Kills Self As Wife Asks Divorce; Kenneth German Uses Rifle to End Life Saturdayl; A rocky path of youthful romance ended in tragedy Saturday afternoon as Kenneth German, 23, blasted a hole in his chest to inflict a fatal wound, following failure of efforts to obtain a reconciliation with his wife. He was rushed to a Modesto hospital following the shot but died shortly after his arrival there. It was four years ago that he married Shirley Garner, when she was but fifteen and he 19. Their married life was marked by difficulties and several stormy periods were followed by reconciliations, but finally Mrs. German decided it was no use trying again and returned to the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Garner, at the Vernalis Associated Oil Station, to start divorce proceedings. German has been employed on a gold-dredging outfit near San Andreas and when he heard of his wife's move, he came down Saturday afternoon to make another effort to dissuade her. But only Mr. and Mrs. Garner were there and they told him that his wife had definitely decided to make the final break. That seemed to crush him, and he declared that he thought he would go out and end it all. They tried to urge him to go to Oakland and talk it over with an aunt who had helped him on previous occasions, but he refused to listen. "When you hear a shot, that's the end," he told them, and started out in his car. Garner watched him drive down the road toward the Rising Sun School a short way and then he turned into an orchard, where a moment later, a shot was heard. When they reached him, it was found that he had placed a hunting rifle against his chest, the bullet tearing a gaping hole above the heart.

Son Survives; Beside the widow, a 2-year-old son, Harleigh, survives him. Other relatives are his grandfather, Carl Larson of Patterson; three aunts, Mrs. Harold Brown of 0ak1and, Mrs. Charles Postal of Alameda, and Mrs. Charles Lee of Watsonville; and his uncle, W. German of Newman. He was the son of the late Mrs. Tulle //oftcr. His father died in a Reno hospital in 1923. A native of Patterson, he was a graduate of the local schools. Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon from the chapel of Davis & Sons, with Rev. John W. White officiating. Interment was made in Del Puerto Cemetery.

Gas Blast Fatal to Gustafson; Heater Explosion Inflicts Fatal Injuries Saturday; Burns which caused his death twenty-four hours later were incurred by Palmer Gustafson as accumulated gas exploded in the basement of his ranch home on Orange near Sycamore late Saturday afternoon. Approximately half of his body was covered with third degree burns as a result of the blast, and he also suffered from inhaling of flames which seared his lungs. Gustafson's brother-in-law, William Quick, was also caught in the explosion and received extensive burns, mainly on one side and his back, but his injuries are not critical and he was brought home from the hospital Tuesday. Pilot Light Goes Out; As nearly as could be reconstructed, the mishap resulted when a pilot light on an automatic hot water heater went out, probably about noon time. Flamo gas used in the heater, heavier than air, accumulated on the floor of the basement to a depth of about a foot and a half, as evidence left by the blast seemed to indicate. Gustafson and Quick went down into the cellar about 6:15 to see what was the matter and Palmer stooped down in front of the heater to light it, receiving the full blast of the accumulated gas as he struck the match. Both dashed for the open and the cellar door fell, striking Quick on the head as they started up. But they reopened it and got outside where Quick tore his flaming clothes off Gustafson dashed for a bucket of water instead, and the delay caused much more serious burns. Neither paid any attention to their injuries for the moment, however, and they started relaying buckets into the cellar to extinguish the fire that had started. The rural fire truck was quickly summoned and the blaze was extinguished w it h very little damage done. The men were rushed to a Modesto hospital, but little could be done for Gustafson, who passed away Sunday evening.

Three Local Boys Involved in Wreck Near Modesto; Death struck a lightning blow at a Patterson car late Sunday night and claimed the life of Robert Kenneth Knutson, popular Patterson youth and son of Mr.and Mrs.Walfred Knutson. At the same moment, Robert Moe and Bill Fleharty had hairbreadth escapes from a similar fate. The grim reaper rode an automobile driven by James Mortensen, 20, of Modesto, who flashed out from a blind corner on an arterial stop entering t h e Modesto-Crows Lauding highway to crash broadside into the car occupied by the three youths. The catastrophe occurred about 11:30 p.m. as the trio was returning home from Modesto. Approaching the intersection of Whitmore Avenue, about two miles south of the city, Mortensen and a girl companion arrived at the same moment from the west. The latter's car struck the machine driven by Fleharty squarely on the fore door and the machine was knocked sidewise almost bodily. Bill had had time to weave only slightly in an attempt to avert the blow and the car headed for the fence. But he said he saw several telephone poles in the path and he straightened,it. out again, only to lose control after going about seventy feet in the sand. And then it buckled up and made two, possibly three, loops before coming to rest, 144 feet from the point of impact. As it did, a door flew open and catapulted Knutson through the air 70 feet further. He was almost instantly killed as he struck. The other two were thrown partially out of the door, with Fleharty pinned under a running board, while Moe was free. Despite painful injuries, Moe did heroic work in trying to aid the others, although help was speedily at hand. Fleharty incurred extensive, but not dangerous injures. Two lucky breaks were in his favor. One was that he fell sideways so that the weight of the car rested on his right shoulder instead of directly on his chest. The other was that, while acid from the battery above him dripped directly on his arm, it missed his face by inches. The arm was badly burned and the other arm lacerated. Several broken ribs, a broken collar bone, injured lung tissues, and extensive bruises and sprains complete the probable extent of his injuries, although examinations have not yet been completed. He was reported feeling considerably improved yesterday. Moe had several fractured ribs and suffered from numerous bruises and shock, but was able to leave the hospital the next day following examination. Skid marks at the scene were measured by officers, showing that Mortensen's car had slid 18 feet in a vain effort to halt before the crash. It was also ,revealed that Mortensen had killed a pedestrian on a Modesto street in October, 1937. Following investigation of the crash, Mortensen was cited on a charge of negligent homicide in a warrant sworn to by State Motor Patrol officers. He is at liberty on $5000 bail, pending arraignment.