Obituary of Mrs. Estell [Lavola C.] Burnette, 1965:
Beech Grove Woman, ill, ends own life. A Beech Grove woman, worried about her health although she had not really been ill, shot and killed herself Wednesday. She fired the fatal shot only after she had left two notes, giving detailed instructions to the family about how she wanted certain things taken care of.
Mrs. Estell Burnette, 48, whose home was near Hall’s store, called her sister, Mrs. Esco Armstrong, and asked her to “come over here.” Then she hung up the telephone. When Mrs. Armstrong got to the Burnette house, she found her sister dead in her bed. The .22 caliber pistol and a note were nearby.
Sheriff Frances Moore and Dr. Frank Genella, coroner, were called and they said death was by suicide. Mrs. Burnette had shot herself in the heart.
In addition to her husband, Mrs. Burnette is survived by her mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Childs of Lake City; two daughters, Becky at home, and Mrs. Bill Long of Hammond, Ind.; two sons, Jimmy of Hammond, Ind., and Estell, Jr., of Lake City; two sisters, Mrs. Armstrong and Mrs. Wanda Parks, both of Lake City Rt. 2; five brothers, Herbert and Elmer Childs of Detroit, Clarence and Ernest Childs of Lake City, and George of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Pine Hill Baptist Church with the Rev. Charles Johnson officiating. Burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery.
Clinton Courier-News, April 15, 1965, Section 1, page 8.
[Transcribed by Stephanie A. Hill from a photocopy of the microfilm in the genealogy vertical files at the Lake City Library. Mrs. Burnette’s given name was taken from her tombstone at Oak Grove Cemetery and agrees with her name as given in her brother’s obituary, also posted on this site – Herbert Childs.]