Obituary

  MANILLA, June 2 - (Special to the Review) - Thomas R. Meehan, son of Michael and Hannah (Ayres) Meehan, was born in Rock Island county, Ill., June 27, 1863, and died at Friend, Neb., May 28, 1931, at the age of 67 years, 11 months and 1 day.
  He came to Iowa with his parents in 1881 and located on a farm five miles northeast of the present site of Manilla. His father passed away the same year, leaving Thomas the responsibility of helping care and provide for other members of the family, which he did faithfully and well.
  He farmed for a number of years and later became interested in politics, being elected sheriff of Crawford county in 1896. This office he filled for seven years, handling many desperate law breakers and proving himself efficient and capable. After moving to Nebraska, he also served as a guard in the Nebraska state penitentiary at Lincoln for three years.
  His marriage to Miss Margaret Reilly of Friend, Neb., took place on April 30, 1913. They lived at Denison for some years, then moved to a farm near Redfield, S D. From Redfield they moved to Friend, Neb, which was his home when death called him.
  Besides his sorrowing wife he leaves two sisters, Mrs. C. C. Houlihan of Denison and Mrs. P. J. Lally of Manilla, as well as many nieces and nephews to mourn his death.
  Funeral services were held at 10 o'clock Saturday morning in the Catholic church at Friend, after which the remains were brought overland to Manilla.
  Relatives and Friends from a distance who attended services at Friend were John Reilly and daughter, Mary, Omaha; Mr. and Mrs. John Roach, Lincoln; Joe Hanrahan, Hillsboro, NE; Mrs. C. C. Houlihan, Denison; Mr. and Mrs. Tim Sullivan and Harry and Ed Reilly, Yuma, Colo.; Mrs. P. J. Lally, Arthur Hickey, Manilla; Mr. and Mrs. James McVaney, Kearney, Neb.
  Pall bearers at Friend were old time friends, William Sullivan, Michael Campbell, Lawrence O'Brien, John Meehan, Dan O'Brien and Ed Brennan.
  The body reached Manilla Saturday night and was taken to the P. J. Lally home. On Sunday morning a brief service was conducted at Sacred Heart church in Manilla, following the early morning mass, after which the remains were laid to rest in Mount Calvary cemetery. A requiem high mass was celebrated by Rev. Father D. L. Clark on Monday morning.
Pall bearers at Manilla were six nephews of Mr. Meehan, Earl and Andrew Hickey, Morella Houlihan, John Meehan and Adrian and Francis Lally.
  Relatives from a distance who attended the services in Manilla were P. J. Hanrahan and son, Joe, Hillsboro, ND; Pat Conway and Mr. and Mrs. Mart Conway, Aledo, Ill, Elizabeth Ayers, Taylor Ridge; Mrs. Irene Hickey, Detroit, Mich.; Mrs. D. C. Dowart and daughters, Margaret and Mary, Friend, Neb., Mr. and Mrs. Tim Mullivan, Yuma, Colo.; Mrs. John Reilly and daughter, Mary, and Mrs. Chas. Allen, Omaha; Miss Leone Lally, Des Moines; Thos. Talty, Atlantic, M. L. Talty, Neola; Mr. and Mrs. Ed Hunton, Dunlap; O'Brien brothers, Mrs. and Richard Ayers and son, Leo of Knowlton.
  Mr. Meehan was a life long member of the Catholic church and a firm believer in his faith. He was a fine christian gentleman, loyal to his neighbors and friends and always. honest in his dealing with them. He had hundreds of friends in Crawford county who will regret to learn of his death and who extend sympathy to the surviving members of his family.
(The Denison Review, Wednesday, June 3, 1931, Sect. 2, p. 7, col. 4)