Kristen Haddox, Penn State University4. He assured that it was going on, that this would be his responsibility to get the information, bring it back to me so I could complete the certificate. The way Lindholm figured it, instead of prosecuting Lois Jurgens for murder, lets move to take Robert away. No one here is being punitive, Gingold told the Jurgenses and their attorney from the bench. He was born Dec. 6, 1961 in Sauk Centre, Minn, to a 17-year-old unwed mother named Jerry Puckett. Still, she had never forgotten the case. As he was screaming, Lois kicked him in the stomach, and that blow to the stomach killed him. They had checked on him throughout the night. Nine months earlier, on Dec. 6, 1961, Dennis Craig Puckett, 8 1/2 pounds, had been born at St. Michaels Hospital in Sauk Centre, in nearby Scott County. Deferred, Votel had written. All dogs. She is scared of everything. Working through Dennis' adoptive name, Jerry located and phoned the Jurgenses. Last September she persuaded authorities to reopen the case. Jerry loved working with his hands and was employed in . At first, that seemed to be the conclusion that the official inquiry would also reach. This account has been disabled. He is preceded in death by his parents, brothers Willis Puckett and Charles Puckett, and his sister Dorthy Abbott.For all those who wish to celebrate his life, a memorial service will be held at Southern Memorial Funeral Home on June 9, 2020 at 4:30 PM: 3154 Highland Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36107.In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Jerrys honor to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. I want the beach. Because they were Catholic and there were very few Catholic babies on the register, it was likely that they would have to wait quite a long time, she explained. There was also the matter of community attitudes. He was born April 26, 1934 in Wheeler Township of Gratiot County, Michigan to Ray and Marjorie Sherwood. Is it quite customary to see a little boy with so many bruises, he was asked. The thing that is best about them, though, is just how much they love us. It was the most captivating, if not the best, film of 2014. When the fourth child turned out to be a boy, Jerry bestowed on him the same name as her lost son. You consider how well you can sell this to 12 people in the jury box. "In those days if you skipped school or ran away from home or became pregnant they labeled you 'incorrigible' and locked you up. Woodburn could find no subcutaneous fat at all, something everyone normally has in varying degrees. For a time, that appeared to be the end of the story. CLINTON -- Jerry Boyd Puckett, 78, of Clinton died on Monday, February 17, 2020, at Clinton ICF Nursing Home. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, January 26 at . Family members linked to this person will appear here. Rekdahl found her judgment confirmed by the Jurgenses priest. Blankets covered him to the waist. It was not only the legal system that somehow overlooked a child's alleged death by violence, but also the adoption system that accepted Lois Jurgens as a fit parent. They had been able to discuss Lois weaknesses, even her past mental depression, without Lois becoming too nervous or upset or defensive. There was no possibility that Dennis had died from a blow to the head. . This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. From a newspaper notice of his death she had learned that the boys body bore multiple injuries and bruises. I was young then, just out of college, the social worker said recently in an interview. He looked forward to every family gathering and he and Glenda went on several adventures including fishing trips, beach trips, snowmobiling, hiking, biking, and kayaking-- he was always on the move! If you've been living under a rock for the past 52 years and don't know who Dennis Jurgens or his story, let me catch you up to speed. Mrs. Faster, he commands. What to make of Dennis Jurgens death now was passed into the hands of the Ramsey County coroner. She didn't say much else except that when he was found, he had black blotches all over his body, and they didn't know where the wounds had come from. Still it is fair to say that the story Lois Jurgens told required a considerable imagination to embrace. I dont know how to describe it, she said. 23. The couple had moved to Stillwater, Minn. soon after Dennis' death, and in 1972 were allowed to adopt four siblings from a Kentucky family. He was shaken. Robert was leaving things alone at the age of 1 year. It doesnt let your mind wander or drift off to all of the homework you have or all of the bills you have to pay. Intuitively rejecting the explanation of a fatal mishap, Jerry pursued her own investigation. Building a general history of abusive conduct would not be sufficient. The Jurgenses had wanted a younger child and Dennis was almost a year old. How in the heck could that happen? ObituaryJerry Puckett, age 67, passed away peacefully on June 4, 2020. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Statements in the police logs were riddled with discrepancies. He spent his last days under the care of St. Joseph's Hospice at The Carpenter House in Lafayette, LA. People were not then inclined to believe that middle-class families in suburban homes killed their children. Many years later, Dr. Peterson would tell a grand jury that he had harbored suspicions about the burns, and also about several bruises that nurses noticed on Dennis while he was in the hospital for a full month. At that point, says Sherwood, "I just kind of dropped it." I have several children about that age with this same problem. It was hard to believe that the Jurgenses had noticed nothing. Dennis had fallen and hit his head on the wet basement floor the day before, the Jurgenses said, and he also had been suffering from a bad cold. Dogs just all have such different personalities, which might be what we love about them. The testimony from Dr. Woodburn, the pathologist who did the autopsy on Dennis, was unequivocal. Father Riser told her he definitely would. Sa fortune s lve 7 239,00 euros mensuels Those looking back now, those who unraveled the case, tend to shrug and shake their heads when Votels name comes up. She was joyfully anticipating the reunion when an official at the welfare department of Ramsey County broke the news. Indeed he was given immunity to compel him to testify to the grand jury. Clothing retains the heat. