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So, a guy that appeared to be in his mid 60’s just stopped by the Messenger office.  He explained to me that he and his wife were travelling through Troy in a small RV back to their home near Clearwater, FL.  I didn’t catch where they were coming from.

 

His wife didn’t come into the office.  She sat waiting in the RV. He asked if I could help him with something.  I told him that if I could, I would try.

 

He explained to me that when his wife was a very young child her mom was struck and killed by a vehicle somewhere near Troy.  I don’t know the circumstances, but the daughter was living in Clearwater, FL when this occurred.

 

The man told me his wife had no record of the exact date of her mother’s death or where her final resting place was located.  All she knew is that her mother was killed in a tragic accident some place near Troy, AL decades ago.

 

Could I help him try and find any information on his wife’s mother, he asked again?

 

We walked from our office lobby back to my desk and I sat down in front of my computer and I typed in Newspapers.com into my browser.  I asked him, “What was your wife’s mothers name?” He said her name was Eva Marie Catrett.  So, I typed that into the search field of the website and selected Troy, AL.  I then hit “enter”. Within a second, we got the results the daughter was seeking.

 

The story (just one sentence) appeared in the May 28, 1962 edition of the Troy Messenger.  It read:

 

Eva Marie Catrett, 43, of Troy, was struck and killed by a car Saturday as she walked on Alabama 87 south of Troy.

 

We even found Eva Marie’s obituary and it told us her mother is buried at the Hebron Baptist Church cemetery near Zion Chapel High School.

 

Anyway, rest in peace Eva Marie Catrett.  Your daughter is now on her way to visit your grave.