Person Page - 290

     Robert Jerome Stumpf is the son of Jerome John Stumpf and Beverly Elaine Squires. Robert Jerome Stumpf married Kathleen Ann Kloss on 13 May 1977 at Morrison Co., Minnesota. Robert Jerome Stumpf and Kathleen Ann Kloss were divorced on 7 April 1987 at Morrison Co., Minnesota. Robert Jerome Stumpf married Debbie Ann Nelson on 5 May 1990 at Morrison Co., Minnesota.^1,2 Robert Jerome Stumpf married Virginia Bernice Otremba on 15 February 2008 at Morrison Co., Minnesota.

     Teri Marie Stumpf is the daughter of Jerome John Stumpf and Beverly Elaine Squires. Teri Marie Stumpf married Scott Robert Holgate on 14 November 1992 at Hennepin Co., Minnesota.¹ Teri Marie Stumpf married David Leroy Ahlm on 11 November 2011 at Hennepin Co., Minnesota; Certificate Number:      10047061.

     Thomas Stumpf is the son of Jerome John Stumpf and Beverly Elaine Squires. Thomas Stumpf married Dawn D. Uhl on 12 August 1995 at Stearns Co., Minnesota.^1,2

     Tom Jerome Stumpf is the son of Robert Jerome Stumpf and Debbie Ann Nelson.¹

     Nancy Stewart Sturdevant was also known as Nancy Stertevant.¹ She was born on 5 November 1921 at Clarksburg, Harrison Co., West Virginia.^2,1,3 She married John Barnett Tonkin, son of Loring Lombard Tonkin and Norma Madeline Smith, on 20 October 1945 at Clarksburg, Harrison Co., West Virginia.^4,1 Nancy Stewart Sturdevant lived in 1962 at Clarksburg, Harrison Co., West Virginia. Her Social Security Number was 235-34-1013, issued in West Virginia before 1951, born 05 Nov 1921 and died 03 Dec 1993. She died on 3 December 1993 at West Virginia at age 72.^1,3 She was buried at Bridgeport Cemetery, Bridgeport, Harrison Co., West Virginia.³

     Madge E. Stutler married Henry M. Grant.

     Anthony Joseph Sucher Jr. was born on 20 February 1918 at Missouri.¹ He married Violet Marie Merry, daughter of Anderson Hoyt Merry and Pearl Ada Fellows, on 9 October 1941 at Columbia, Boone Co., Missouri. Anthony Joseph Sucher Jr. died on 20 August 1990 at Arlington, Arlington Co., Virginia, at age 72.¹ He was buried at Plot: Sec: 68, Site: 4639, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington Co., Virginia.¹

     SOURCE: Frank Trombley letter 01Oct1996. Nellie Sullivan married Jeremiah McCarthy, son of Charles McCarthy and Margaret Walsh. Nellie Sullivan was born circa 1793 at Cork Co., Ireland.

     SOURCE: Frank Trombley letter 01Oct1996. Nellie Sullivan married Timothy McCarthy, son of Jeremiah McCarthy and Nellie Sullivan.

     SOURCE: Jim Coleman FHL film 1673524, item 14. Perry Sulsar was born in June 1833 at Ohio. He married Abigal Ruple, daughter of Jacob Ruple and Abigail McLintick(), on 6 October 1859.¹

     Male Suman married Virginia C. Douty, daughter of Charles Moses Douty and Martha E. Cochran.

     Martha Suman was the daughter of male Suman and Virginia C. Douty. Martha Suman married Wilfred Runkles on 25 December 1902.¹

     Alice Gabriello Summers was born on 12 August 1893 at South Bend, St. Joseph Co., Indiana.^1,2 She was the daughter of Gabriel Rush Summers and Mercy Ann Longley. Alice Gabriello Summers married Joseph Maxwell Stephenson, son of Rome Charles Stephenson and Ella Jane Maxwell, on 31 October 1914 at Indiana.³ Alice Gabriello Summers lived in August 1920 at South Bend, St. Joseph Co., Indiana.³ She lived in July 1924 at South Bend, St. Joseph Co., Indiana. She married Charles Lincoln Ayling, son of Augustus D. Ayling and Elizabeth Freeman Cornish, on 11 August 1928 at Washington, Litchfield Co., Connecticut.⁴ Alice Gabriello Summers died on 19 June 1988 at Orleans, Barnstable Co., Massachusetts, at age 94; Certificate:     033547.¹ She was buried at Lot 149, Grave 007, Beechwood Cemetery, Centerville, Barnstable Co., Massachusetts.¹

