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Candace
(Pringey) Liston |
Candace
"Candy" (Pringey) Liston was born on April 6, 1846 in
Turkeyfoot Township, Somerset County, the daughter of Joseph and Margaret Rebecca "Peggy" (Younkin) Pringey.
Courtesy Michael Patrick Connelly
As a baby, Candace was brought by her parents and siblings over the state line to a new home in or near Bruceton Mills, Preston County, VA (later West Virginia). She was admitted to membership of the Hazel Run Baptist Church near Bruceton Mills at the age of 15, under the name "Canadee Pringey."
At the age of 18, on Oct. 2, 1864, she was united in the bonds of matrimony with 26-year-old Preston County resident Henson Smith Liston (1838-1890). The marriage took place less than two months after his return home from service in the Civil War, at the home of the bride's brother Philip in Bruceton Mills. Rev. G.W. Hertzog officiated.
Among the witnesses to their nuptials were Candace's sister Abbie Martin as well as her brother and sister in law Herman and Sarah M. Pringey, with these same two women later helping in the births of some of the Liston children.
Henson stood 5 feet, 10½ inches tall and weighed 155 lbs. During the war, he had served with his future brother in law Herman Pringey in the 6th West Virginia Cavalry, Company H and 3rd West Virginia Infantry, Company H. He enlisted on June 25, 1861.
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| Clarysville General Hospital in Cumberland, MD as seen in 1864, where Henson Liston was treated for typhoid fever during the Civil War |
Less than a month after enlistment, in July 1861, while stationed at Clarksburg, WV, he contracted the measles. Just after recovering from the measles, he incurred chronic diarrhea on duty at New Creek, WV. Then in February 1862, now at Cumberland, MD, he was stricken with typhoid fever and sent to a regimental hospital in nearby Clarysville, MD.
Henson saw action in some of Virginia's more notable battles, occurring at
Winchester, Cedar Mountain and the Second Battle of Bull Run, also known as Manassas. During General
Siegel's campaign on the Rappahannock River, he "was in almost continuous
action for nineteen days," said the Compendium of History and Biography
of Cass County, Iowa.
He received an honorable discharge in Wheeling, WV on
Aug. 16, 1864 and returned home to Preston County. While her husband, brothers Herman and John, and brother-in-law Jacob Tucker Martin all returned home virtually uncathed, Candace learned to her horror that her brother Frederick had died of typhoid fever at Camp Parole, MD, on the third day of the new year in 1863, shortly after having been exchanged as a prisoner of war.
The couple produced nine known children -- Joseph Butler Liston, Jennie Amelia Connelly, Francis M. Liston, John P. Liston, Roy Smith Liston, Charles Ross Liston, Luru May Weir, Blanche Abigail Scarr and Henson Glenn Liston -- born over a 22-year sweep between 1865 and 1887.
Candace is known to have attended the wedding of her sister Abbie to Civil War veteran Jacob T. Martin on March 5, 1865 in Brandonville, WV.
After three years in Preston County, in about 1867, the Listons made the life changing decision to migrate westward to Iowa. They first came to Muscatine County, where they stayed for two years.
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| Above: Candace and Henson Liston and their brood. Courtesy Michael Patrick Connelly. Below: dirt-paved streets of Cumberland, Iowa. |
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Then in 1869 they relocated again to a farm near Cumberland, Cass County. Their tract of land was comprised of 80 acres of "wild prairie land" in section 1 of Noble Township. The following year, in 1870, he was elected a trustee of Noble Township. At some point he took over from Samuel Newlon as postmaster of Newlons Grove (formerly Edna), Iowa, and in turn was succeeded by Robert Magarell.
Courtesy Glenn Fleming
The Listons were
founding members of the Newlon's Grove Baptist Church, with its first services
held on Jan. 17, 1872 in the home of Candace's brother in law Jacob Tucker Martin, with Rev. C. Brooks and
Rev. J. Currier leading the small congregation. After a period of meeting in
members' homes, the group began to use a newly built school house circa 1873.
Henson was the original deacon of the church. At Candace's death years later, a newspaper said that she held her membership in the congregation "until moving to Cumberland to make her home."
The couple also is known to have deeded a portion of their farm for use as the Newlons Grove Cemetery. They and a number of their offspring eventually would be carried to the final place of eternal sleep in its sacred soil.
In January 1890, claiming disability from lung and loose bowel problems, Henson was awarded a federal pension as reward for his military service. Jacob H. Liston and Herman Pringey, both of whom had served in the same regiment, both testified in writing to their knowledge of his ailments. [App. #748.531; Cert. #578.086] But he was not able to take advantage of the financial windfall for long.
Just eight months later, under medical treatment for pneumonia by Dr. C.M. Schindel, he died in Cumberland, Noble Township, Cass County on Aug. 2, 1890, at the age of 51 years, 7 months and 22 days. Burial was in Newlons Grove Cemetery near Cumberland.
Candace was left with five children under the age of 16. She survived her husband by a remarkable 48 years. She remained on their farm until 1895 and then moved into town. Recalled granddaughter Claire (Scarr) Slack:
After Henson died she moved her children into Cumberland into a rather charming, rambling old one-story house, which was set squarely on the ground, with no cellar. There was a pump outside the kitchen door. She consulted none of her family when she chose to build the new house. (next door) It was completely utilitarian. There was a deep, large, basement where she could store canned food and have room to dry clothes in the winter. There were two bedrooms with bath between, a small parlor. Her life was centered in the Baptist Church and she lived a Christian life.
She applied for and began receiving her husband's monthly pension payments. [App. 459.991; Cert. #291.173, XC 2.64.467] Among those friends providing supporting testimony for her claim were her sister Abbie Martin, now living in Gallion, Cass County, and the cashier of the Cumberland Savings Bank.
In 1910, living in Cumberland, she headed a household which included her son Francis and daughter Blanche. She relied on the pension for her income, and the two adult children generated additional support for the family, he as a salesman for an implement house, and she as an assistant in the local post office. Candace in 1913 bore the heartbreak of the untimely death of her married daughter Luru.
Every summer, for two weeks, her daughter Blanche Scarr and granddaughter Claire would come from Council Bluffs for visits. Claire later recalled that Candace "was such a private person that no one really knew her... Mom admitted that her mother was never very communicative. I could see that it was a deep source of frustration, because Mom wanted so to make a more personal contact with her mother."
