John D. Painter
Nov. 27, 1931-Jan. 7, 1946
Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Monday, January 7, 1946, page 1, col. 2, microfilm Niles District Library
Niles Youth, 14, Leukemia Victim
Fourteen-year-old, John D. Painter, son of Mr. and Mrs. James S. Painter, rural route two, Niles, died at 8:06 a.m. today and thus ended his two-month battle with leukemia, a rare and dread blood disease for which doctors said there is no specific.
The youth, a freshman at Niles high school, was stricken with the disease Nov. 5, 1945.
Doctors said the disease usually results from an enlargement of the spleen followed by deterioration of the white blood cells while the red corpuscles remain normal and constant.
A fairly rare disease, one Niles doctor said today that he had only two cases in his many years of practice.
Hold Rite Wednesday
The boy was born in Niles, Nov. 27, 1931. In addition to his parents, he is survived by a brother, Vernon, of Lansing, and two sisters, Mrs. Ruth K. Davis and Mrs. Rachel Hatfield, both of Niles.
Services will be held Wednesday, at 2 p.m., in the Church of Christ. Burial will be in Silverbrook cemetery and the Rev. Joseph Johnson will officiate. Friends may call at the Pifer funeral home.