     Edward Summers was born circa 1824 at Ireland.¹ He married Catherine Drullinger on 12 October 1853 at Niles, Michigan.² Edward Summers died in April 1880 at Clay Twsp., St. Joseph Co., Indiana.¹ He was buried at Section D, row 4, lot 52, Cedar Grove Cemetery, Notre Dame, St. Joseph Co., Indiana.²

     Gabriel Rush Summers was born on 13 March 1857 at New Carlisle, St. Joseph Co., Indiana.^1,2 Gabriel Rush Summers was a Manufacturer of sovereign remedies, engaged in South Bend drug business.¹ He was the son of Edward Summers and Catherine Drullinger. Gabriel Rush Summers graduated circa 1873 at University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, St. Joseph Co., Indiana.² He married Mercy Ann Longley, daughter of Andrew Longley and Mary Ruple, on 28 October 1880 at South Bend, St. Joseph Co., Indiana.^3,2 Gabriel Rush Summers died on 20 August 1920 at 314 West Colfax Ave., South Bend, St. Joseph Co., Indiana, at age 63.^4,2

The South Bend Tribune Newspaper (Indiana), Saturday 21 Aug 1920, Section 1, page 1 (portions of copy were illegible).
     
GABRIEL R. SUMMERS DIES AFTER MONTH'S ILLNESS
Hon. Gabriel R. Summers, 68 years old, owner of the News-Times, former state senator and prominent business man in this city for many years, died Friday night at 11:50 o'clock at his home, 314 West Colfax avenue. Mr. Summers had been seriously ill for four weeks with heart disease and diabetes and had been in ill health for over a year, having suffered several severe attacks of heart failure. He was taken critically ill July 23 and repeated relapses followed by a stroke of apoplexy Thursday morning caused the abandonment of all hope of his recovery. He had been in a state of coma for two days and was unable to recognize members of his family at his bedside.
Private funeral services will be held Monday afternoon at 2:00 o'clock at the residence. Bishop John Hazen White, assisted by Rev. Robert J. Long, of St. James Episcopal church, officiating. Burial will be in Highland cemetery. The body will wile in state at the residence Monday from 10 o'clock until 3.
The active pallbearers will be Dr. John A. Stoeckley, James A. Judie, John G. Yeagley, William A. McInenry, Edward Zeitler and Edward Chierhart. The honorary pallbearers will be Joseph M. Neff, George Y. Hepler, Schuyler Robertson, William P. O'Neill, Elmer Crockett, Hon. Rome C. Stephenson, Marvin Campbell, Samuel Parker, Dixon W. Place, Jacob M. Chillas, Dr. J.W. Hill and Aaron Jones.
Surviving Mr. Summers are his wife, Mrs. Mercy Ann Longley Summers, whom he married Oct. 28, 1880, and one daughter, Mrs. Joseph M. Stephenson, of this city.
Mr. Summers was born in New Carlisle, this county, March 13, 1857, the son of Edward and Catherine Summers. After his graduation from Notre Dame university when he was 16 years old Mr. Summers returned to his father's farm in Clay township and after his father's death in 1880 entered the farming business on an intensive scale. He (?) became engaged in the agricultural implementation business in this city and Wullerton(?), this county, and in 188(?) became president of the South Bend Iron Bed company. He was one of the organizers of the Vanderheof Medicine company in 189(?) and in recent years has been in full control of the company.
He became interested in the South Bend News in 1909(?) and it was in a great measure due to his influence that the consolidation of the South Bend News and South Bend Tribune was effected in 1911. Three years later Mr. Summers became practically complete owner of the South Bend News-Times and in 1917 relinquished his duties at published to his son-in-law, Joseph M. Stephenson.
Mr. Summers was elected state senator from St. Joseph county in 1914, serving in the 69th and 70th assemblies and on several important committees. He lent his influence toward the passage of the state-wide prohibition law; the United Suffrage act(?), later held unconstitutional by the supreme court, and he bill providing for a constitutional convention (???) state which the supreme court held invalid. He was conceded to be one of the progressive members of the senate. At the (?) of his term he refused to run for re-election, his reasons being ill-health and the weight of his many business interests.
Being a firm believer in the future of South Bend, Mr. Summers became identified with many of the well known business enterprises of the city and was a heavy investor in the city's real estate.² History of St. Joseph Co., Indiana, 1907, page 778.

