On Thursday, April 29th, my beloved son Simon Kuperus, known here as Cooper, lost his life through an unavoidable accident. In the center of the city there was a great fire in a grain elevator. Fifty of the fireman came through unscathed, but my son and his Lieutenant were buried under the debris of a falling wall. It took his companions twelve hours to find his body, but then it was already too late.

It was his day off, but he had taken the place of a friend, and would have been transferred the following week to a more convenient station. He was loved by everyone and friendly to all who knew him. Besides his father and mother, seven brothers and sisters mourn this heavy loss.

On Sunday, May 2nd. he was laid to rest in St. Bonifacious Cemetery, accompanied, from the Superior Cathedral on Superior Street, by a cortege consisting of the family and 150 firemen. I, his mother confirm my hearty thanks to the Fire-Department and friends for the interest shown in this tragic death.

Mrs. Nyeholt-Sipma

Chicago, May 10, 1909.