# 20 Some Vital statistics and letter written by Grandma Doris Koontz

I thought I would share some vital statistics of our first few generations or so up from my dad and his siblings.

Elbert Lyle Koontz ---from a World Ward I Draft card/1918 age 32- he had "blue eyes, medium height and weight. Lost Right eye".My dad told me that happened when he was a child an accident with a knife. Uncle Chuck confirmed that. He said his dad had been playing with the knife on his knee and it happened from there. Chuck said it didn't seem to affect his life much, except Grandpa had told Chuck that he would of liked to have been a Train conductor but couldn't because of his eye. At one time Grandpa Lyle listed his race of people as German and his religion--christian. He died at age 78 of cancer of the stomach. There are a few of us lucky cousins that remember him.

Samuel Elbert Koontz died at age 83 of cancer of the Liver.

John Andrew Koontz died at age 78. from Myocarditis

Philip Koontz died at age 60

Philip Kuntz died at age 76

Median age of 75.

Bell Blancett died at age 93

Moses Blancett  died in an accident at age 61 "Moses was killed while trying to control a runaway team of horses on his ranch."

Josiah Blancett died at age 75

Median age of  76

Lucinda Gibson  died at age 87

Archallius Gibson died at age 61

Median age of 74

Dorcas (Dorris) Goss died at age 44 of pneumonia. Her death certificate states that she had influenza with pneumonia on Feb 2. 1931 She developed kidney problems on Feb 20, 1931. and she had heart problems unknown when that started. Aunt Marjorie said her mom never recovered from the pneumonia that she was diagnosed with in Feb. and then died the following October. I have added to this blog a copy of the handwritten letter that our Grandmother Doris wrote the year she died.

Benjamin Franklin Goss died at age 65

Nathaniel Harbin Goss died at age 83

Benjamin Goss died at age 80

Median age of 68

Julia Ann Taylor died at age 41

Thomas H. Taylor age 53

George E. (Lucky) Taylor died at age 89

Median age of 61

It appears that it is still anybody's guess to a person's longevity. We go from 41 to 93 with these few families.

The original of the letter below is with Aunt Marjorie's estate. Aunt Marjorie told me she found this letter in her mother's bible. She either found it in 1995 or shared with me in 1995. Sorry my notes aren't clear on this one.

I am giving you two copies. The first one is my interpretation of her handwriting which I feel is accurate. The second is a copy of the letter in her own handwriting. The letter is written to her aunt Millicent, the sister of her father---John Lewis Goss. Steve that she refers too is Millicent's son he had died, Jessie is his wife. The letter was written in 1931, the year our Grandmother died.  (The last name of Millicent was Tally and they lived in Canada).