John Irwin Billman, a veteran of the Spanish American War, died on 19 June 1934 in Kansas City, Missouri, but according to research, he spent his early years in Elizabethville, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Also, he is buried at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Elizabethville. John I. Billman was the National Historian of the Veterans of Foreign Wars for 14 years.
The following is the obituary that appeared in the Elizabethville Echo on 21 June 1934:
J. I. Billman, Former Resident To Be Buried Here Saturday
John Irwin Billman, age about 67 years, died very suddenly at his home in Kansas City, Missouri on Tuesday. His passing was unexpected since he seemed to have been in good health.
Mr. Billman was a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Billman and was a native of Red Cross, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. He had been a resident of Elizabethville a number of years, having moved with his parents to this place in his early youth. He removed to the mid-west about thirty years ago, most of which time he lived in Kansas City.
During more than sixteen years of educational work in which he taught at several mid-western colleges and university, Kansas City schools and U. S. Artillery schools, Mr. Billman had conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts from the University of Wisconsin; Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Science by the Ohio Northern University and Bachelor of Literature degree from Northern Illinois College.
Dr. Billman was a veteran of the Spanish American War. He had served three years as assistant in the Adjutant General’s Department of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of which organization he had also been National Historian the past fourteen years.
Deceased was a member of the Lutheran Church and was affiliated with Veterans of Foreign Wars, Odd Fellows Lodge of Halifax, and Modern Woodmen of Berrysburg, members of which organizations will conduct rites at the funeral services.
He is survived by his wife, formerly Miss Emma Lehr of Enterline; a nephew and niece, Mr. Clifford Straub and Miss Mae Straub, both of Harrisburg.
The body will arrive in Harrisburg Friday morning and may be viewed at the C. C. Baker Funeral Parlors, Third and Maclay Streets, that city after seven o’clock that evening. Funeral services will be held at Salem Lutheran Church, Elizabethville, at 10:30 o’clock Saturday, the pastor, Rev. W. Z. Artz officiating. Interment will be made in Maple Grove Cemetery at this place.
According to information on Amazon.com, John Irwin Billman was the author of two published books, The Star Spangled Banner (1932), published by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Better Letters, published after his death in 1939.
Also, the State Historical Society of Missouri has his “scrapbook of clippings, letters, photographs, and memorabilia related to his work with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) for which he served as the national historian for at least fourteen terms.” Collection #K0126.
Grave photo and identification of this veteran courtesy of John “Jack” Richter. Additional information about John Irwin Billman can be found at his Findagrave Memorial.
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