The South Bend Tribune Newspaper (Indiana), Monday 23 Aug 1920, Section 1, page 5.

Private funeral services for Hon. Gabriel R. Summers were held this afternoon at 2:30 o'clock at the residence, 314 West Colfax avenue. Bishop John Hazen White, assisted by Rev. Robert J. Long, of St. James Episcopal church, officiating. Burial was in the Summers mausoleum in Highland cemetery. The body lay in state at the residence from 10 o'clock this morning until the funeral hour. The active pallbearers will be Dr. John A. Stoeckley, James A. Judie, John G. Yeagley, William A. McInenry, Edward Zeitler and Edward Chierhart. The honorary pallbearers will be Joseph M. Neff, George Y. Hepler, Schuyler Robertson, William P. O'Neill, Elmer Crockett, Hon. Rome C. Stephenson, Marvin Campbell, Samuel Parker, Dixon W. Place, Jacob M. Chillas, Dr. J.W. Hill and Aaron Jones. Many messages of condolence have been received from associates of Mr. Summers during his service in the state senate 1915-1917.⁵ He was buried on 23 August 1920 at Highland Cemetery, South Bend, St. Joseph Co., Indiana.^2,5,6

     John Douglas Summers married Vera Callen Harn, daughter of Collie Camp Harn Jr. and Lillie Elvera Frederickson, on 30 November 1951 at Travis Co., Texas.¹ John Douglas Summers and Vera Callen Harn were divorced on 29 October 1971 at Travis Co., Texas.

     Male Summers married April Ann Turk, daughter of Charles Samuel Turk and Cheryl Lynn Bullington.

     Harriet Melissa Sumner was born in 1844.¹ She married John Thomas Harn, son of John Hanson Thornton Harn and Frances Leighty. Harriet Melissa Sumner died on 16 August 1885 at Appanoose Co., Iowa.¹ She was buried at Moravia Cemetery, Moravia, Appanoose Co., Iowa.¹

     Mary Sumption was born on 1 June 1790 at Kentucky.¹ She married Jesse Rush on 12 April 1812. Mary Sumption died on 1 March 1856 at Elkhart Co., Indiana, at age 65.¹ She was buried at Prairie Street Cemetery, Elkhart, Elkhart Co., Indiana.¹

     Rita Katherine Suomela was born on 3 March 1925 at San Francisco Co., California.¹ She married Charles Gerald Gucker in 1944. Rita Katherine Suomela died on 9 November 2004 at Olympia, Thurston Co., Washington, at age 79.¹ She was buried at Holyrood Cemetery, Shoreline, King Co., Washington.¹

     John Supinger married Chery Lee Bowles, daughter of Jack Floyd Bowles and Ruth Evelyn Harn.¹

     Mary Jane Surber was born on 7 September 1820 at Botetourt Co., Virginia.² She married Daniel Givens Walker, son of John H. Walker and Sarah Susannah Givens, on 8 November 1838 at Botetourt Co., Virginia.¹ Mary Jane Surber married Elijah Elder on 2 April 1872. Mary Jane Surber died on 4 March 1900 at Ten Mile, Macon Co., Virginia, at age 79.² She was buried at Mount Tabor Cemetery, Atlanta, Macon Co., Missouri.²

     Brace Harold Sussman was born on 25 October 1910 at Seattle, King Co., Washington. He was the son of Frank Sussman and Edith Annie Gustafson. Brace Harold Sussman was also known as North. He died in 2000 at Walla Walla Co., Washington.