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| Above, the Liston farm near Cumberland, IA. Below: front, L-R: Jennie, Joe, Candace, Glen; middle, Lura, Roy, Blanche; back, Charley, John, Frank. Courtesy Michael Patrick Connelly |
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Newlons Grove. Courtesy Glenn Fleming
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With the motherly nest empty by 1920, Candace took in as a boarder Ruth Huttonmeyer, who worked as a bookkeeper in a local savings bank.
Federal census records for 1930 show Candace sharing a home with her widowed son-in-law Frank and granddaughter Patsy Liston in Cumberland.
In 1937, records show that her monthly check was in the amount of $40.
Candace's mind began to fail in her later years, and she suffered from senility. She was bedridden for the last six months of her life.
Then in the winter of 1938, she contracted a case of influenza. After suffering for six days, she died from their effects in Cumberland on Feb. 20, 1938, at the age of 91 years, 9 months and 14 days. On her official Iowa certificate of death, signed by her son Charles, the maiden name of her mother was misspelled as "Yonkers."
Funeral services were conducted in Cumberland's Baptist Church, led by the hand of Rev. J.A. Morse of the First Baptist Church of Atlantic. Pallbearers were her grandsons -- Ronald Liston, Charles B. Liston, Wayne Liston, Basil Weir, Joe Connelly and Willet Connelly.
A lengthy obituary was printed in the local newspaper, referring to Candace as "the oldest resident of Cumberland, and a pioneer of Cass county... A native of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Liston had resided in Cass county since 1869, when she came her with her husband to farm... Being among the first settlers in this county, she and Mr. Liston were instrumental in starting the present Newlon's Grove cemetery. She was also one of the group who helped to organize the Newlon's Grove Baptist church..."
The headcount of her survivors was 30 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren.
Henson is profiled in the 1906 book Compendium of History and Biography of Cass County, Iowa (Chicago: Henry Taylor & Company). He also is named in the 1984 publication West Virginia History, Vol. 45.
In September 1996, the Listons' descendant Michael Patrick Connelly self-published a booklet of essays and genealogy lists of this family entitled The Family History of Ted Calvin Connelly.Only about 15 copies were made, with some donated to historical societies in Somerset County, PA; Preston County, WV; and Adair County, IA. A copy also is preserved in the Minerd.com Archives.
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| Newlon's Grove Cemetery in a cornfield and donated by the Listons. Courtesy Michael Patrick Connelly |
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~ Son Joseph Butler Liston ~
Son Joseph Butler Liston (1865-1944) was born in 1865 in Preston County, WV.
As an infant, he traveled with his parents to Muscatine County, IA, where they stayed for two years, and then in 1869 relocated again to a farm in Cumberland, Cass County, IA.
On Oct. 24, 1894, at the age of 29, he married 20-year-old Lulu Pearl Howard (1874-1942), an Illinois native and the daughter of Willis B. and Kimetia (Brenneman) Howard. Their nuptials were held in Bear Grove Township.
The couple produced three children -- Velma Hoyt, Howard Ronald Liston and Marvel Hoyt.
Circa 1900, when the federal census enumeration was made, the Liston family made their home on a farm in Noble Township, Cass County. At that time, Albert Rush, age 22 and unmarried, dwelled under their roof and worked as a servant. They relocated during the decade of the 1900s to a farm in Union Township, Cass County. Up until about 1912, when the family needed to travel from Cumberland to Atlantic, perhaps twice a year. they did so in a wagon drawn by a team of livestock. The 20-mile trip took up to three hours to complete one-way. Many years later, daughter Velma told a Des Moines Register reporter that her father had in 1912 bought the family's first automobile, an Oakland, and that had cut driving time from Cumberland to Atlantic to an hour.
They remained in Union as of 1920, when Lulu's widowed father lived in the household.
The farm on which they resided up to 1924 was located one and a half miles south of Cumberland. In 1924, they moved into the town of Cumberland, Union Townshp, where Joseph supplemented his income as a high school custodian. The 1930 U.S. Census lists the family in Cumberland, with 21-year-old daughter Marvel and Lulu's 80-year-old father still in the home.
The Listons' nest in Cumberland was empty as of 1940. The family was plunged into mourning when Lulu passed away in 1942. Burial was in Newlons Grove Cemetery.
Joseph survived for another two years as a widower. Poor health caused him to retire from the school position in about 1943. Sadly, he suffered a stroke and died on Nov. 15, 1944. An obituary in the Council Bluffs (IA) Nonpareil said he was survived by five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
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| Newlons Grove Cemetery. Courtesy Glenn Fleming |
By 1982, Cumberland was no longer thriving or attracting residents and its population had shrunk to 351. In a front-page story on Jan. 4, 1982, the Register said that it was burdened "with a condition that afflicts a lot of Iowa's smallest towns. Its past is long gone; its present is uneasy; its future uncertain. Time has stopped at [Billy] Bond's Hardware... Bond can remember Saturday nights when the stores were open and Cumberland was so choked with horses and buggies and farmers 'you couldn't get up and down the street.' Now a lot of the farmers have left the land and most of the stores where they traded have disappeared." The Listons' elderly daughter Velma and daughter-in-law Naomi Liston both were quoted in the article, with Naomi saying "It used to be a bigger place. We used to have two doctors, two dentists and an undertaker. Now see what we've got."
Daughter Velma M. Liston (1896-1989) was born on May 21, 1896 in Iowa. She married Hilary H. Hoyt (1893-1978). One known daughter born to the pair was Thora N. Hoyt. They lived on a farm in Union Township, Cass County in 1920-1940 and in Cumberland in 1944-1950. As of 1950, Hilary made his money as owner-operator of a custom corn sheller. Over the years they took in boarders who helped provide farm labor, with an elementary school teacher living with them in 1950. Hilary died in 1978. Velma outlived him by 11 years. She surrendered to the angel of death in Council Bluffs at the age of 93 on Aug. 1, 1989. The remains were lowered into the sacred soil of Newlons Grove Cemetery.
- Granddaughter Thora Nadene Hoyt (1914- ? ) was born in about 1914 in Iowa and grew to womanhood in Cass County. On the Fourth of July 1934, at age 21,she was united in the bonds of matrimony with Kenneth I. Cornell ( ? - ? ), age 23 and a farmer of nearby Atlantic, IA. Kenneth was the son of James Francis and Myrtle (Rich) Cornell. The marriage ceremony was held in Massena, IA, presided over by Rev. William Warden, pastor of the Baptist Church in Massena.
