James B. Sumner, Local Realtor, Dies In Tucson

Heart Attack Fatal To Ann Arbor Man On Vacation Trip
James Blaine Sumner, 61, local real estate dealer and a former mayor of St. Louis, Mich. died Wednesday in a Tucson, Ariz., hospital shortly after having suffered a heart attack on a train en route to Tucson.
He had left Ann Arbor Monday afternoon with his wife, bound for an Arizona vacation. Five times mayor of St. Louis and a member of the Ann Arbor Real Estate Board, he also was a former secretary of the Gratiot County Welfare Commission.
Son Of Pioneer Family
Born Aug. 25, 1886 in Pittsfield township, the son of Seth and Emily Morgan Sumner, pioneer Washtenaw county residents, Mr. Sumner lived here until 1925, when he went to Fowlerville to operate a hotel. He returned to the city in 1940 to enter the real estate business.
As a young man he served on the Ann Arbor Fire Department for five years, later was a conductor on Detroit interurban railways for nine years, and after that managed a grocery and confectionary store on Prospect St. for seven years.
In 1927 Mr. Sumner became engaged in the real estate and automobile business in Lansing. He went to St. Louis, Mich., in 1929 and there operated the Park Hotel while serving in his various public offices.
A member of the Rotary Club, Maccabees, the Chamber of Commerce, and the First Methodist Church, Mr. Sumner resided at 1773 S. State St.
Wife Survives
He was married Aug. 25, 1920, to Eleanor Bailey of Amberly, Ont.
Surviving are his wife; one son, James P. Sumner of St. Louis, Mich.; three daughters, Mrs. Joseph H. Kobus of Ann Arbor, Miss Lillian Sumner of Ypsilanti, and Mrs. Lee McAnallen of Battle Creek; a stepson, Lee Fisher of Phoenix, Ariz; and eight grandchildren.
Another daughter, Mrs. Elsie May Smalley, died Feb. 6, 1939.
Also surviving are a brother, Emmons Sumner of Ann Arbor; five sisters, Mrs. Harley Olson of St. Louis, Mo., Mrs. Herbert Leach of East Lansing, Mrs. Fannie Perkins of Ann Arbor, Mrs. Robert F. Williams and Mrs. Charlotte Cook, both of Detroit; and several nephews and nieces.
Funeral services will be held at 3 o'clock Monday afternoon at the Muehlig Funeral Chapel with Rev. Robert H. Jongeward officiating. Burial will be made in Forest Hill Cemetery. Friends may call at the chapel from Sunday noon until the hour of the service. The body is to arrive in Ann Arbor Saturday night.
James Blaine Sumner, 61, real estate dealer, died Wednesday in Tucson, Ariz., after he suffered a heart attack on a train while traveling to Arizona for a vacation. His body will be returned to the city tomorrow night.