     Frank Sussman was born in 1870 at Germany. He married Edith Annie Gustafson on 12 December 1909 at King Co., Washington.

     Suzine Dolores Sussman was born on 9 November 1911 at King Co., Washington. She was the daughter of Frank Sussman and Edith Annie Gustafson. Suzine Dolores Sussman was also known as Susanna. She married George Daniel Van Sickle, son of George Washington Van Sickle and Margaretta Helen Harn, on 25 March 1931 at Seattle, King Co., Washington.¹ The cause of death was murdered. Suzine Dolores Sussman died on 18 November 1990 at Seattle, King Co., Washington, at age 79. She was buried Cremated, Other, Specifically: University of Washington School of Medicine deemed body unfit for use and body was cremated.²

Following from online editon of The Seattle Times on 01Mar1991:

Murder Tale Filled With Strangling, Poisoning -- Relatives Accused Of Killing Woman Who Didn't `Enjoy Life'

By Julie Emery

The daughter and the mother said they first tried to poison the 79-year-old grandmother, Suzine Van Sickle, by mixing her medicine with clam chowder.

But when she failed to succumb to the overdose and awoke the next day, the two women allegedly smothered her with a pillow, they told police.

They did it, they told police, because they felt she couldn't enjoy life anymore.

The murder, it turned out, was a family affair, according to court records. It was done by Van Sickle's daughter and granddaughter who took her from a nursing home and squandered her private funds, prosecutors said.

Yesterday, prosecutors filed first-degree murder charges against the woman's daughter, Jimmie Jean Shumway, 59, and grandaughter, Alexis M. Shumway, 28.

Bail was set at $500,000 each. Jimmie Jean Shumway is in the King County jail. The granddaughter was expected to turn herself in today, prosecutors said.

The bizarre tale of the grandmother who died Nov. 18 in her home, in the 4400 block of South Brandon Street, was unraveled this week.

Deputy Prosecutor Lisa Marchese said the two almost got away with murder.

``The police never would have learned about it if the granddaughter had not called police on Feb. 12 saying she wanted to report a murder,'' the prosecutor said.

The daughter, contacted by homicide detectives Monday, also confirmed the killing, saying the two concluded Van Sickle did not have the ability ``to enjoy life'' so they decided to kill her, according to the charges.

Marchese said the King County medical examiner also is looking into the death of Van Sickle's husband, George, who died ``under mysterious circumstances'' Jan. 13, 1990, in the presence of Jimmie Jean Shumway.

According to Alexis Shumway's account, Suzine Van Sickle had spent her last years in a nursing home after having hip surgeries. She also had a heart problem and brain seizures and required extensive care.

The two women had removed Van Sickle from a nursing home in October.

Alexis Shumway said she and her mother decided Nov. 17 to poison Van Sickle, according to court documents.

Jimmie Jean, after consulting the Physicians' Desk Reference book, decided to try an overdose of Dilantin, an antiseizure medicine.

Alexis described how they chopped up more than 50 pills and mixed them with clam chowder, which Jimmie Jean fed to Van Sickle, according to court documents.

But when Van Sickle was still alive the next morning, Jimmie Jean grabbed a pillow and put it over her mother's face, the documents say.

Van Sickle ``struggled for her life for about 20 minutes'' and tried to fight back, the charges indicate. Jimmie Jean then directed Alexis to ``hold down one side of the pillow so no air could seep in.'' The victim eventually stopped struggling, the prosecutor said.

Suzine and George Van Sickle had decided in 1974 to donate their bodies to science. Several hours after Van Sickle died on Nov. 18, when her face returned to a ``normal'' color, the university's School of Medicine was called, Alexis said. Police retrieved a sample of Van Sickle's blood and her ashes. The blood sample showed a level of Dilantin that far exceeded normal therapeutic levels.

Van Sickle, when examined by her physician Nov. 5, was in ``good stable condition'' and ``mentally clear,'' according to the charges.

According to Alexis, Van Sickle was removed from the nursing center because it had a lien on the Van Sickle home for outstanding bills. The personal banker for the Van Sickles invested more than $100,000 that Suzine Van Sickle received in a settlement of a lawsuit over her husband's black-lung disease, the prosecutor said..

