Patterson Cemetery District, Stanislaus County, CA 

Submitted by Gale Stroud and Burta Herger 26 Aug 2007

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Gomes Joe F 430709 p1
Three Crows Landing Men Killed in Mishaps; Train, Car, River, Claim Victims In Separate Accidents
An unusual series of fatal mishaps of widely varying character brought death to three Crows Landing men during the first
three days of the week. A drowning, a highway mishap and a crossing crash made up the toll. Pioneer Dairyman Hit By
Train -- Joe F. Gomes, a dairyman who resided in the Crows Landing district for some forty years, died at the West Side
Hospital on Tuesday, soon after he had been struck by a northbound freight train at the Grisez warehouse crossing,
located in the center of that community. The engine struck the pick-up just in front of the cab, throwing the vehicle
against a gasoline tank car on the siding a few feet away. The light truck was so crushed that an acetylene torch had to be
used to cut away a door in order that Gomes might be removed from the driver's seat. Dr. J. E. Thompson was summoned
from Newman and administered first-aid. An ambulance from the nearby Naval Base rushed the injured man to the
hospital, where he expired a few moments after arrival.  With the aid of several neighbors, Gomes had been hauling hay
at his ranch some two miles from town. Bread was needed, and he hurried to get it. And he was hurrying homeward as he
approached the crossing, unthinking of the danger that might lurk there. Funeral services are to be held this morning at
ten o'clock in St. Joachim's Catholic Church at Newman, with Rev. Henry E.  Plunkett conducting the mass. Interment is
to be made in the Hills Ferry Catholic Cemetery. Gomes was a native of the Azores and 60 years old. He came directly to
Modesto 42 years ago, staying there for only a brief time before moving to the West Side to stay.  He is survived by his
two step-children, George Carvalho of Newman and Mrs. Lewis Neto of Crows Landing; a brother, Fellis Gomes of
Hughson; and two sisters -- Mrs. Maria Margenetti of Hughson and Mrs. Anna Silva of New Bedford, Massachusetts.
His wife Maria Carvalho Gomes, passed away three years ago.