Russell Munson
| Date of Interment or Death | 01/26/1961 |
|---|---|
| Location | Garden of the Christus |
| Block and Lot | 003A |
| Grave | 1 |
Obituary
Four Killed When Plane Hits Mountain Seven Children Survive Two Couples in Tragic Accident Mr. and Mrs. Russell Munson, Wahpeton and her brother and his wife, Dr. and Mrs. Palmer Satran, Moorhead, were found dead in a crashed plane near Searchlight, Nevada, Sunday. Dr. Satran was Mrs. Munson’s only brother. The accident apparently happened Thursday afternoon.
A sheriff’s deputy found the bodies Sunday afternoon in the private plane, a single engine Cessna A170A, which had been crashed and burned. It was found about three miles north of Searchlight which is about 75 miles north of Las Vegas.
The two couples had flown to Phoenix for a week of winter vacationing, leaving Phoenix Thursday to spend a couple of days in Las Vegas, enroute home. The plane was refueled Monday at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix. They had planned to return here Sunday. They left Wahpeton Friday, January 20.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Munson were well known in this area having resided in Wahpeton since 1944 when he came here from Detroit Lakes to become the mortician in Vertin’s-Wahpeton. In 1946, he purchased an interest in the firm with Bob Caspers and Frank Vertin, who founded Vertin Furniture Company. The two younger men bought Mr. Vertin out in 1948.
First word of the tragedy came to the Wahpeton police department late Sunday afternoon. Nevada authorities called the police here in an effort to identify the occupants of the plane.
Papers in Mr. Munson’s pocket were the first clue to the identification. In refueling at Phoenix, Dr. Satran had signed the slip but gave no address. After checking the Phoenix airport, Nevada police called here and Wahpeton called the family to ascertain if the Munsons were traveling by air.
Mr. and Mrs. Munson were both installed as Worthy Matron and Patron of the Eastern Sat in Wahpeton and would have presided over the lodge this year. He was a past Master of the Masonic lodge.
Dr. Satran was a chiropractor physician at Moorhead, a member of the staff of the Moorhead Chiropractic Clinic. The couple were well known there and leave three children, all under seen years of age. The Munson children range from eight years to 20 years.
Services for Mr. and Mrs. Munson have been tentatively set for Friday morning at ten from the First Congregational church with Rev. Frank T. Hirons in charge. Burial will be in Sunset Memorial Garden, Kundert Flying Service, Moorhead, was to fly, this Monday morning to Las Vegas to bring the four bodies here on Tuesday.
Funeral services for Dr. and Mrs. Satran will be held either Thursday or Saturday at Fosston, Minnesota. Both services will depend upon the weather and whether authorities release the bodies in time for the return flight on Tuesday.
Dr. Satran was an experienced pilot having flown over the mountains in China during World War II as a Major in the Air Force. At the present time he held the rank of Major in the North Dakota Air National Guard in Fargo and was checked out to fly Jets.
The ill-fated plane was in radio contact with the airport at Las Vegas Thursday. The Pilot was attempting to fly the small plane over a rainstorm then in progress. He reported he was at 12,000 feet but still in the storm.
The pilot apparently went down in an effort to fly under the storm clouds and flew directly into the side of a mountain. The plane burned, identification of the occupants being almost impossible except Mr. Munson. Dr Satran owned the plane in partnership with John R. Gletne of Moorhead. Both Mr. and Mrs. Munson were graduate morticians as was Dr. Satran who studied chiropractic work later.
Russell Munson was born February 4 1917, at Detroit Lakes, Minn., the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Munson. His father and one sister preceded him in death, but his mother has her home at Mooreton, N.D. She has been in Urbana, Ill., since December with her daughter, Mrs. A. John (Dorothy) Ordal.
Besides his mother Russell Munson is survived by a brother, Bernard, of Wahpeton who has been employed with the Vertin Mortuary.
Mrs. Russell Munson (Bella Jean Satran) was born October 12, 1914 at Fosston, Minnesota the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. T. Satran. Besides her parents, she survived by two sisters, Mrs. Gale (Alice) Larson, Erskine, Minnesota and Mrs. John (Agnes) Cook, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Mr. and Mrs. Munson are survived by their four children; two daughters, Meredith, 20 and Marianne 17 and two sons, Mark 10 and David 8. Mrs. A. B. Linford, of Bismarck, longtime neighbor of the Munsons is here at present and with Mrs. Bernard Munson is helping at the home.
After graduating from high school at Mahnomen Minn., Russ Munson completed the course in Mortuary Science at the University of Minnesota. Mrs. Munson was also a graduate in the course. They worked together at Englund’s Mortuary at Detroit Lakes. They were in Detroit Lakes.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Munson were active in their church and in the community. He was a Deacon and she is a Deaconess in the Congregational church here. She was secretary of the Women’s Society and a member of the building committee.
He was a member of Kiwanis and of the Odd Fellows. She was also a member of the Rebekah Lodge.
Mr. Munson had served as secretary of Fairview Cemetery for many years and worked to establish the new Memorial Garden. Both Mr. and Mrs. Munson were members of the North Dakota Funeral Directors Association. He has served as County Chairman of the Red Cross.
Dr. Satran was also born at Fosston and was a graduate mortician, later becoming interested in chiropractic work and completed the studies in this field. He was a member of the staff of the Moorhead Chiropractic Clinic.
His wife, Violet, was born in McIntosh, Minn, Dr. and Mrs. Palmer Satran leave besides their parents, three children, Paul 7, Scott 5, and Steven 4.
The bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Munson will be flown here and taken directly to the Congregational Church where they will lie in state until the service which has been tentatively set for Friday morning.
Headstone photograph(s)
Location
The Garden of the Christus is located in the Memorial Gardens, which comprises the northern half of the cemetery.