Charles F. Van de Water

Candidate Biography:

Born: October 12, 1872 in Hobart, New York
Married: Edith Weir (m. 1904)
Children: Charles F. Jr., Janice WIlde, and John Randolph
Died: November 20, 1920 in Walnut Station, CA

Previous: President, Willmore City Chamber of Commerce (two terms)

• Van de Water was elected to Congress on November 2nd,  but died before assuming office. Three weeks after winning the election, Van de Water and his wife spent November 20th in Pomona, meeting with local supporters. After a reception at Pomona High School, the Van de Waters attended a banquet given in his honor that continued until nearly midnight. After the event, the Van de Waters, his secretary Janice Leubben, and a friend left by car to return home to Long Beach. Along the road in front of them, near Walnut Station, a young truck driver having trouble with his vehicle and stopped to call his employer. Fearing that his truck would get stuck in thick mud beside the road, he left it parked in the road (without any lights illuminating it). The Van de Waters vehicle, traveling through heavy fog, struck the truck at about midnight, killing Leubben instantly after she was ejected from the vehicle and mortally wounding Van de Water, who later died at Pomona Valley Hospital.