Double funeral services for Terry Lee Gifft, 10, and his cousin, Wallace Eugene Gray, 14, of near Bakerton, who drowned Wednesday in a quarry near Harpers Ferry, will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Church of God in Bakerton.
The Rev. Herbert Meyers, pastor, will officiate, and burial will be in Fairview Cemetery at Bolivar.
Friends may call today at the home of Ivan Gifft, in Bakerton. Eackles Funeral Chapel, Harpers Ferry, are in charge of the arrangements.
Gary was a son of Harry W. and Genevieve Gifft Gray. Besides his parents, he is survived by a sister, Bessie, and three brothers: William, Seldon, and Robert, all at home. The Gifft boy, son of Mrs. Betty Gifft of Baltimore, resided at the Gray home. Survivors include four sisters and a brother, all of Baltimore.
Fishing From Bank
Officials said the boys were fishing from the bank of the quarry when the Gifft boy fell in. The Gray youngster tried to rescue him and he, too, fell into deep water.
The bodies were recovered Wednesday night, Dr. Mildred Williams, Jefferson County coroner, ruled the deaths due to accidental drowning.
Volunteers of Charles Town’s Citizens’ and Independent Fire Companies responded to the emergency call. Both bodies were recovered by the fire companies’ grappling hooks.
The recoveries were made in about 25 feet of water. Water in the quarry, owned by the Standard Lime and Stone Company of Bakerton, is presumed to be 75 to 100 feet deep in some places and covers several acres.
Could Not Swim
Neither boy could swim, according to family members. They were first cousins and had been students at the Bakerton Elementary School.
First word of the tragedy was brought to Bakerton by Petey Springer, 10, a resident of the area, who was fishing with the two boys, and Mrs. Betty Martin, also an area resident.
Martin D. Welsh, Jr., a Bakerton store operator, put in the emergency call.
Welsh said the Gifft boy had purchased a dozen angle worms at the store shortly before. The two boys had told their families they were going to attend a softball game.
Welsh said the Gifft boy apparently fell into the water while attempting to reach for a fishing line caught on a tree limb. The Gray youngster, he said, apparently fell into the quarry when a tree limb broke while he was setting out to rescue Gifft.
