But while the nation, still at war in Europe and Asia, was in grief, this corner of southwest Missouri was dealing with other problems.
Hours after the president died and Vice President Harry S. Truman took the office to become the commander in chief, a torrential downpour hit area communities and a string of tornadoes wreaked damage on area communities.
The farm home of Otis and Alberta Long about a mile outside of Pineville was hit by a twister seriously injuring Mrs. Long and two of her five children.
Mrs. Long was taken to Anderson where she died later that evening.
Her 16-year-old son Floyd suffered a severely broken nose and Wendell, 4, suffered lesser injuries.
The community of Freistatt in Lawrence County was almost completely destroyed.
Overall, five deaths were recorded as the tornadoes struck McDonald, Polk, Barry and Lawrence counties.
Most of this immediate area dealt with flooding as five and a half inches of rain fell during the evening hours, the Joplin Globe, Joplin News-Herald and Neosho Daily Democrat reported. Center Creek overflowed its banks between Joplin and Carl Junction, Highway 60 east of Neosho was closed after Shoal Creek flooded, while 66 east of Carthage was flooded by Spring River and numerous roads were closed in the Webb City/Alba area.
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In Joplin, Rev. Ben Morris Ridpath of the First Methodist Church gave a brief eulogy on WMBH, while Mayor John M. Temples issued a proclamation declaring it a day of mourning for Joplin.
Jasper County offices were closed, while Joplin city offices followed the regular procedure of closing at noon on Saturdays, since President Truman had asked that business be stopped between 2:55 and 3 p.m. Central time, which was when the eulogy was presented on WMBH.
The eulogizing started Friday, April 13, with Rev. Alfred L. Domaine, rector at St. Phillip's Episcopal Church conducting high requiem mass and Rabbi Charles B. Letz of the United Hebrew Congregation delivering a sermon on "FDR, Our Happy Warrior."
Two families were also mourning their own losses.
The War Department notified Parris P. Long of Webb City Friday, April 13, that his son, Private Olen R. Long had been killed in Europe.
On the same day, Mary C. Haynes of 1809 Indiana, learned that her husband, Private First Class Floyd J. Haynes, had been killed in action.
It was a different sort of bad news that reached Frances Stogsdill, 1717 Ohio in Joplin, when she received a letter from her husband, Second Lieutenant Charles Herbert Stogsdill, telling her he had been taken prisoner of war by the German Army.
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With death striking the White House, on the battlefields and due to the fury of Mother Nature, some sought to leave their trouble behind by visiting local establishments such as the 18th Street Bar in Joplin where Mary Luttrell, 39, was a waitress.
As she finished her shift after another day of hard work, she left the bar and was walking across Main when she was struck and seriously injured by a 17-year-old driver who had three other teens in his car.
According to the police report, the young man was driving the wrong way and claimed he was passing another car when he hit Mrs. Luttrell.
He was taken to jail and was later released without any charges being filed. Mrs. Luttrell, the mother of six, ranging from a young man stationed with the U. S. Army at Camp Robinson to a nine-year-old. Her husband, Justin Luttrell, was a radio repairman.
Mrs. Luttrell died Sunday morning and buried Tuesday following services at Thornhill-Dillon Chapel.
As the only bright spot, it was not long before POW Charles Herbert Stogsdill was released and able to return to Mrs. Stogsdill and their two-year-old son.
On March 14, 1946, Mrs. Stogsdill gave birth to their daughter Pamela Elaine.
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