Surnames: Colby, Daley, Batter, Bergmann, Dobes, Knoblach, Nixdorf, Dray, Westerman

----Source: Colby Phonograph (Colby, Clark County, Wis.) 07/17/1952

Colby, Hermie (29 Mar. 1895 - 12 July 1952)

Mrs. William Colby of Abbotsford, Wisconsin, age 57, was killed in an automobile accident which occurred on the west side of Highway 13 two miles north of Abbotsford Saturday, just before noon. Mrs. Colby’s son, William, Jr., age 21, and two Shorewood people were injured in the crash. The Shorewood couple, Paul Daley, age 23, and his wife, Kathleen, age 20, were taken to the Marshfield, Wisconsin Hospital for treatment where both were reported in good condition. William Colby was treated at The Country Clinic at Colby for a broken collarbone, shoulder separation and minor bruises, but was not hospitalized.

Colby and his mother were on their way from Abbotsford to the farm of Mrs. Colby’s son-in-law, Walter Nixdorf, to pick up an auto trailer when the crash occurred. They had proceeded north on Highway 13 to the town road two miles north of Abbotsford, on which the Nixdorf’s live, and had stopped to permit other cars to pass before making a left turn, according to Lynn Batter, a farmer who lives near the scene. Batter was coming down the side road with a tractor drawing a side delivery take and said he saw the Colby car stop and also saw the Daley car approaching. He said he did not see the actual crash because of a tree which obscured his view at the moment of the impact. The Daleys were traveling south on 13, having been at Hayward where Mrs. Daley had been visiting relatives. Her husband, a Shorewood police officer, had made the trip north to take her home.

Mrs. Colby’s death occurred almost instantly. The Daley’s were rushed to the Marshfield, Wisconsin Hospital by ambulance. The Colby car was thrown into the ditch and almost completely demolished and the Daley auto was badly damaged.

Clark county authorities were notified. Coroner John Bergmann and Sheriff Frank Dobes of Neillsville and Traffic Officer William Nelson of Owen arrived at the scene shortly afterward and investigated the accident.

Funeral services for Mrs. Colby were held Tuesday afternoon at the Presbyterian church in Abbotsford, Rev. William Knobloch officiating, and internment was made in the Abbotsford cemetery.

Mrs. Colby, the former Hermie Colby, was born in Unity on March 29, 1895, where she attended school. She married William Colby in Winona, Minn., on August 25, 1922. They moved to Abbotsford in 1928.

Surviving are her husband; three sons, Donald and Leonard of La Crosse and William, Jr., at home; three daughters, Mrs. Walter (Lorna) Nixdorf of Abbotsford, Mrs. Melvin (Joyce) Dray of Medford and Wilma of Abbotsford; two brothers, Paul and Louis of La Crosse; and a sister, Mrs. Wayne (Merietta) Westerman of Chicago, Ill. Two children, three brothers and four sisters preceded her in death.