Son Howard "Ronald" Liston (1900-1988) was born in 1900. He grew up as a farmer and made that his life's work. On June 8, 1921, when he was 21 years of age, he entered into marriage with Naomi Myrtle Mattheis (1903-1997), a Cumberland resident and the daughter of H.C. and Emma Jane Mathies. Their nuptials were conducted in Atlantic, IA, by the hand of Rev. Frederick W. Simpson, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with Glen Mathies and Anna Murdock serving as witnesses. A pair of offspring born to this union were Emma Lou Liston and Howard Liston. They resided over the span of their years in Cass County, with both working on their farm, and as of 1940 Ronald driving a diesel truck for the county highway. Their locale in 1950 was Victoria, Cass County. Death carried him away in 1988. His remains are at rest in Newlons Grove Cemetery.
- Granddaughter Emma Lou Liston (1922- ? ) was born in about 1922 and grew up in the Cumberland area. On March 1, 1941, when she was age 19, she entered into marriage with 25-year-old Cecil Erickson ( ? - ? ), a Cumberland resident and farmer and the son of Lloyd and Rose (Johnson) Erickson. Rev. A. Bruling, of the local Methodist Church, led the nuptials in Lewis, IA.
- Grandson Howard Liston (1924- ? ) was born in about 1924. At age 16, in 1940, he was employed as an attendant at an oil station and in 1941 graduated from Cumberland High School. He then went on to study at Rock Island Business College. He joined the U.S. Army during World War II and trained at Camp Kohler in California. On Nov. 6, 1943, in a ceremony in Westminster Presbyterian Church of Sacramento, CA, he wed Beulah Stuva ( ? - ? ), daughter of Fred Stuva of Bridgewater, IA. Officiating was Rev. Charles Kirchner. A graduate of Bridgewater High School, Beulah moved to Oregon where she lived in Portland in 1943 and was employed in a defense plant. Howard in 1944 was transferred to a base in North Carolina.
Daughter Marvel Esther Liston (1909-1998) was born in 1909 in Iowa. At the age of about 24, on June 15, 1933, she was wed to 28-year-old mill worker Delbert "Devere" Hoyt (1905-1993), son of Reason and Mollie Ellen Hoyt. The wedding was held in Cumberland, officiated by Baptist Church pastor Rev. William Warden. The only known offspring of the family were daughteers Pearl Ellen Hoyt and Carol E. Hoyt. The Hoyts made their home in Cumberland, IA in 1940, where Devere earned a living as a clerk with a farmers cooperative, and in Adair, IA in 1944. Then between 1944 and 1950, the Hoyts pulled up stakes and migrated to Colorado, where he secured a position as a bulk gas deliveryman for Standard Oil Company. The federal census enumeration of 1950 lists them in Loveland, Larimer County, CO. The angel of death claimed Marvel in 1998. The couple reposes in for eternity in Resthaven Memory Gardens in Fort Collins, CO.
- Granddaughter Pearl Ellen Hoyt (1939- ? ) was born in about 1939.
- Granddaughter Carol E. Hoyt (1944- ? ) was born in about 1944 in Iowa.
~ Daughter Amelia Jane "Jennie" (Liston) Connelly ~
Daughter
Amelia Jane "Jennie" Liston (1867-1939) was born on Oct, 7, 1867 in Muscatine County, IA.
Courtesy Michael Patrick Connelly
On New Year's Day 1890, at the age of 22, she married 22-year-old John Calvin Connelly (March 26, 1867-1926), a native of Bruceton Mills, Preston County, WV, and the son of Charles and Sarah Ann (Hanna) Connelly.
Together, the couple produced a family of 10 offspring including Willet H. Connelly, Vera C. Connelly, Ullah Ann Shackelton, Cleo Jessie Connelly, Joe Liston Connelly, Philip P. Connelly, Blanche Lenora Luebbe, Isabel Jane Waverly, Ted Calvin Connelly and John Morris/Maurice Connelly.
Sadness swept over the family when, on Sept. 8, 1902, their infant son John died of choleera at the age of 8 months, 8 days.
The Connellys were longtime farmers. They first lived north of Bridgewater before relocating to a farm south of Anita, IA.
When the federal census enumeration was made in 1910, they dwelled in Lincoln Township, Cass County, IA, with son Willet helping provide labor on the family farm. Yet another move in September 1911 brought them to Greenfield.
As John suffered from asthma, this may have led him away from a farming career into a more lucrative business one. He is known to have been converted to Christianity in 1902 and to have jonied the Newlons Grove Baptist Church.
During the decade of the 1910s, the family relocated to Greenfield, Adair County, IA, where they appear to have settled for good. John acquired a 307-acre farm in 1910 for the price of $70 an acre, which raised eybrows of those who thought the sum high. But five years later, in July 1915, he made news in the Adams County Free Press when he sold 109 acres of that tract to R.A. Poole for $250 an acre, a markup of 357 percent. He disposed of another portion of the acreage for a good profit, thus retaining 160 acres. Said the Free Press:
This is the highest price paid for a farm in the vicinity of Greenfield. Mr. Connelly did not solicit the sale. He set his own price on the land. Mr. Poole bought the farm for a home on account of the good schools of Greenfield and for the other advantages to be gained by residing in the vicinity of the largest town in the county. Why shouldn't land in Adair county especially in the vicinity of Greenfield bring good prices. Greenfield is the largest town in this county and as such offers a great many advantages to the community surrounding it. The Adair county farmer is always sure of some kind of a crop.
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| Above, L-R: Candace, daughter Jennie Connelly, grandson Cleo and family. Below: front, L-R: Jennie, Joe, Candace, Glen; middle, Lura, Roy, Blanche; back, Charley, John, Frank. Courtesy Michael Patrick Connelly |
John and Jennie were on the losing end of a decision in the District Court for Adams County in October 1922. They were sued by Elmer E. Capp over a debt involving acreage in Section 8, Township 72 North, Range 34 West. The court ordered that the land be sold at a sheriff's sale to raise the amount due of $2,232.26 plus costs and attorneys' fees.Then in January 1916, reported the Marshalltown Evening Times-Republican, John spent $60,000 to buy a 400-acre tract north of Greenfield, including 200 acres near Council Bluffs.
