A Letter Regarding the Death Wade Doolin
from Mrs. Rodger
Amarillo, Texas
July 16, 1955
Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Doolin
Harris, MO
Dear Friends,
In regards to your letter concerning Wade, sorry I can’t tell you
too much, as he was a person that didn’t talk too much about
his past or his troubles, he talked about losing his wife early in
marriage and leaving 2 children. The memory of his wife was still
sacred to him, for he told me around 2 weeks before his death
that when he was married he raised his right hand to his God and
promised that she would be the only woman in his life; he meant it.
I asked him then if she was Catholic and he said no, they were married
in the Mormon church He talked of her a lot in the last month but not in
a way to be alarmed over or in other words, his mind was alright, he didn’t
bet in any way as if his troubles had affected his mind.
He was working for my nephew at the time, or rather 2 weeks before his death, and I would go every evening
to help him check up and make out orders for the next day. He had complained for about a week about his
stomach bothering him, and told me if it got any worse he was going out to the Veterans Hospital and not wait
as long to go as he did last summer. He got pretty sick last summer before he went there. So on June 14th, I
went down to help him, and he asked me if I could work 2 weeks in his place. He wanted to rest and take some
medicine and try to get to feeling better, and he would come back in 2 weeks. So, he left about 3 o’clock that
evening, didn’t take any of his clothes, they were in the apartment at the back of the store. Said he was going
back to his room at 708 S. Fillmore and to see Ma. The old lady that owns the apartment house is real old and
had been real sick, and he would go back every Sunday to see about her and was good to help her around
the place and odd jobs. I think he had been there around 5 years, ever since he ad been in Amarillo - it was
home to him. And several of his friends roomed there, one man in particular. Jenkins, a cook, he and Wade
were together a lot, in fact I think he was the one that found Wade. The paper stated that his landlady found
him, but I think Jenkins did, for he was with the police when they came up to see me, to see if I knew how to get
in touch with his people.
Wade came back to the store on Tuesday and said he would come back that night and I could check back to
him, and he would open up on Wednesday. He and Jenkins came together, he showered and changed
clothes, he looked rather pale but didn’t say anything about what he had been doing in the 2 weeks he had
been off. He seemed perfectly normal to me, for I had worked with him at the café around 2 years. I didn’t
notice anything different about him, in fact, he went around the counter, got the bank to see how business had
been the 2 weeks he had been gone. So, he didn’t come back that night and after I closed, I went down in town
where he usually hung out to see if he was there, and he wasn’t, so I expected him the next day for sure. (All
liquor stores open at 9 in the morning and close at 10). And, about his drinking, I don’t know how much he
drank for I never saw him drinking but heard he did but he promised us before he went to work he would not
drink anything, and he worked 7 weeks that I know he didn’t drink for I saw him every day during the week and
my husband and I usually drove by his place on Sunday nights, and only 1 night he was away after dark. And
he was at the Café that night he told us.
Jenkins said he got up, taken his bath, shaved, put on a clean shirt and intended to come to work the day of
his death and set out in front of the house, went up to his room around 10 o’clock. So they went up to Wade’s
room at 12:45 and found him. The police told me he had been dead around 2 hours. The best I could
understand he had fastened a heavy wire on to the screen door hooks and window frame, and around his
neck, and looked like he just straightened his legs out as if to set down, and liked about 12 inches, or in other
words, about 12 inches from the floor. At the time of his death, I couldn’t see why he did such a thing - it
worried us a lot for he and my husband, and my daughter were all real good friends. So I talked to a lot of
people about it and talked to one man that was a nurse at the Veterans Hospital last year while Peanuts was
out there (by the way everyone here knows Wade as Peanuts), and he said Peanuts had a penetrating ulcer
and a bad one, and when I told him Peanuts was pretty pale, he said he could have been bleeding on the
inside. That was what the nurse said, but your people can write to the Veterans Hospital, and they would likely
write you the record they have on his treatment while he was out there. And, if it wasn’t his health, I can’t come
to no conclusion why he would do such a thing for he was a good man and as honest a man as you could find
for I recommended him to my nephew after working with him 2 years to be honest and he was honest in
business dealing, for his cash register always checked and stock too. And the work was easy, and he liked the
work only said the hours were long, so in the evening after I finished my shift at the Café, I would go over and
help him so he could get out and relax a little and go to the Café and get his apple pie and sweet milk, he
really loved apple pie.
By the way, I have the clippings I cut out of the paper to keep, but know they will mean a lot to you so will send
them to you. I also gathered his clothes to be sent back with the body. Wanted to send the soiled ones to the
cleaners first, but the police said they didn’t have time to wait as they sent the body the next morning early and
were supposed to send his clothes too. He didn’t have a suitcase out at the Store. I don’t know what he had at
his room on Fillmore.
Trusting this letter will help you people a little, and if any time you want to write about anything in any way, will
be too glad to answer if I can for I know how you feel. I lost a little brother in the service, and we nearly lost our
mind until we heard from one of his buddies which helped a lot and to this day, that buddy makes our home his
home every summer, for he comes on his vacation and we love him. His wife and 2 children could never take
the place of my brother, but it is next to him in coming home. And I know how his letters helped us. I just hope
and pray this letter will help his loved ones at home in trying to understand, for Wade was a good man, went
out in the world to make a fortune as many young man has tried, failed and just didn’t have the heart to go
back because he told me, said, “I could go back home, be working for my self in a short time”. I asked him why
he didn’t and he said, “Oh! Pearl, I guess you would call it self pride.” He was rather independent.
Write again if you think of anything else.
