NEWSPAPERS: William Jay Hutchison, accidental death, Medford, Jackson Co., Oregon *************************************************************************** USGENWEB ARCHIVES(tm) NOTICE All documents placed in the USGenWeb Archives remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with United States Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by noncommercial entities so long as all notices and submitter information is included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *************************************************************************** Transcribed and formatted for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Elizabeth Corethers 27 Jan 2003 *************************************************************************** Medford (Oregon) Mail Tribune, Monday, 20 Mar 1944, p. 1 ACCIDENTAL SHOT BRINGS DEATH TO WM. J. HUTCHISON Meteorologist In Charge of U. S. Weather Bureau Cleaning Gun When Shot. Funeral services were being arranged today for William Jay Hutchison, 48, meteorologist in charge of the U. S. department of commerce weather bureau at the Medford airport, who died Sunday of a bullet wound in his heart which, according to Deputy Coroner Carlos W. Morris, was apparently caused when he accidentally fired a .38 Colt automatic he was cleaning in the kitchen of his residence, 1620 East Main street. His wife, Laura, and their three children discovered the body when they returned home from church about 12:05 p.m. Their 13-year-old daughter Marianne was the first to go into the kitchen where her father had been cleaning his gun, an old model Browning patent .38 Colt. City police, who were called, said that Hutchison was lying on his back on the kitchen floor with a bullet hole through the left side of his chest. The bullet had passed through his body and was lodged in a window sill four and a half feet above the floor. The gun was on the floor near his left knee. On the small breakfast table at which he was apparently seated, police said, were a small oil can, a cleaning rag and a ramrod. The clip, which was full, was also on the table. It was the belief of authorities that Hutchison, after removing the clip from the gun, overlooked the bullet remaining in the chamber. State Police Captain Bert J. Staats said that the weapon, of ancient vintage, had no safety on the handle, as do later model Colt automatics, and that it would fire without the clip in it. Although no exact time could be set for the accident, it is believed that it occurred about 11:30 a.m. The family, according to Capt. Staats, left for church about 10:45. He said that nobody in the neighborhood could be found who heard the shot. Hutchison, who had been in charge of the weather bureau here for 10 or 12 years, is survived by his wife, his sone William, and his daughters, Marianne and Carol Jane. Funeral arrangements are in charge of Perl's and will be announced Tuesday along with the printing of a complete obituary.