Two young Carroll County men were electrocuted Saturday afternoon as they attempted to erect a television antenna atop a house into which one of the victims was moving. Carl Lee Yerkes, 25, of Camden, and Thomas Lee Shafer, 28, of Delphi and formerly of Camden, were standing on the ground at the base of the antenna helping others erect it when the metal tower came in contact with a 7,200-volt electric line of Public Service Indiana, reported Chief of Police Lee Thompson who was summoned to the scene. Yerkes, a Delphi Community School Corporation teacher, was helping Shafer move to 123 Charles Street, Delphi, when the accident occurred. The sheriff’s department and coroner James R. Sullivan also assisted in the investigation. Yerkes was born in Logansport, the son of Carl and Alma Penn Yerkes, who are the only immediate survivors. He lived at home with his parents on Rt. 1, Camden. He was graduated from Camden High School in 1960 and Ball State University in 1965. He began teaching modern math and science at Pittsburg Elementary School in the fall of 1965 and was a coach for the 7th and 8th grades. He also taught driver education at Delphi Community High School. He was coach of the Delphi Leaguettes Girls’ Softball team. Mr. Yerkes was a member of the Camden Baptist Church and the Logansport Eagles Lodge. Funeral services were Tuesday afternoon at the Camden Baptist Church with the Rev. Orland J. Gibbons officiating. Interment was in Paint Creek Cemetery, northeast of Camden near his home. Sullivan Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Flora Hoosier Democrat September 12, 1968