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John made news again in 1920 in a court dispute with Greenfield Savings Bank that had deep political undertones. The Free Press reported the following:
It seems that the said Connelly purchased stock in the Associated Packing Company of DesMoines and gave nis hote for $2,500 and the note was purchased by the Commercial Savings bank of Des Moines and sent to the Greenfield bank for collection. Was this Associated Packing Company not one of the grafts that the stte house birds were lending their aid in financing? When it came to paying the note John Connelly got cold feet and stood a trial in the courts and in the first round has won. Probably there are some investors in this packing plant stock in this county who will want to do the same thing, and here is a precedent. If you invested in this packing plant stock this fall you will have an opportunity of voting for Clyde Herring for governor who is making the campaign on a platform that he will "clean up" the rotten bunch about the state house who has been drawing princely salaries from the state and at the same time engaged in promoting and lending their influence and the apparent influence of this state in the blue sky scheme. The case will probably be appealed and if it is shown the Des Moines bank was an "innocent purchaser" then John will have to come through.
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| Greenfield, Iowa |
Sadly, John suffered a severe attack of asthma at the age of 59 on July 19, 1926, resulting in heart failure and death. An obituary in the Adair County Free Press said he:
...had been afflicted with asthma for a number of years. At times he would be much worse and would be confined to his home, but most of the time he was able to be about and attend to his affairs. The past two weeks he had several bad attacks, but was able to be about town one day last week and greeted his many friends as usual. Last Mondayhe had a very bad attack and that evening had several bad spells of coughing, quietly passing away in one of them.
Interment was in Newlons Grove Cemetery, with Mrs. Rev. Cook, pastor of the Christian Church of Clarinda, officiating. In his hands at burial were love letters he had received from Jennie during their courtship. Son Willet, living in Greenfield, signed the official Iowa certificate of death.
Courtesy Michael P. Connelly
The widowed Jennie outlived her spouse by a baker's dozen years. She remained in Greenfield, and appears to have relied on her unmarried adult daughter Vera (a hospital nurse) and sons Joe and Philiip (oil company salesmen) for support. The four are shown together in the same household in the 1930 United States Census, with their dwelling-place on School Street.
During the era of Prohibition, Jennie was a vocal supporter of the ban on alcohol. She also was a regular member of the Presbyterian Church and especially loved the hymn, Give Me That Old Time Religion. She offered to buy her children a musical instrument to play, if they showed interest, but only if they agreed never to perform at a dance, which was considered taboo. To tease her grandchildren she once pulled out her dentures, causing them to flee in horror.
In 1937, at the age of 70, Jennie lived in Greenfield, but for several months went to live with her ailing, 92-year-old mother in Cumberland, Cass County. That year, in support of her mother, she wrote to the federal government requesting an increase in her Civil War widow's pension payments.
It is said in the family that Jennie did not cook and relied on a hired woman to prepare meals and clean. In her backyard, Jennie had two cherry trees, an apple tree, grapevines and gooseberry bushes,
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| Jennie's letter to J.W. Prinkey. Courtesy Beverly Domer and Cass County Historical Society |
The following year, when her mother received a Christmas greeting card from J.W. Prinkey of Connellsville, PA, president of the annual Murray-Prinkey family reunion in Pennsylvania, Jennie took the opportunity to respond :
Cumberland, Ia. Jan. 6, 1938
Dear sir or cousin: We are in receipt of your xmas greeting. It found Mother in very very poor health. She is gradually growing weaker of course at her advanced age. There is little hopes of her being able to over come the weakness of body and mind. I've been with her past weeks and only a few times has she recognized me. She will be 92 yr. in April. It seems my being only daughter that can be with her, sister Blanche lives in Cal. one bro in Mont., one in Tex, one in Omama - one at Adel Ia, 2 living in Cumberland. Mother is the last of her family, all lived to be of advanced yrs. We are having a very mild winter so far, are in need of moisture which will probably come in form of snow. I will be glad to communicate with you at any time, will write you at Mothers passing as she can not live for a great length of time.
Jennie's mother in fact passed away a month-and-a-half later on Feb. 20, 1938.
Jennie only outlived her mother by 17 months. She was diagnosed with cancer and appears to have undergone surgery in January 1939, perhaps without having been fully advised of the gravity of her condition. She was bedfast and cared for at the end by her nurse-daughter Blanche. At the age of 72, in Greenfield, she died on July 28, 1939 in the residence of her son Joe.
A newspaper obituary said that she had "found her greatest satisfaction and field of service in her home. It was there that she spent her life of love and devotion. And in giving of her best to her family, she in turn was rewarded with a character that was calm and serene with the satisfaction of a task well done, as life came to its close."
Funeral services were conducted in the Greenfield Presbyterian Church, led by Rev. Alexander Wimberly of Manning. A quartet of vocalists -- W.R. Piper, Glen Piper, Marian Piper and Mrs. R.W. Hoyt -- accompanied by A.H. Odell on organ, sung My Faith Looks Up to Thee and Nearer My God to Thee. Interment of her remains was in Newlons Grove Cemetery, with George Westby, Robert Power, Glenn Piper, W.R. Piper, W.E. McCreight and Harold Salisbury serving as pallbearers. When the family read love old love letters that Jennie had received from her husband, it impressed them that he once had written that "he was glad she didn't dance." Some of these very letters were in her hands as the casket closed for the last time. Her sons planted a Colorado Spruce tree at her gravesite.
Son Willet Henson "Bullet" Connelly (1891-1945) was born on Jan. 23, 1891 in Edna Township, Section 5 near Cumberland, Cass County, IA. He grew up on the family farm, attended the Greenfield schools and graduated from Cumberland High School. As a bachelor at age 19 in 1910, lived at home and helped his father with farm labor. He is known to have attended Drake University where he learned fine penmanship and joined the University Church of Christ. He joined the U.S. Army and served during World War I in the Army Signal Corps. On May 8, 1917, he wed schoolmate Marie Florence Jones (May 15, 1892-1954), daughter of Howard Jones. Four offspring born to this union were Betty Virginia Davis, Dorothy "Jane" Hood, Sgt. Shirl Lee Connelly and Jack Liston Connelly. They made their residence in 1926 in Greenfield and at one point lived on Depot Street across from the Presbyterian Church. He had the sad task of signing his father's Iowa death certificate in 1926. The pair appear to have been active with the local founder's day celebrations in Greenfield. In all, said the Des Moines Tribune, Willet was "a garage man in Greenfield 30 years before his illness." A newspaper once said that "Most of Willet Connelly's life was tied to the automobile. When the first cars became practical, he entered the garage businessin Greenfield. He has perhaps helped more stranded motorists at all hours of the night and day than any other Greenfield citizen. Folks with motor troubles sought him out because he was good natured and helpful. His own comfort and convenience was made secondary to the need. He never lost his temper nor became confused but had an uncanny way of seeking out the seat of mechanical difficulties and making his machines work."