Copyright (c) 1991 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved.³

Following from online editon of The Seattle Times on 04Mar1991:

A Deadly Secret She Could Hide No Longer -- Woman Reveals How She Helped In Killing Her Grandmother
By Julie Emery

For nearly three months, Alexis Shumway lived with a horrible secret - the murder of her 79-year-old grandmother.

When, on Feb. 12, she could hold in the horror no longer, she called Seattle police. While two detectives sat at the kitchen table of her Rainier Valley home - one of the officers stroking her pet cat, Athena - Shumway told the astonishing story of how she and her mother fatally smothered her grandmother, Suzine Van Sickle.

Alexis Shumway, 28, and her mother, Jimmie Jean Shumway, 59, were charged with first-degree murder Thursday in King County Superior Court in connection with the Nov. 17 death. The granddaughter called The Seattle Times on Friday and asked to tell her side of the story.

She said she loved her grandmother, but had been manipulated and cowed by her mother, Jimmie Jean, for years - including the morning of the slaying. Besides, the granddaughter said, her grandmother repeatedly had expressed a desire to die.

Jimmie Jean Shumway pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge today. King County Superior Court Judge Patricia Aitken set a March 18 hearing on the charge. Aitken told the woman's defense attorney that he could raise the issue of Shumway's $500,000 bail at a later date.

According to court documents filed with the charges, Jimmie Jean Shumway, when contacted by police last Monday, also confirmed the killing, saying she and her daughter concluded Van Sickle did not have the ability "to enjoy life'' so they decided to kill her.

Despite all this, Alexis Shumway does not consider herself a killer. When her attorney informed her that prosecutors would file the homicide charges, she recalled, "I fell to pieces. I went out of his office bawling my head off. I cried all the way to the bus stop. I never thought I would be charged with murder. I thought it was all my mother's doing.''

The Van Sickle death sounds like something out of the tabloids. Was it a mercy killing? Was it money-motivated?

"It's kind of like a `Murder, She Wrote' case,'' said a Seattle homicide detective, who asked that his name not be used. "It doesn't fit the usual profile of murder.''

Alexis Shumway readily admits she helped smash up about 50 pills containing Dilantin, an anti-seizure medicine, for the grandmother's clam chowder the evening of Nov. 16. She said she felt the grandmother would not eat the soup, which her mother had laden with spices, and in any case, did not think the concoction would be fatal. The granddaughter said her mother fed the grandmother the mixture, but Van Sickle lived.

The granddaughter said that when she went into Van Sickle's bedroom the next morning, she had no idea that murder was on the agenda. She had been holding her grandmother's hand. Then, she said, her mother grabbed the pillow and put it over the grandmother's face. She said the mother then directed her to ``hold down one side of the pillow so no air could seep in.'' She said she did as ordered, then let loose as the grandmother struggled for life, her legs kicking. Death came in 20 minutes.

Alexis Shumway said "my whole life has been bizarre.'' She loved her grandmother, she said. "We were best buddies. We'd go to movies together, dinner and shopping. She was a beautician, too. She paid my way through beauty college. She was glad to be here, and glad I was taking care of her.''

"Here'' is the Van Sickle family home near Columbia City that Van Sickle moved back to last October from a nursing home. The granddaughter quit another job to be a full-time caretaker.

"My mom was always critical of me, saying, `You're not taking care of grandma right,' '' the granddaughter added. "All through my whole life I could never please my mother.

"My mom was afraid the nursing home would get the house. She would mention that once in a while and it worried me. I was adamant about defending my grandmother's wants and needs.''

According to Alexis Shumway, the nursing home had a lien on the home because of unpaid nursing-home bills.

Suzine Van Sickle, whose husband, George, had died in January 1990, turned 79 on Nov. 9. Van Sickle felt she had nothing to live for and had outlived many of her friends, the granddaughter said.

"She couldn't walk,'' the granddaughter said, recalling that the grandmother once ordered her to "Get me a gun.''

"If I had a gun, I'd kill myself,'' she quoted her grandmother as saying.

"I bought the Dilantin,'' the granddaughter said, telling her grandmother: "If you do want to go that bad, I'll put the pills by your bed.''

