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Monongalia Farmer Makes All Funeral Preparations Be fore Ending Life MORGANTOWN, March 7.—After contracting with a local undertaker to bury him for $150, stipulating that his casket was not to be opened, requesting that $25 be paid the digger of his grave, leaving a note to the sheriff, one to his wife and another to the public. Arthur Murray, 55, farmer and native of Mon ongalia county, committed suicide at his home near Dellslow Saturday after noon by shooting himself in the head with a shotgun. County authorities at tributed despondency and grief over es trangement from his wife as the motive behind the suicide. Wednesday evening Murray appeared at city police headquarters here and complained that his wife had disap peared from their home taking with her all his money, approximately $6,000 to $7,000, he said. Efforts of the man to find Mrs. Murray were without success and on Friday afternoon he visited the Jenkins and Brown undertaking estab lishment and asked that a contract be drawn up whereby that firm would bury him for $150. He selected a casket and in the contract stipulated that the cof fin should not be opened after he was placed inside and that no minister should be called to officiate at the fun eral. R. W. Taylor signed the contract as a witness. Murray sought to pay the money at the time and produced a large roll of bills. He was urged by Virgil A. Brown of the undertaking firm to de posit the money in a bank rather than pay the funeral expenses at the time. He left and the contract was pigeonholed until news was received of the man's death. His wife was at the home of friends in this city.
Newspaper Details
Charleston Daily Mail
Charleston, West Virginia, US
Mon, Mar 07, 1927
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
John Z.
VA, USA 17 Jul 2026
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