. A. Leach, then mayor of Wahpeton, as chief of the city’s police department. He held this post four years.
He then went to Chicago, the crime capitol of the nation, and continued his work in law enforcement by accepting appointment as a deputy sheriff in populous Cook county. In that capacity, he was associated with the national famous Pat Roach, chief investigator for the state’s attorney’s office in Chicago and the late C. E. Lounsbury, assistant Cook County state’s attorney and one-time state’s attorney in Richland County, North Dakota.
One of the highlights of Mr. Morden’s career in Cook county was assisting in the capture of the Notorious Baby Face Nelson, the country’s No. 1 “most wanted” criminal. Sentenced to Joliet penitentiary, Nelson escaped six months later, only to be slain by fellow hoodlums in gang warfare.
Morden returned to Wahpeton in 1934 and formed a partnership with his widowed sister, the late Mrs. E. E. Bassett in the jewelry store business founded by the Bassetts. His sister died in 1948 and since that time Mr. Morden has operated the business.
On August 29, 1951, Mr. Morden was united in marriage to Nellie Caroline Garvick in a ceremony performed at Bethel Lutheran church in Fergus Falls, Minn. She died June 12, 1954, following a sudden illness.
Besides his wife and parents, he was preceded in death by three sisters. The latter include Mrs. Bassett (Annie), Mrs. G. H. McCabe (Ida) and Miss Lillian Morden. He is survived by three nephews and two nieces. They are Ray Bassett of Ketchikan, Alaska; Mrs. H. B. Riley (Ariel Bassett) of Kansas City, Mo.; George Morden and Donna McCabe, all of Minneapolis, Minn.
Morden was a charter member of the American Legion in Wahpeton, originally known as the Wm R. Purdon Post. He was also a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was a long-time member of he I.O.O.F. and the Masonic lodges in Wahpeton and the El Zagal Shrine in Fargo
Morden was well known throughout the area. A virtual store-house of local history, he loved to reminisce and tell about some of the stirring events that took place during the so-called “Roaring 20’s”, when he took such an active part. He was an avid sportsman and knew where the best hunting grounds were as well as where the fish were biting the best. He was of a philosophical nature and, being exceptionally well posted on topics of the day, could expound at length on almost any subject.
Wallace Morden had an innate love for his country. He was greatly disturbed in recent years over some of the political philosophies adopted and pursued by this country. It was his feeling that unless we as a nation, take a new, close look at what is taking place and do a prompt about-face, we may find ourselves no longer a ‘free and independent’ nation.
Headstone photograph(s)
Location
Old Fairview is located on the southern half of the cemetery grounds.