Willet held a membership of the Lloyd Head post of the American Legion at Greenfield. In her own right, Marie believed in spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues and was teased about that by her spouse. He once told her after a church meeting at Crescent that he had just conversed with their dead pet dog Duce. If his children were sleeping when he came home from work, he would use a finger to gently mark a black greasy smudge on their faces so they would later know he had been at their side. Some thought him generous to a fault but having constant and abiding friendships. Willet was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and the pair migrated into Des Moines with an address of 1332 West 18th Street. He was admitted in July 1943 to the Veterans Administration Hospital in Des Moines, at the corner of 30th Street and Euclid. There, he was treated for for cancer and remained for two years and 18 days as hope failed and no surgery was attempted. He held a patient courage during that last illness, having "asked nothing from life but that which he had earned with his two hands and much of that was uncollected," said a newspaper. Willet died there at the age of 54 on Aug. 17, 1945, with an obituary printed in the Des Moines Tribune. Following a funeral led by Rev. L.L. Bond of the Greenfield Presbyterian Church, burial was with military honors in Greenfield Cemetery. Hymns sung included The Old Rugged Cross and Going Home. An obituary said that "In a flag draped casket of a veteran of World War I, he came back to sleep among the old friends in whose company he had spent so many of the years of his life." Marie survived her spouse by nine years. She passed away at home in Des Moines at the age of 62 on Dec. 14, 1954.
- Granddaughter Betty Virginia Connelly (1917-1969) was born in 1917. She wed Marin A. Davis. She lived in Des Moines in 1945. Betty died in 1969.
- Granddaughter Dorothy "Jane" Connelly (1918- ? ) was born in 1918. She married Don L. Hood. Circa 1945, her home was in Des Moines.
- Grandson Sgt. Shirl Lee Connelly (1919-1962) was born on March 18, 1919. He served as a waistgunner on a B-18 bomber in Europe during World War II and in August 1945 was posted to Miami Beach. He was married and the father of John Devon Connelly and Michael Tracy Connelly. Sadly, he passed away on Aug. 23, 1962.
- Grandson Jack Liston Connelly (1924- ? ) was born in 1924. He also joined the U.S. Army during World War II and was deployed as an infantryman to the Philippine Islands in the Pacific Theatre. Jack was married and the father of four sons -- Robert Willet Connelly, William Craig Connelly, Brett Liston Connelly and Christopher Patrick Connelly.
Daughter Vera Candace Connelly (1892-1941) was born on July 6, 1892 in Edna Township, Section 5 near Cumberland, Cass County, IA. At the age of 11 she relocated with her parents into the town of Greenfield, Adair County. She is said to have been "so smart" that she skipped sixth grade, and was an alumna of Greenfield High School. Vera did not marry during her 49 years but instead pursued the rewards of a meaningful professional career. In 1920 at age 26, she was employed as assistant treasurer of Adair County, IA, living at home with her parents. Then at some point during the 1920s, she spent a year studying at Des Moines University and then trained as a nurse at Nicholas Seenn Hospital. As of 1930, she worked in the local hospital in Greenfield. Her specialty as a registered nurse was as a dietician. She and her grandmother Candace are known to have traveled to Oklahoma in October 1928 to visit Vera's great-aunt, Abigail Martin, who was residing in Ponca City, OK. Vera was known for her handicrafts and giving them away as gifts to loved ones and friends.
Courtesy Michael P. Connelly
Sadly, Vera was diagnosed with manic depressive psychosis, as evidenced by abnormal swings between depressed and elevated moods. Without an apparent hope for recovery, she was admitted to the Clarinda State Hospital and remained as a patient for the final two years, nine months and 17 days remaining of her life. Having further contracted acute rheumatic heart disease, death claimed her on June 2, 1941. Her remains were transported to Greenfield for funeral services conducted by Rev. F. Arthur Hanks of the Greenfield Presbyterian Church. A vocal duet of W.R. Piper and Paul Bickford, accompanied by Mrs. R.W. Hoyt, sang Jesus, Lover of My Soul and The Lord Is My Shepherd. Pallbearers consisting of Jack Connelly, R.F. Power, R.W. Hoyt, Glen Piper, Con Eagen and Clyde McClure carried the body to its final resting spot in Newlons Grove Cemetery. Traveling to attend the funeral were her brother Joe and wife Eleanor, brother Frank and daughter Patsy, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Liston and Hilary Hoyt, all of Cumberland; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Liston of Adel; Mr. and Mrs. Tim Carey and Mrs. DeVere Hoyt of Adair; Vincent Welch of Oakland, CA; and Mrs. Myron Hodges and Emma Pringey of Cumberland.
Daughter Ullah Ann Connelly (1894-1967) was born on Feb. 26, 1894 in Edna Township, Section 5 near Cumberland, IA. At the age of about 17, circa 1911, she was joined in wedlock with Michigan native Lyle Force Shackelton (1889-1959). Six known children born into this union were Donald Connelly Shackelton, Joe Kenneth Shackelton, Lee McClellan Shackelton, Philip Shackelton, Beatrice Shackelton and Lyle Shackelton. Grief cascaded over the family when son Joe died at age two in 1915 and son Lyle in infancy in 1923. The Shackeltons were farmers in Orient, Adair County, IA, as indicated by the U.S. Census of 1930 and then lived in 1935 in Creston, Union County, IA. During the latter half of the 1930s, the family relocated to Omaha, NE, where he bought a restaurant while Ullah worked there as a cashier and their children as waiters and waitresses. The couple's marriage ended in divorce in November 1940, and Ullah went to live with her divorced daughter Beatrice in Omaha. Lyle in 1942 is known to have applied for a license to sell beer and liquor at a business at 2802 North 16th Street, Omaha. He passed away in Nov. 1959, with burial taking place at Forest Lawn. Ullah outlived her former spouse by seven-plus years. She died in Omaha at the age of 72 on Jan. 15, 1967. Her remains were lowered under the sod of Greenfield Cemetery in Adair County, IA.