But Van Sickle did not take the pills. And after she survived the intended poisoning, Jimmie Jean Shumway began "crying on my shoulder,'' the granddaughter said.

The daughter had never before talked about suffocating her mother, the granddaughter said. The daughter "kept saying `she can't talk. She's probably had strokes. She'll probably be on life supports,' '' the granddaughter recalled.

"It's like she drew on my love for my grandmother,'' she said. "She knew how much I cared for her.''

The granddaughter said she entered the bedroom and found her mother ``was on a rampage to do it (murder). At the beginning, I thought it was a merciful act, but toward the end, when my mother kept bugging me about holding the pillow down, I thought `this is wrong.' But I felt powerless. I felt I couldn't do anything to stop it.''

The granddaughter said her mother swore her to secrecy about the murder, but she eventually told two friends, then got a stern warning from the mother not to tell anyone else.

"I was losing weight. I couldn't sleep. I was thinking of suicide because I couldn't live with this burden. It was just too heavy.''

The granddaughter said she called 911 at the urging of a boyfriend.

Published Correction Date: 3/5/91 - Alexis Shumway Notified Police About The Suffocation Murder Of Her 79-Year-Old Grandmother Despite A Boyfriend Who Urged Her Not To Call Authorities. This Article Indicated The Boyfriend Urged Her To Call.

Copyright (c) 1991 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved.⁴

Following from online editon of The Seattle Times on 23Aug1991:

The Murder of Suzine Van Sickle
DAUGHTER, GRANDDAUGHTER GUILTY OF WOMAN'S MURDER
The Seattle Times
August 23, 1991, Friday, Final Edition

BY JULIE EMERY

They loved 79-year-old Suzine Van Sickle and brought her back
home to live out her days, they said.

But Van Sickle's caretakers - her daughter and granddaughter
- yesterday were convicted of poisoning, then smothering her.

A King County jury found Jimmie Jean Shumway, 59, the
daughter, and Alexis Shumway, 29, guilty of premeditated
first-degree murder in the bizarre killing last November that
they kept secret for three months.

The two showed no emotion as the verdict was read yesterday.

Deputy Prosecutor Lisa Marchese said that after the two
depleted the $100,000 estate of the widowed Van Sickle, she no
longer was useful to them.

"They got rid of the burden," the prosecutor said
in closing arguments. "They murdered her."

The daughter and granddaughter gave separate statements to
police telling how they had chopped up 50 capsules of Dilantin,
an anti-seizure medicine, then mixed it in clam chowder and fed
it to Van Sickle Nov. 17 in the family home in Rainier Valley.

But when she was still alive the next day, they put a pillow
over her face and suffocated her. After a 20-minute struggle,
Van Sickle died.

A medical examiner concluded she died of congestive heart
failure, and her body was donated to the University of
Washington.

"This was the perfect murder - with the one exception -
a guilty conscience," John "Jay" Mooney, a
Seattle homicide detective, said after the verdict.

Alexis Shumway, who was chief caretaker for her grandmother,
lived with the secret until Feb. 12, when she called police.

Marchese and Deputy Prosecutor Kerry Keefe brought evidence
showing that the daughter, after getting power of attorney for
her mother in late 1987, wrote 30 checks to herself totaling $
45,000.

More than $13,000 was donated to the Church of Scientology,
the prosecutors said. Payments to the nursing home where Van
Sickle previously lived were overdue.

Police found a paper in Jimmie Jean Shumway's Federal Way
home where she had written the fatal dosage for Dilantin - two
to five grams - after consulting the Physician's Desk Reference.

The daughter said in her statement, "I did it. It was a
mercy killing." She said Van Sickle several times had
talked about taking her own life.

The granddaughter's statement said she held the pillow
"for a while, then I just held my grandmother's hand."

When Van Sickle was killed, the fees to the nursing home
where she earlier resided were $ 33,000 in arrears and the
establishment was attempting to put a lien on her home on South
Brandon Street.

Juror Carla Anderson said after the verdict:

"I think we all were concerned about Alexis. We felt that
her mother obviously dominated and that she was passive."

But the jury had no choice but to follow the law, she said.

