Skelton, John William

The body of John Willam Skelton, a 72 year old retired farmer, was found floating in the John Beaver Mill pond No. 2, north of Cardin Oklahoma, Mar 9, 1949, at 6:30 o'clock Wednesday evening. It was not determined how long the man had been dead. Mr. Skelton lived alone in Cardin and when his son Robert Allen Skelton, also of Cardin, became worried over the absence of his father, a searching party was organized and found the body near the bank of the pond. Deputy Sheriffs who investigated the death, stated that the son said his father had been ill for several years. Deputy Rider said the body was partly clad, and that Skelton had removed his outer clothing and piled them neatly on the bank, weighting them down with rocks. Skelton was last see alive Tuesday night when he visited with some neighbors. Rider said the assistant county attorney C. C. Chesnut would sign the death certificate Thursday, probably listing suicide as the cause of death. Mr. Skelton was born Mar 15, 1877. He moved to Cardin from the town of Beaver Arkansas nine years ago. Besides the son Robert, he is survived by another son, H. Jasper Skelton of Corpus Christi Texas; two daughters, Mrs. Myrtle Foster of Estacada Oregon, and Mrs. Susie Scorggins of Eureka Springs Arkansas; a brother Jim Skelton of Neosho Missouri; a sister, Mrs. Lizzie Logsdon of Tulsa Oklahoma and 20 grandchildren.