- Grandson Donald Connelly Shackelton (1912-2000) was born on April 19, 1912 in Greenfield, Adair County, IA. In 1934, he entered into marriage with Wilma Augusta Lauer (1915-2005). They became the parents of two -- William D. Shackelton and Mary A. Green. Their residence circa 1939 was in Lenox, IA, when he is known to have hosted a visit from his mother and teenage sister from Omaha. By 1959, they had migrated to Omaha. He was a longtime employee of the Union Pacific Railroad and retired from the company. Donald died at the age of 87 on March 21, 2000. His obituary was printed in the Omaha World-Herald. His body was donated to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, although there is a marker in his name at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Wilma survived as a widow for five years. The angel of death spirited her away in Omaha on Christmas Eve 2005.
Great-grandson William D. Shackelton was in Las Vegas in 2000. He is believed to have been the father of Dona L. Harris and Edward J. Shackelton. He was deceased by 2020.
Great-granddaughter Mary Ann Shackelton (1953-2020) was born on Aug. 25, 1953 in Omaha. She was an alumna of Omaha North High School and majored in journalism at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Armed with what the family called a "fierce spirit," she spent her early working career as an investigative reporter for the newspaper in Broken Bow, NE. Thought she likely would not have known of the family connection, she undoubtedly was aware of the 1891 public hanging execution of a convicted murderer and distant Younkin cousin, Albert Hauenstine, of the family of Jacob H. and Lucinda (Dull) Hauenstine, at the Custer County Courthouse in Broken Bow. With an interest in accounting, she then went on to work for a quarter-century for the Internal Revenue Service. In 1977, she married Langdon Paul Green (April 20, 1951-2014) and put down roots in Omaha. Their children were Rebecca L. Green "Becky" and Matthew L. Green. They initially made a home in Broken Bow, with Langdon working as a corrections officer and in real estate and investments. The Greens divorced but remained on friendly terms. After retiring, Mary Ann was a caretaker for her parents and volunteered her tax expertise for others. Said an obituary, "Mary would spend hours reading or keeping up with the Oscar nominated films [and] enjoyed going to the movies with her family and friends... Her adventures included travel by plane, train and automobile [and she] achieved her life-long dream to visit Disneyland in 2019... She was only a phone call away and sometimes a call would last for hours or go into the late hours of the night or early hours of the morning. " At the age of 66, Mary Ann died in Omaha on Jan. 31, 2020.
- Grandson Lee McClellan Shackelton (1915-1998) was born on Nov. 25, 1915 in Greenfield, Adair County, IA. He was united in wedlock with Lucille Olive Kerr (March 19, 1925-1994). The family dwelled in Waukesha, WI for many years. Sadly, Lucille passed away on June 18, 1994. Lee only outlived her by less than a year. Death enveloped him at the age of 82 in Waukesha on May 31, 1998. Their remains repose for all eternity in St. Joseph Cemetery, Waukesha.
- Grandson Philip L. Shackelton (1919- ? ) was born in about 1919 in Iowa. He relocated with his parents to Omaha in the late 1930s and in 1940 worked as a waiter in the family restaurant. On Sept. 1, 1946, he wed Virginia Lee Chamberlin ( ? - ? ), daughter of Sears E. Chamberlin of Omaha. They tied the knot in Kountze Memorial Lutheran church, with the marriage made public on the pages of the Omaha Evening World-Herald. As of 1959, he lived in Alexandria, VA and in 2000 in Lakeland, FL.
- Granddaughter Beatrice Shackelton (1921- ? ) was born in about 1921 in Iowa. She migrated to Omaha with her family in the 1930s and earned a living as a waitress in the family's restaurant circa 1940. She was joined in matrimony with (?) Hamilton ( ? - ? ). Two children produced by the pair were Robert L. Hamilton and Sally A. Hamilton. The Hamiltons divorced sometime after 1945, and in 1950-1959 Beatrice and the family lived in Omaha, where she continued to work as a waitress.
Great-grandson Robert L. Hamilton (1944- ? ) was born in about 1944 in or near Omaha.
Great-granddaughter Sally A. Hamilton (1945- ? ) was born in about 1945 in or near Omaha.
Son Cleo Jessie Connelly (1896-1978) was born on Sept. 12, 1896 in Edna Township, Section 5 near Cumberland, Cass County, IA. He worked as a clerk in Greenfield in young manhood. On July 25, 1917, when he was 20 years of age, he entered into marriage with Helen Esther Shreves (Sept. 9, 1897-1989), a native of Orient, Adair County, IA and the daughter of Ed H. and Leona May (House) Shreves and stepdaughter of Ada May (Nuzum) Shreves. The nuptials were held at Carl, Adams County, IA, by the hand of Methodist Episcopal Church pastor Rev. W.H. Warrior, with his mother and her father serving as witnesses. The Connellys became the parents of one known son, John Calvin Connelly II. The family group moved to Southern California and in 1943 made a residence in Southland near Los Angeles. Their address was 4102 Perlita Avenue. Then in about 1946, they pulled up stakes and migrated north into Oregon, to the town of Grants Pass. There, Cleo worked at a creamery and operated a beverage company in the 1951-1959 timeframe. At the age of 81, Cleo died in Josephine County, OR on Feb. 26, 1978. Burial was in Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Grants Pass. The widowed Helen survived for another 11 years, remaining in Josephine County. The angel of death cleaved her away at the age of 91 on Aug. 10, 1989. She sleeps aside her husband at Hillcrest.
Courtesy Michael Patrick Connelly
- Grandson John Calvin Connelly II (1918-2004) was born in 1918. During World War II, he joined the U.S. Army Air Force and in 1943 trained on a B-26 Marauder bomber at the Dodge City (KS) Army Airfield. As of 1967, his residence was in Sacramento, CA.
