From Waneta M. Arner (current e-mail not known):

This article detailing John Arner's death [Obit] was published in the June 13, 1937 issue of the Ryan Leader newspaper of Ryan, Jefferson Co., Okla. It was obtained by Jennifer Holle and her mom, Ramona, on a trip to Ryan during the summer of 1999. A Mr. Givens was nice enough to dig it up from his collection of old newspapers.

The Murder of John W. Arner

“John Arner was shot and killed in Waurika, Thursday night about 8:00 o'clock by a gun in the hands of L. D. Burns of Ryan who fired six shots. The tragedy occurred only a few hours after Arner had been to Ryan to attend the funeral of his sister, Mrs. Martha Ryan.

The Leader was unable to get in direct contact with witnesses to the shooting, if there were any witnesses, or with Burns, but the general talk is that the two men were seen a few minutes before the shooting drinking beer together in the Casino Cafe at Waurika, apparently in a friendly mood. They were standing at the bar for a while, but later went into one of the booths it is said where an argument between the two started, and where the first shots were fired by Burns. Arner is said to have fled out of the cafe, into the street. He fell fatally wounded just before he reached the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. Six shots it is reported were fired, two missed. One shot struck Arner at ankle breaking both bones, one pierced his heart, and two others entered his body.

Night Watchman Newt Lewis who was a short distance from the Casino Cafe at the time the shots were fired was almost the first person to reach the slain man. He immediately disarmed Burns, placed him under arrest, and took him to jail at the courthouse. He surrendered quietly to the officer, but refused to discuss the cause of the shooting at that time. In a search of the clothing of the slain man, no firearms were found. “[Both] *****men were in Ryan at the [service] *****e Thursday afternoon and ***** was known by friends of *****es, that *****enmity exist.” *** Christ of Duncan, W******* by G. Willard Collins, Evangelist of the Church of Christ, whose home is in Nashville, Tenn., and Mrs. Cassie Brown of Ryan.

The remains were laid to rest in Ryan Cemetery.

John Wesley Arner was born in Searcy, Ark., December 29, 1879 and was 57 years, 7 months and 6 days old at his death. He came to Ryan with his parents in the early days, and grew to manhood on the family farm across Beaver Creek on the west edge of Ryan. He was a carpenter by trade and was known as a skilled workman. He was united in marriage to Miss Ollie Thompson in 1900 who died in Ryan in January 1919. A few years later he married Miss Sweetie Bond of Terral to which union two sons were born, and both survive their father. Other surviving relatives are one son and three daughters by his first marriage, Roscoe Arner of Duncan; Misses Bonnie and Louise Arner of Norman and Mrs. Eva Roland of Perry, Okla; two brothers, Frank Arner of Ryan and Will Arner of Oklahoma City; and one sister, Mrs. Lula West of Ryan.”

NOTE: ***** sections indicate areas of the original article that were unreadable. Each * does not necessarily indicate one letter.