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Dana was born June 16, 1946, in Grover Hill, Ohio, son of the late Harold and Mary (Barker) Puckett. Dennis nose was blood-red--VanderWyst thought it looked as if you just wiped it once more youd probably take the rest of the skin away. She likes to be in charge and loves to boss me around. Click here to subscribe! Lois Jurgens agreed, but seemed scared that she would not be offered another child. You can second-guess yourself until you get an ulcer, Lindholm said recently. To perforate a bowel, the doctors agreed, there had to be severe, concentrated trauma applied to the abdomen--the sort of injury that could be expected in a high-speed automobile accident. Well, I do, he replied. AHH SNOW!!! Peterson did not give us any conclusive answers about the condition of Dennis or about his death, VanderWyst wrote in his report for that night. The county juvenile court terminated the Jurgenses' parental rights over all four kids in 1976. Jerry Allen Puckett Sr. Obituary We are sad to announce that on September 28, 2021, at the age of 89, Jerry Allen Puckett Sr. in Mount Hope, Kansas passed away. 11. Try again later. I was advised that the information was being obtained, that there was an ongoing investigation, Votel said recently. He was an avid white wing dove hunter and loved to golf and fish. They are always there for us, they love us unconditionally, and they treat us a whole lot better than most humans do. My biggest feeling was that it was a sad situation and I wanted to get out of there as soon as I could. We found 7 records for Jerry Puckett in Albemarle, Salisbury and 5 other cities in North Carolina. After being in foster care, Dennis was adopted by the Jurgens, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, a suburb of Saint Paul. . Harold Robert and Lois were his adoptive parents. The Jurgenses are not being attacked anywhere along the line. Dennis Craig Jurgens (December 6, 1961 - April 11, 1965) was an American 3-year-old boy who was murdered in White Bear Lake, Minnesota in April 1965. There were many fateful moments in Dennis brief life, moments in which his destiny could have been changed. There was an error deleting this problem. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. . 13. Retired from social work and living in Tucson, Ariz., Felix has said she tried to reinterest officials in the suspicious death of Dennis Jurgens, but "they all dropped the ball. . Paul Lindholm, the assistant county attorney, considered it. Lois Jurgens was disappointed about Dennis age. I was willing to wait. Votel was still waiting about two years later, when he retired from office. That this was much more a question for doctors than for the police did not sway Votel. I want photos of this, he thought. Narrowly missing the cut, but rounding out the Top 20 most expensive colleges: All have something in common: tuition & fees are $60k or more. FARIBAULT Gerald "Jerry" Sherwood, age 96, of Faribault died on Saturday, February 18, 2023, at Three Links Care Center, Northfield. In a town like White Bear Lake, apparently no one thought it problematic that the assistant police chief, Lt. Jerome Zerwas, was Lois Jurgens brother. Jerry Phillip Puckett Obituary It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Jerry Phillip Puckett of Sparta, Tennessee, born in Clarksville, Tennessee, who passed away on August 22, 2022, at the age of 70, leaving to mourn family and friends. More than 50 witnesses had testified at the inquiry into Dennis' death, and several relatives of Lois Jurgens had reportedly accused her of mistreating her children. They covered the face, the head, the arms. Results are listed in alphabetical order. Harold was infertile and the Jurgenses desperately wanted to adopt another child. Retired now for several years, he suffers from angina and does not go out much, but he recalls the 1965 hearing. The case finally was closed because of the efforts of Dennis` natural mother, Jerry Puckett Sherwood, to break through the secrecy surrounding adoptions and look up her son, whom the. Dennis was born Dennis Craig Puckett on December 6, 1961 in Sauk Centre, Minnesota to Jerry Sherwood and her boyfriend Dennis Puckett. I would question him. In our family you dont dare say much.. On the stand, the Jurgenses had refused to answer questions about Dennis. English . . So Robert, on a temporary but semiannually renewed basis, remained in county custody, living in foster homes. She seemed to Scott County welfare workers a hostile and sullen young woman, unhappy and emotionally underdeveloped. As he read, he stiffened in his chair. The word homicide remained unspoken. At that time, the battered-child syndrome was just beginning to be recognized. Harold Jurgens, an electrical foreman, made $10,000 in 1962, and this placed his family a cut above many of their friends and neighbors. U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-Current, U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current, Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Youve got to worry about tomorrow. This was the situation that Gerane Rekdahl, a Ramsey County welfare case worker, found when she visited the Jurgens home on March 1, 1962. He was the son of Maynard and Hazel (Brooks) Puckett. She thought they had a lovely home. One might get a first impression that Lois was cold and indifferent, but to Rekdahl, this seemed a defense for insecurities. He has had all his baby shots. . Dennis had thrown up then. Whiplash, Chazelle explains, is almost like a war movie. Walter Moore, a co-worker of Harold Jurgens, also came to the funeral. He would testify that he had talked to some lady down there. He always had a smile and a joke for everyone. Together they went into Dennis room to inspect the body. Jerry phillip puckett obituary. That isnt an issue at all. One of Lois Jurgens responses was to call Father Riser, the priest who had so warmly recommended them to the county welfare worker. Some time after that they were accepted by Ramsey County officials as potential adoptive parents. Rekdahl thought Lois Jurgens, then almost 37, to be a rather attractive woman, although she was short and a trifle on the chubby side. Theres no parking because of these damn snow piles. VanderWyst, visiting him after the autopsy the night of Dennis death, told the family physician what Woodburn had found. My deputy reassured me from time to time. Meanwhile, Dennis was getting whirlpool baths every day. Years later, Dr. Lynn Solem, the present director of the burn center at St. Paul-Ramsey Hospital, would explain that though this type of burn is now regarded as a sign of child abuse, in 1963 it would have been accepted as accidental. Failed to remove flower. About 50 witnesses provided a mixed story. 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