In the last hours of work on the new Seventh Day Adventist Church last Wednesday afternoon, two men were injured, one fatally when heavy scaffolding gave way, plunging them some 15 feet to the concrete floor below. Leonard Scheffler was killed instantly and Ellsworth Heinrich was in critical condition for several days with skull fracture and severe concussion. He was taken from Okeene Hospital to St.Anthony's Hospital in Oklahoma City where he was in the intensive care unit until Friday. There were a number of workers at the church, giving finishing touches to the $100,000.00 building. Construction began last spring. A flaw in the metal support of the scaffolding was the apparent cause of the accident. Another worker, Billy George Lorenz attempted to hold up the structure when it began to give way, but it was too heavy. The accident was felt deeply by all in the community, but plans are continuing for the dedication service on February 12th. As printed in "the OKEENE RECORD", Thursday, January 6, 1972, Okeene, Blaine County, Oklahoma.
Services for Leonard Scheffler were Saturday, January 1st, in the United Methodist Church, Okeene, Oklahoma. Officiating elders were Don J. Sales and A. L. May. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Reid furnished the music. Interment was in East Cooper Cemetery at Hitchcock, Oklahoma with Landes Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. Bearers were Kenneth Voth, Vernon Voth, B. G. Lorenz, Alving Meier, Donald Scheffler, and Melvin Ehrlich. Leonard Wesley Scheffler was born near Hitchcock, Oklahoma, February 10, 1921 to Fred and Rachel Scheffler. He died December 29, 1971 in an accident at Okeene while helping complete the new Seventh Day Adventist Church. Leonard received his education in the Hitchcock schools. He lived and farmed nearly all his life there. From 1944 to 1946, he served in the Armed Forces and was stationed for some time in Korea. On August 2, 1946 he was married to Almeda Meier at Fairview. They established a home on a farm southeast of Hitchcock where the family still resides. Scheffler was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church and was a deacon at East Cooper and also at Okeene the past several years. Survivors include his wife, Almeda, his daughter Connie, his parents Mr. & Mrs. Fred Scheffler of Hitchcock, and a brother Leroy of Wichita, Kansas. As printed in "the OKEENE RECORD", Thursday, January 6, 1972, Okeene, Blaine County, Oklahoma.