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- Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947 (familysearch.org)
Charles Albert Day, Pres. D.A. Stuart Oil Co., born 12 Jan 1865 in Peoria, IL to Charles B Day of Binghamton, NY and his mother of Bennington, VT, married Harriot, died 12 Nov 1942 in Chicago, Cook, IL. Buried 13 Nov 1942 in Graceland cemetery, Chicago, IL.
from Peoria Journal Star, 15 Nov 2008 by Terry Bibo (pjstar.com)
It took 66 years, two days and 20 minutes to bury Charles Albert Day. Once the Chicago-based CEO of an oil company and the scion of a well-known Peoria family, Mr. Day's remains have been sitting on a shelf at Springdale Cemetery since World War II. At 91, Peoria's Charles Kellogg is Day's great-nephew and appears to be the closest surviving relative. He didn't know until three weeks ago. "It's a complete surprise to us," says Jackie Kellogg, as Springdale general manager Pat Lewis helps her husband of 62 years over the soft and uneven ground to Day's graveside on a misty Friday morning. "You never know what's going to happen when the phone rings." Chuck Kellogg is a trifle unsteady, but sporting, as he takes his place for a ceremony to bridge the gap between long-overdue and totally unexpected. "People will think this is for me," he says, pointing his cane at the square hole where the small ceramic jar containing Day's cremains will be placed. A handful of Springdale employees laugh. Along with the Kelloggs, two journalists and a local historian, they are the only people here. Special instructions on the Day family plot prevented this funeral for decades. Close friends and family are understandably scarce. But finding a way to inter these cremains had become a mission for Lewis over the last three years. When he discovered the faint connection to the Kelloggs in October, they made brief yet respectful arrangements. "This is something that is 66 years late," Lewis says as he begins to read prepared remarks. His research shows some odd coincidences. Charles Albert Day was born in Peoria on Jan. 12, 1865. He married Harriot Wheeler Langdon on Nov. 14, 1911 - so he was buried on what would have been their 97th anniversary, if there had been such a thing. (No record of children was found.) His relatives ran what was known as Day Brothers & Co. Dry Goods, but this Day left and became president of D.A. Stuart Oil Co. from 1917 until he retired at 65 in 1929 - neatly spanning from World War I until the Depression. He was living in Chicago when he died on Nov. 12, 1942 - which is 47 years to the day when his father died. Day's death certificate says he was cremated and buried there. But Springdale records show his ashes were shipped to his wife in San Diego, and she sent them back to Peoria. Knowingly or not, this created a problem. There was a handwritten note in the file dated Sept. 19, 1921, that no one could be buried on the Day Brothers lot without permission. If there is a reason why this never happened, no one here knows what it is. Lewis considered going ahead with his own ceremony, and then he found the Kelloggs, who agreed to attend. "I have come to affectionately refer to Charles as 'Chucky,'" Lewis says. While Springdale has been Day's guardian, perhaps he has been an angel for the cemetery, as well. "I feel Chucky has been in a better place for those 66 years, and now his earthly remains can be placed with his mother in what is a very special place." A wan ray of sunlight warms the hillside the Day family chose in 1874. It embraces the same vista Lewis uses to demonstrate Springdale's rejuvenation when he talks to community groups. A small pile of earth is trundled over to the grave and tamped down. The whole thing takes a bit more than a quarter of an hour. "He deserves to be put to rest finally," says Jackie Kellogg as the small group trudges back to their waiting cars. "Poor soul."
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1864 - 1942 (78 years)