In Re the Estate of Reed

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Miller, J.:

This is an appeal by petitioners, Pauline Winnick and Indiana University Foundation, from an order of the Lyon District Court refusing original probate to a document which petitioners contend is the will of Sarah R. Reed, deceased. The issue is whether that instrument may be construed as a will under our statutes.

The facts are undisputed. Sarah R. Reed died in the Whippoorwill boating accident on Lake Pomona near Vassar, Kansas, on June 17, 1978. At the time of her death, she was Director of the School of Library Science at Emporia State…