A friend,
Mrs. Rodger
from Mrs. Rodger
Amarillo, Texas
July 16, 1955
Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Doolin
Harris, MO
Dear Friends,
In regards to your letter concerning Wade, sorry I can’t tell you
too much, as he was a person that didn’t talk too much about
his past or his troubles, he talked about losing his wife early in
marriage and leaving 2 children. The memory of his wife was still
sacred to him, for he told me around 2 weeks before his death
that when he was married he raised his right hand to his God and
promised that she would be the only woman in his life; he meant it.
I asked him then if she was Catholic and he said no, they were married
in the Mormon church He talked of her a lot in the last month but not in
a way to be alarmed over or in other words, his mind was alright, he didn’t
bet in any way as if his troubles had affected his mind.
He was working for my nephew at the time, or rather 2 weeks before his death, and I would go every evening
to help him check up and make out orders for the next day. He had complained for about a week about his
stomach bothering him, and told me if it got any worse he was going out to the Veterans Hospital and not wait
as long to go as he did last summer. He got pretty sick last summer before he went there. So on June 14th, I
went down to help him, and he asked me if I could work 2 weeks in his place. He wanted to rest and take some
medicine and try to get to feeling better, and he would come back in 2 weeks. So, he left about 3 o’clock that
evening, didn’t take any of his clothes, they were in the apartment at the back of the store. Said he was going
back to his room at 708 S. Fillmore and to see Ma. The old lady that owns the apartment house is real old and
had been real sick, and he would go back every Sunday to see about her and was good to help her around
the place and odd jobs. I think he had been there around 5 years, ever since he ad been in Amarillo - it was
home to him. And several of his friends roomed there, one man in particular. Jenkins, a cook, he and Wade
were together a lot, in fact I think he was the one that found Wade. The paper stated that his landlady found
him, but I think Jenkins did, for he was with the police when they came up to see me, to see if I knew how to get
in touch with his people.
Wade came back to the store on Tuesday and said he would come back that night and I could check back to
him, and he would open up on Wednesday. He and Jenkins came together, he showered and changed
clothes, he looked rather pale but didn’t say anything about what he had been doing in the 2 weeks he had
been off. He seemed perfectly normal to me, for I had worked with him at the café around 2 years. I didn’t
notice anything different about him, in fact, he went around the counter, got the bank to see how business had
been the 2 weeks he had been gone. So, he didn’t come back that night and after I closed, I went down in town
where he usually hung out to see if he was there, and he wasn’t, so I expected him the next day for sure. (All
liquor stores open at 9 in the morning and close at 10). And, about his drinking, I don’t know how much he
drank for I never saw him drinking but heard he did but he promised us before he went to work he would not
drink anything, and he worked 7 weeks that I know he didn’t drink for I saw him every day during the week and
my husband and I usually drove by his place on Sunday nights, and only 1 night he was away after dark. And
he was at the Café that night he told us.
Jenkins said he got up, taken his bath, shaved, put on a clean shirt and intended to come to work the day of
his death and set out in front of the house, went up to his room around 10 o’clock. So they went up to Wade’s
room at 12:45 and found him. The police told me he had been dead around 2 hours. The best I could
understand he had fastened a heavy wire on to the screen door hooks and window frame, and around his
neck, and looked like he just straightened his legs out as if to set down, and liked about 12 inches, or in other
words, about 12 inches from the floor. At the time of his death, I couldn’t see why he did such a thing - it
worried us a lot for he and my husband, and my daughter were all real good friends. So I talked to a lot of
people about it and talked to one man that was a nurse at the Veterans Hospital last year while Peanuts was
out there (by the way everyone here knows Wade as Peanuts), and he said Peanuts had a penetrating ulcer
and a bad one, and when I told him Peanuts was pretty pale, he said he could have been bleeding on the
inside. That was what the nurse said, but your people can write to the Veterans Hospital, and they would likely
write you the record they have on his treatment while he was out there. And, if it wasn’t his health, I can’t come
to no conclusion why he would do such a thing for he was a good man and as honest a man as you could find
for I recommended him to my nephew after working with him 2 years to be honest and he was honest in
business dealing, for his cash register always checked and stock too. And the work was easy, and he liked the
work only said the hours were long, so in the evening after I finished my shift at the Café, I would go over and
help him so he could get out and relax a little and go to the Café and get his apple pie and sweet milk, he
really loved apple pie.
By the way, I have the clippings I cut out of the paper to keep, but know they will mean a lot to you so will send
them to you. I also gathered his clothes to be sent back with the body. Wanted to send the soiled ones to the
cleaners first, but the police said they didn’t have time to wait as they sent the body the next morning early and
were supposed to send his clothes too. He didn’t have a suitcase out at the Store. I don’t know what he had at
his room on Fillmore.
Trusting this letter will help you people a little, and if any time you want to write about anything in any way, will
be too glad to answer if I can for I know how you feel. I lost a little brother in the service, and we nearly lost our
mind until we heard from one of his buddies which helped a lot and to this day, that buddy makes our home his
home every summer, for he comes on his vacation and we love him. His wife and 2 children could never take
the place of my brother, but it is next to him in coming home. And I know how his letters helped us. I just hope
and pray this letter will help his loved ones at home in trying to understand, for Wade was a good man, went
out in the world to make a fortune as many young man has tried, failed and just didn’t have the heart to go
back because he told me, said, “I could go back home, be working for my self in a short time”. I asked him why
he didn’t and he said, “Oh! Pearl, I guess you would call it self pride.” He was rather independent.
Write again if you think of anything else.
A friend,
Mrs. Rodger
Leta & Wade Doolin - 1928