1963 — April 23, Home Fire (Gephart children), River Park Drive, Louisville, KY      —       7 

— 7  Kleber, John E. (Ed.). The Encyclopedia of Louisville. Univ. Press of KY, 2001, p. 548.

— 7  Find A Grave. “George Louis Gephart, III.”[1]

— 7  Middlesboro Daily News, KY. “Five Die in Fire.” 4-24-1963, p. 2.

Narrative Information

Kleber:  “This [house] fire spread quickly, engulfing the home in minutes. Seven children, ages five to thirteen years, asleep on the second floor, died. The mother and five other children on the ground floor escaped, although two of those children died a few days later. An exact cause of the fire was never ascertained, although the Fire Prevention Bureau listed the cause as ‘children playing with fire’.”^[2] (Kleber, John E. (Ed.). “Louisville Fire Department/Fires,” The Encyclopedia of Louisville. Univ. Press of KY, 2001, p. 548.)

 

April 24: “Louisville (UPI) – Two children were hospitalized in critical condition today and five others were dead from a fire that gutted a two-story brick home in the West End of Louisville Tuesday night [April 23]. Mrs. George L. Gephart, grief-stricken mother of 12 children, managed to save four of them without injury.” (Middlesboro Daily News, KY. “Five Die in Fire.” 4-24-1963, p. 2.)

 

May 3: “A seventh child of Mr. and Mrs. George L. Gephart, Jr., died yesterday [May 2] of burns suffered in a fire that swept through the family home at 4327 River Park Drive on the night of April 23. Jack Gephart, 13, died at 3:45 p.m. in General Hospital. Deputy Coroner Ed Weeks said death was caused by third-degree burns over his entire body.

 

“Sunday night a sister, Susan, died at General of burns suffered in the fire.

 

“Killed in the fire were Gerard, 11; Paul, 8; Joe, 13 [Jack’s twin]; Kathy, 10, and Laura, 5.

 

“Mrs. Gephart and four of her 12 children escaped without injury. A son, George Gephart, III, left home the morning of the fire to begin Navy service. The father was a patient at Veterans Hospital at the time of the fire…” (Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY. “Seventh Gephart Child Dies of Burns in Fire.” 5-3-1963, p. 23.)

 

Sources

 

Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY. “Seventh Gephart Child Dies of Burns in Fire.” 5-3-1963, p. 23. Accessed 2-14-2020 at: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5439800/seventh_gephart_childdies_of_burns_in/

 

Find A Grave. “George Louis Gephart, III.” Accessed 2-14-2020 at: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56996048/george-louis-gephart

 

Kleber, John E. (Ed.). “Fires in Louisville,” The Encyclopedia of Louisville. University Press of Kentucky, 2001, pp. 546-549. Partially Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=pXbYITw4ZesC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=true

 

Middlesboro Daily News, KY. “Five Die in Fire.” 4-24-1963, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com

 

 

 

[1] This posting notes the death of the father, who was in the hospital at the time of the fire. He died on Nov 16, 1964 at the age of 48. Memorial provides the names of the seven Gephart children who died: Susan A., John B, Joseph R., Gerard A., Kathleen C. Paul R. and Laura M.

[2] Cites at end of the entire article: Louisville Fire Department History, Vol. II 1858-1997 (Paducah, Ky., 1997); David Winges, Volunteer Firefighters of Louisville, Kentucky (Louisville 1991); Historical Sketch and Souvenir of the Louisville Fire Department (Louisville 1894); and Louisville Fire Department History 1858-1989 (Paducah, Ky., 1989).