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Joe, Eleanor, Judy. Courtesy Michael Patrick Connelly
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Son Joe Liston Connelly (1899-1978) was born on June 18, 1899 in Edna Township, Section 5 near Cumberland, IA. He earned a living in 1920 as a grocery store salesman in Greenfield, Adair County, IA, and in 1930 as an oil company salesman in Greenfield. On Jan. 7, 1933, in Valentine, NE, when he was about 33 years of age, Joe wed 23-year-old Eleanor Thelma Griffith (March 16, 1909-2004). She originally was from Balfour, IA and was the daughter of James "Jimmy" and Lou (Thompson) Griffith. News of their marriage license was published in the Omaha (NE) World-Herald. The only daughter borne of this marriage was Judith Ann "Judy" Lewis. Eleanor was a 1926 graduate of Nodaway High School and for two years studyed at a business college in Fort Dodge, IA. The family made their residence in Greenfield for decades. As of 1940, United States Census records show him working as a retail gasoline station attendant and she as a bookkeeper in the city clerk's office, with their home located at an Elizabeth Street address. Joe changed jobs during the 1940s and by 1950 earned a living as manager of a retail hardware store. Joe took the plunge into self-employment and owned Connelly Hardware in Greenfield. He and Eleanor operated the business until their retirement in 1969. They also took in a widowed aunt, Effie M. Murphy, who was in their household in 1950. The gossip columns of the Adams County Free Press contained many references to the Lewises' visits with Griffith and Stalder relatives over the years. Sadly, the angel of death spirited Joe away at the age of 78, in the long-term care unit of Grundy Center Memorial Hospital, on Feb. 8, 1978. His remains were placed into eternal repose in Greenfield Cemetery, and an obituary appeared in the Waterloo (IA) Courier. Pallbearers were Bill Foster, Ed Johnson, Jack Lane, Larry Lewis, Leo Miller and Kial Moore, with an honorary escort including Russell Andrews, Otis Bailey, Purl Dirst, Paul Patterson, Lyle Ray, Max South and Harvey Vandewater. Eleanor lived for another 25-plus years and moved to Grundy Center and then in 1982 to Oskaloosa, IA to be part of the household of her married daughter, but mainaining her own apartment. Said an obituary, "she enjoyed traveling on bus trips, and was very proud of her doll collection, which numbered 90 dolls. Eleanor was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Oskaloosa, and a 50 year member of the Order of the Eastern Star. She was also an avid Kennedy Cougar and Iowa Hawkeye fan." At the age of 95, she passed away at home in Oskaloosa on March 16, 2004. Rev. Dr. Dennis Morey led the funeral service in Oskaloosa, followed by a graveside service officiated by Rev. David Kinkade at Greenfield Cemetery.
- Granddaughter Judith Ann Murphy (1943- ? ) was born in about 1943 in Iowa. She was employed in 1965 as a kindergarten teacher at Allison, IA. On Oct. 9, 1965, she entered into marriage with Larry Lewis ( ? - ? ), son of Leland Lewis of Denver. Their wedding ceremony was held in the Greenfield Methodist Church and announced on the pages of the Waterloo (IA) Courier. At the time, Larry earned a living as a fieldman for the Butler County Farm Bureau. Three offspring were born to the couple -- Tawnya Staton, Timothy Lewis and Jill Shaull. The family was in Grundy Center, IA circa 1978 and then in about 1982 relocated to Oskaloosa.
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| Siblings Philip Connelly and Blanche Luebbe. Courtesy Michael P. Connelly |
Son Philip Paul Connelly (1903-1986) was born on May 19, 1903 near Cumberland, Cass County, IA. He is believed to have played high school football. Still single at the age of 26, in 1930, he shared a home with his mother and unmarried adult siblings and earned a living as a salesman for an oil company in Greenfield, Adair County, IA, likely meaning an attendant at a gasoline filling station. Circa 1931, he was united in matrimony with Elsie M. Handley (1910- ? ). Together the produced a duo of children -- Richard Phillip Connelly and Nancy Lee Stephenson Glaza. Their children were born on the family farm in Edna Township, Section 5. When the federal census enumeration of 1940 was made, the family was in Greenfield, with Philip continue to work at a retail gasoline station. By 1950, Philip had advanced in his working career and now driving a tanker truck for an oil company, as shown in the census. He died on Aug. 25. 1986 in Springfield, MO. His ashes were spread of the grave of his parents.
- Grandson Richard P. Connelly (1932- ? ) was born on Dec. 8, 1932. At the age of 17, in early 1950, he earned income as a meatcutter working in a retail meat market in Greenfield.
- Granddaughter Nancy L. Connelly (1935- ? ) was born on Nov. 15, 1935. She has been married twice. Her first husband was (?) Stephenson ( ? - ? ). Four offspring of this union were Jane Stephenson, John Stephenson, Sally Stephenson and Mary Frances Stephenson. Later, she married (?) Glaza ( ? - ? ).
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| Chet and Blanche Luebbe. Courtesy Michael P. Connelly |
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Courtesy Michael P. Connelly
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Isabel and Ware Wimberly. Courtesy Michael P. Connelly |
Daughter Isabel Jane Connelly (1906-1990) was born on Feb. 15, 1906 north of Bridgewater, Adair County, IA. In young womanhood she taught school. She was joined in wedlock with Rev. Ware William Wimberly Sr. (July 21, 1903-1970), a native of Nebraska and the son of Rev. C.P.W. and Bettie B. (Lowry) Wimberly. Their wedding was held in Papillion, NE. They went to bear three children together -- Jane Ayars, Ware William Wimberly Jr. and Isabel Louise Deeter Lewis. An alumnus of Temple High School in Lincoln, NE, and the son and brother of Presbyterian ministers, Ware also spent his career in Christian ministry in the Presbyterian denomination. He received his bachelor's degree in 1924 from the University of Nebraska and another degree in 1927 from Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Chicago. He was ordained in April 1927 in the Presbytery of Chicago and his first assignment in June that year at a congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Greenfield, IA. He weighed in with an opinion in January 1930 during a church controversy about waning interest in observing a day of rest on Sabbath. Writing in the Christian Century, reprinted in the Des Moines Tribune, he said that in metropolitan areas, the Sabbath observance had become "as obsolete as hoopskirts," and even in Iowa "there are few who believe in the traditional sabbath... Having definitely discarded the Puritan Sabbath, with its ban on everything from whistling to an afternoon stroll, Christians do not know just what they should and should not do on the first day of the week. And yet the majority of Christians, in spite of their confusion, feel that this day should be different." Later that same year, he published an article in Scribner's Magazine, republished in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and throughout the nation, giving his views on Prohibition.
It is difficult for me, even though a parson, to become reconciled either to the wisdom or the Christianity of the eighteenth amendment. I have discovered that what constitutes Christianity for me is incidental in the lives of many church members. For a man to enter my church hating his fellow man is, in my estimation, a much worse crime than for him to enter the church with an alcoholic breath or the hiccoughs.... I am also aware that the Nazarene said very little about intoxication, whereas He scored the loveless unmercifully. I maintain that the gospel Christ preached and the one most difficult to follow and the one most sorely needed today had very little to do with whether a man chewed cutplug or kept a bottle of Walker's Black Label in the cupboard. Christ believed that if love were at the center of a man's life, these matters would take care of themselves.