Superior Court Judge Frank Sullivan will sentence the two in
about six weeks. The standard sentencing range is 20 to 26 years
in prison.

Neither has a criminal record.⁵

Following from online editon of The Seattle Times on 28Sep1991:

Relatives Sentenced For Murder -- Daughter, Granddaughter Get Total Of 55 Years

By Julie Emery

Suzine Van Sickle was a retired beautician who loved to read, sew, grow flowers and take photographs. In her later years, she pored over flower books and crocheted afghans.

Three years before her murder at the hands of her closest relatives, she and her husband, George, had received a $100,000 settlement from injuries he suffered on the job. She also received Social Security, got his pension when he died and benefited from Medicaid.

But at the time of her death, authorities found just $5.41 in two bank accounts, a zero balance in another and a fourth account that was overdrawn.

Yesterday, a King County Superior Court judge imposed sentences totaling 55 years for the professed loved ones who poisoned her with doctored clam chowder last fall and then smothered her with a pillow.

Judge Frank Sullivan imposed an exceptional sentence of 35 years on Van Sickle's daughter, Jimmie Jean Shumway, 59, of Federal Way, who had power of attorney for her mother. Shumway had "essentially pillaged a substantial future" for the 79-year-old Van Sickle, the judge said.

He called the case a "classic case of extreme vulnerability of a victim," noting that Van Sickle, in the months before her murder, needed 24-hour care, was incontinent and could not fix her own food.

Alexis M. Shumway, 29, a granddaughter who lived at the family home in Columbia City, was sentenced to 20 years.

"They (the daughter and granddaughter) made the decision that her life was no longer of value," Deputy Prosecutor Kerry Keefe said before the sentencing. "Their motivations were greed and their own selfishness, rather than loving care and comfort of their own flesh and blood."

Van Sickle died Nov. 18, 1990, after a 20-minute struggle, during which the two women held a pillow to her face after first trying to kill her with poisoned food. Neither spoke at the sentencing and showed little emotion. Their attorneys said they will appeal.

Deputy Prosecutor Lisa Marchese said before the sentencing that the nursing home where Van Sickle once stayed had notified the state Adult Protective Services that she might be in peril after the daughter and granddaughter moved her home.

The removal was made despite the pending appointment of a legal guardian, Marchese said. Kathleen Burge, a social worker for Adult Protective Services had written Jimmie Jean Shumway two months before the murder, asking for details on Van Sickle's finances and how the two women planned to care for Van Sickle.

The daughter never responded to Burge's letter. Burge testified that she did not pursue the matter and did not telephone Van Sickle's home or visit her.

"The nursing home did everything right," Marchese said. "The signals were all there for APS, including $40,000 in fees owed the nursing home. The APS dropped the ball."

Keefe and Marchese had asked for lesser punishment for the granddaughter because she reported the murder to Seattle police.

Before the confession, Van Sickle's doctor had classified the death as from natural causes.

A neighbor of Van Sickle, Freida Hein, remembers how Van Sickle for years made her own clothes and was talented in photography.

Hein, 76, said that a year before Van Sickle's murder, she had gone to the house to visit, bringing Van Sickle a birthday cake.

"They didn't even tell her it was her birthday," Hein said.

Copyright (c) 1991 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved.⁶

     Queen Isabelle Sutphen married Charles E. Jay, son of Daniel Webster Jay and Isabella P. Hollingsworth.

     Margaret Sutphon married John Bowman, son of Jacob Bowman and Elizabeth (?).

     Ancestral File Number 1K73-ZB. Her Ancestral File Number is 1K73-ZB. Sarah Ann Swain married James Ridgeway Tindal, son of John Ahasuerus Tindall and Nancy Purnell, on 1 May 1851 at Nanticoke Hundred, Sussex Co., Delaware.¹

     Emma B. Swan was born on 25 November 1890 at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.¹ She was the daughter of Ira Swan and Jennie Madison. Emma B. Swan married Fred Lamb Morgan, son of Dr. Fred Clinton Morgan and Henrietta E. Brewer, on 17 April 1909. Emma B. Swan died on 16 May 1940 at Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co., New York, at age 49.

     Ira Swan married Jennie Madison.