Obit: Woodworth, Virgil (1923 – 1968)
Contact: Dolores

Surnames: Woodworth, Morrison, Trimmell, Olivatti, Koelemay

----Source: Banner Journal (Black River Falls, Jackson Co., WI.) July 3, 1968, Front page

Woodworth, Virgil (10 December 1923 – 1 July 1968) Flag

Virgil Woodworth was born December 10, 1923 at Black River Falls and attended school here. He was a veteran of the Marine Corps.

He is survived by his widow Maude; one son Joey Lyle of the U. S. Army, one brother, Lyle of Black River Falls and one sister, Mrs. Josephine Olivatti of Rockford, Ill. and nieces and nephews.

A military funeral service for him was scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 3, 1968, at the Langlois-Galston Funeral Home with Pastor Ralph Koelemay officiating. Interment was planned for Riverside Cemetery. Friends could call at the funeral home prior to the service.

Virgil Woodworth, 44, of Route 3, Black River Falls was fatally injured in an explosion at 6:38 p.m. Monday afternoon a mile west of Nekoosa. Another man, William Morrison 52, of Tulsa, Oklahoma was also killed in the blast. Dave Trimmell, 20, Fullerton, Calif. was injured and taken to a Wisconsin Rapids hospital.

Wood county authorities said the men were testing pressure on a pipeline for leaks when the cap on the open end of the 34 inch line blew off. The cap hit Woodworth first and then Morrison. The body of Woodworth was disintegrated by the blast according to the Wood County Coroner.

The men were employed by the Houston Contracting Company of Houston, Texas, a firm building oil pipeline from Canada and Superior through Chicago and around Lake Michigan into Indiana.

Identification of the men was made difficult because the men’s personal belongings were destroyed. There was no fire after the explosion.