Obituary of Barbara Jean Mix (1958 - 1960)

I'm closing in on posting the last couple newspaper clippings of obituaries that were in my grandmother's possession.

This one is for my Great-Uncle John's daughter Barbara Jean MIX. Sadly, she died as a very young child.

Interestingly though, the article about her death refers to her as "Waneta Mix". I was pretty puzzled by this since it's not a given name I recognized, nor is it some sort of unusual family name.

But then I remembered 2 things:

1. John's older brother Leslie has a daughter named "Juanita".

2. Journalists cannot be trusted to have good spelling, especially when it comes to people's names. I'm not being insulting to journalists, I'm just stating my experience in transcribing all these obituaries these past months!

So I sounded out "Juanita", and the way it sounds, I kind of get "wah-nee-ta", OR, "Waneta" as the story below states.

Now I'm left with 2 additional thoughts:

1a. My Great-Uncle John called his daughter Juanita as a nickname after his niece.

2a. The journalist screwing up combined with distraught family members resulted in a messed up name in the article.

It's a puzzlement!





Birth Notice, Obituary and Article Text:

BIRTHS
A daughter, Sept. 30, 1958 to John and Pauline Mix, Montour Falls.


Barbara Jean Mix, 2, of Montour Falls, Saturday, Dec. 3, 1960. Survived by parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Mix, maternal grandmother, Mrs. Mildred Bush of Montour Falls; paternal grandmother, Mrs. Cornelia Simpson of Valois; paternal great-grandmother, Mrs. Hattie Allen of Valois. Body at Vedder & Scott Funeral Home, Montour Falls. Calling hours: tonight 7 to 9 p. m.; Monday 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p. m. Funeral there Tuesday at 2 p. m., the Rev. Leo W. Dyson. Union Cemetery, Burdett.


Girl Dies on Way to Hospital; Road Hog Delays Ambulance
WATKINS GLEN - Waneta Mix, 2-year-old daughter of Jack and Pauline Mix of N. Franklin St., died en route to the Schuyler Hospital at Montour Falls Saturday at 10:30 a. m.

The child, who was dead on arrival at the hospital, apparently had suffocated.

Irate firemen manning the Glen Fire Department's ambulance complained that a bus loaded with migrant workers would not yield the right of way on the Montour Falls road.

Glen police endeavored to locate the bus driver by assistance from Chemung County authorities. The bus was not halted until it reached Troy, Pa., and as the vehicle had crossed the state lines, the driver could not be returned to Watkins Glen to face the traffic violation.

Jack Irish, assistant fire chief, made the complaint to Glen police. Lloyd Robinson was the ambulance driver. Others aboard were: Medio Simiele, Robert Spencer and Theodore Speechio.

The parents of the girl took the ailing child to police headquarters and the ambulance was immediately dispatched. Mr. and Mrs. Mix reside near the fire station.

Dr. William Tague, as coroner's physician, is expected to file a certificate of death due to natural causes.