Memorial
Day, 2017: Laurie’s and my parents…who better to honor and give thanks to! They brought us into the world, nurtured us
and set the stage for who we are today.
The stars aligned for our parents to meet and fall in love. In turn their love arranged our stars so that
we would eventually meet and become the couple that we are today!
David’s
mom, Elizabeth Selma Weed, daughter of Nathan B. Weed and Estelle J. Sibbald
(Weed) was born in Liberty New York on January 3, 1916. For most of her life, she lived in and around
Jackson Michigan. Elizabeth (Beth) had 2
brothers, Nathan and John and a younger sister Jeane. This
formal color photo was taken about the time David’s mom graduated from high
school.
Elizabeth
went on to nursing school but other than a short stint as a personal caregiver,
she never really worked in the profession.
Later she worked as a secretary and then as a social worker for the
state of Michigan.
Laurie’s
mom, Doris Glenda McCormick, daughter of Otto McCormick and Rose Hetzel
(McCormick) was born in Bancroft Wisconsin on March 4, 1911. She lived in Wisconsin until she went to
nursing school in St. Louis Missouri.
She is one of 5 siblings, the others being Harland, Lois, Alton and
Marion. This photo was taken ca. 1934
for Laurie’s dad to have while Doris was away in nursing school.
David’s
dad, Ronald Allen Myers, son of Frank J. Myers and Mary Ethel Cerrow (Myers)
was born in Jackson Michigan on April 2, 1911.
For most of his life, except when he was in the Army, he lived in and
around Jackson Michigan. Ronald (Ron)
had one brother, Clifford. This photo was taken after he graduated from High School.
Laurie’s
dad, Robert Templeton, son of John L. Templeton and Lena Smith (Templeton) was
born in Gillespie Illinois on October 28, 1913.
He lived in Gillespie until he married Laurie’s mom Doris. He served in the US Army and was stationed in
Ft. Leonard Wood Missouri. This photo
was taken just before he reported for duty.
Coincidentally,
John L. Templeton and Lena Smith Templeton emigrated from Scotland and David’s
stepfather also came from Scotland. Both
men were coal miners…John in Scotland and Illinois and Hugh in Nova
Scotia. We’ve recently learned that their
home towns in Scotland were no more than 30 miles apart.
This
ca. 1946 photo of David’s mom was taken in front of her parent’s house at 124
East Prospect Avenue in Jackson Michigan.
By this time she was a war widow and she was living with David at her
parent’s home. Beth went on to remarry
in 1947. Her second husband’s name was
Hugh Thomson. He’d migrated to the USA
from Scotland and Nova Scotia Canada. In
1948, David’s brother Robert Thomson was born…
Beth
was an artist who worked in many mediums…water color, oil paints, clay, weaving…and
in many styles too. Thanks to her, the
walls of our house and David II’s family’s home out in Omaha Nebraska are
covered in quality art ranging from primitive to impressionist works. Following a downward spiral health wise, we
moved David’s mom from Concord Michigan to a care facility near our previous
home in Mt. Prospect Illinois. She
passed away on January 9, 1995 at the age of 79.
Like
the photo of Laurie’s dad in uniform, this photo of Laurie's mom was taken at the back of the
Templeton’s family home in Gillespie Illinois.
The dog in the photo was named Tiger.
At this point, Doris and Bob were engaged but were yet to be married.
An
interesting fact is that Bob’s younger brother John, ended up marrying Doris’
middle sister Lois…creating a plethora of double cousins! Doris and Lois’ younger sister Marion
lamented at the time that there weren’t any more Templeton boys left to marry!
Another
coincidence… Both Laurie’s mom and David’s mom became registered nurses, both
attending nursing school while engaged to their future husbands and separated
from them at the same time. We have many
letters written during the time they spent apart.
Laurie’s
mom passed away at the age of 92 on August 21, 2003. She is dearly missed by all who knew her…
David’s
dad Ron joined the army in 1942 after the United States entered World War
II. He wasn’t shipped overseas until
early in 1945 but Sgt. Ronald Allen Myers was killed in action in
Czechoslovakia on May 6, 1945…just a couple of days before the war in Europe
came to an end. Ron was with the 18th
Infantry Regiment of the 1st Division of the US Army. David wasn’t quite 3 years old at the time.
After
high school, Ron had attended Michigan State University and earned a degree in
Conservation. He and Beth met while Ron
was working as a ‘soda jerk’ in a drug store in Jackson Michigan…earning money
to pay for college. Just prior to the
war, Ron was working for what is now Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources
as a conservation officer.
Laurie’s
dad started out working in an automotive garage early in his life. At some point after he married Doris and they
moved to St. Louis, Bob found his calling in sales. He was very successful selling forklifts to
large corporations. At various times
over the years he worked for Yale, Clark and Monroe.
Bob was
very active in the community, serving as a deacon at Maplewood Methodist Church,
as a board member at the Brentwood Missouri YMCA, as a Mason and as a member of
the Maplewood Lions Club.
Sadly,
Bob died from a massive heart attack at the age of 55 on September 20,
1969. Laurie was only 17 years old at
the time. Her sister Bonnie was only 16. Both girls were still living at home and in
school…
It’s a
bit sad, but we only have 2 photos of Beth and Ron together…and both of them
are with David in front of Beth’s parent’s house. There aren’t any wedding photos although we
have documentation that they were married by a Catholic priest. All of the other photos that we have were
taken by Ron or Beth taking photos of each other…
We have
a number of letters from Ronald to Elizabeth and they are sweet and loving… One
word that is consistent in their communications is “swell”, a word that is
rarely used these days. Things were
tough for the couple both before and after they were married, that’s for
sure. It was still during the depression
with jobs and money being very special commodities. In one letter, Ron apologized for not leaving
Beth with a $1.00 so she’d have a bit of spending money. David was born on July 21, 1942 in Carson City
Michigan while Ron was working for Michigan’s Conservation Department.
David
here… I regret having no memory of my father.
I know that my life would have been much different had he survived the
war but I’m thankful that he and my mother were very much in love and that they
brought me into this world. Hopefully,
they are reunited in a better place.
Laurie’s
parents met at a dance… Bob was there with Doris’ roommate and Doris was with
Bob’s friend. The following week, Bob
went to the dorm at the nursing school and Doris told him that her roommate
wasn’t there. He told her that he came
to see her and ask her out for a date.
The rest is history!
Their
early years together during the depression were challenging. Laurie has letters from them to each other as
they were separated while he was desperately searching for work while she was
in St. Louis either in nurses training or working as a nurse. Their letters revealed that how much they
wanted to be together, have their own apartment and start a family. They wanted a girl first and they were going
to name her Glenda Joy because she was so wanted. Surprise!
Glenda Joy came first, followed by Robert Bruce, Karole Kay, Joanne Lee,
Laurie Jean and Bonnie Arline.
Laurie
has many great family memories…picnics in parks in St. Louis and St. Charles Missouri
with all her double cousins…family vacations in Plover Wisconsin to visit Doris’s
sister and family…the cottage in Heafford Junction Wisconsin…and many camping
trips all over the country.
With
Laurie’s dad’s sudden death in 1969, the lives of the entire family were
completely changed. As it turned out,
our family's lives and tragedies eventually led to Laurie’s and my paths coming
together. So we both miss our parents
very much but thanks to them and their sacrifices, we have each other and our
families…
That’s about
it for now. Just click on any of the
photos to enlarge them.
Let’s
all remember our loved ones who have passed…
Take
Care, Big Daddy Dave and Laurie
