John H. Simmons, 41, farmer, died attempting to save John A. Rhyne, 34, night watchman, from suffocation, Nebo, North Carolina, September 29, 1911. Simmons made two descents into a 50-foot well, in which were gas and dynamite smoke, to save Rhyne, who was at the bottom, unconscious. As Simmons was being drawn up the second time, after having tied a rope around Rhyne, he gasped and fell backward to the bottom. Rhyne was dead when drawn from the well, and Simmons died shortly after being gotten to the surface.
John H. Simmons
Nebo, NC