In 1939, after a dozen years in Greenfield, Ware was named pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Wabash, IN and elected moderator of the Muncie Presbytery, succeeding Rev. A. Allison Amstutz. In a 1944 summary of his career, the Union City Times-Gazette said he had become "interested in the small-town church, and contributed article on the subject to various periodicals. He was invited by McCormick Theological Seminary to give three series of lectures on the small-town church and at present he serves as chairman of the committee on special lectures on the small-town and rural field for the Seminary. He has also served as chairman of an Indiana committee for the study of salary levels... He is at present a member of Synod's Council, chairman of Presbytery's committee on foreign missions, a trustee of Peabody Memorial Home, and Indiana correspondent for 'The Presbyterian Tribune.' He is interested in community affairs in Wabash, and serves as vice-president of the local Kiwanis club and as chairman of their program committee. He is also treasurer of the nation war-fund, has served on the Community Service Board, and is interested in Boy Scout activities." Ware published another widely distributed article in the December 1949 edition of The Kiwanis Magazine, lamenting that so few people understood God's great original Christmas gift to mankind. He would have been well-aware of the work of a fellow Somerset County, PA expatriate, Vernon Ream "Vern" McMillan, mayor of Terre Haute and of the family of Jehu and Mary Ann (Ream) McMillan. The mayor was profiled in a 1944 edition of the Saturday Evening Post, headlined "Cleanup on the Wabash," about how the city was trying to regain vitality and self-respect through a riverbank cleanup during wartime.
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Courtesy Michael P. Connelly
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In her own right, Isabel was a charter member of the PEO Sisterhood (Philanthropic Educational Organization), founded in Iowa to help women around the world to receive educational opportunities. She also taught pre-school Sunday School classes and was involved with the American Red Cross. Isabel and Ware escaped near death in mid-January 1960 when the car in which Ware was driving skidded on ice on Indiana Route 9 six miles north of Anderson, IN, colliding with a fence and overturning. Reported the Anderson Daily Bulletin, Isabel and Ware "suffered multiple cuts and bruises and were brought to St. John's Hospital in Sells and Rowe's ambulance. The Wabash car was badly damaged." Fortunately the couple recovered. In time he was elected moderator of the United Presbyterian Synod of Indiana, using his bully pulpit to advocate for racial equality in churches. He wrote a letter to members in September 1963, as reported by the Associated Press, encouraging them to "cease our excuse-making for our past inaction and indifference in this matter of race and get down to business." He added his understanding that they might need help "especially where this ministry faces problems, tensions and misunderstandings in the church or community." The family was plunged into grief when Ware died in Wabash at the age of 67 on Sept. 9, 1970. Isabel endured as a widow for another two decades. In late July 1983, she was admitted to reside in Wabash's Peabody Retirement Community. She remained there for nearly seven years until death. She passed away at the age of 84, in North Manchester, Wabash County, on April 2, 1990. Her remains were lowered under the sod of Falls Cemetery in Wabash.
- Granddaughter Jane Wimberly (1930-2012) was born on Sept. 27, 1930 in Greenfield, IA. She grew up in Wabash, IN and was a 1948 graduate of Wabash High School. She then went on to earn a bachelor's degree awarded from Park College in Parkville, MO. Jane was joined in matrimony with (?) Ayars ( ? - ? ). The five offspring born to this marriage were Kit Ayars, Louise Barden, Bryan Ayars, Bradley Ayars and Suzanne Osborn. Jane was employed for many years as administrator of the Ruth C. Sabin Home, a senior living community in LaPorte. In her free time she liked to craft needlework and read was an active member of the LaPorte (IN) Presbyterian Church. Her final residence was in North Manchester, IN. Sadly, at the age of 82, Jane died in Peabody Healthcare Center on Dec. 15, 2012. Her obituary was published in the Lancaster (PA) Intelligencer Journal, in which the family asked that any memorial donations be made to the Wabash Presbyterian Church Pastors Fund. Her remains were laid to rest in Falls Cemetery in Wabash, with services led by Rev. Jonathan Cornell.
Great-granddaughter Kit Ayars relocated to Pittsburgh.
Great-granddaughter Louise Ayars was united in wedlock with Rob Barden. They resided in 2012 in Northampton, MA.
Great-grandson Bryan Ayars wed Barrie ( ? - ? ). They have lived in Lee, MA.
Great-grandson Bradley Ayars married Cindy. They put down roots in Lititz, PA.
Great-granddaughter Suzanne Ayars was joined in matrimony with Drumm Osborn. Circa 2012, they were in LaPorte, IN.
- Grandson Ware William Wimberly Jr. ( ? - ? ) entered into marriage with Tracy ( ? - ? ). The couple dwelled in Wabash in 2012.
- Granddaughter Isabel Louise Wimberly ( ? - ? ) was twice-married. Her first spouse was (?) Deeter ( ? - ? ). Later, she wed Robert Lewis ( ? - ? ) and made a home in Lagro, IN.
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| Ted and Wilma Connelly and children. Courtesy Michael Patrick Connelly |
Son Ted Calvin Connelly Sr. (1907-1999) was born on Nov. 18, 1907 in Iowa. As a teenager, he left hope and "hopped trains going west," wrote his grandson, Michael Patrick Connelly, in a privately published memoir.
For a time, he worked on a sheep ranch near Union, Montana. He then worked the harvest fields of South Dakota, before making his way to Waukesha, Wisconsin, because he heard there was work there. He arrived November 18th, 1927, stayed six weeks, then went back to his home in Iowa. He returned to Waukesha, the followign March for good, taking a job at Waukesha Motors, and rooming with the Butler family. Norris Poppie became his friend. He introduced him to Wilma, his blond blue eyed sister. They fell in love, and were married in the midst of the Great Depression.
On June 25, 1930, he entered into the rites of marriage with Wilma I. Poppie (Feb. 12, 1911-2008), daughter of Edward and Bessie Poppie and a native of Rock Island, IL. The nuptials were held in the parsonage of the First Baptist Church of Waukesha, and their union endured for an extraordinary 69 years until the separation of death. Four offspring produced by the pair were Ted Calvin Connelly Jr., Jean Long, Joe Connelly and Lynne Connelly. Before marrying, Wilma was employed in Waukesha in the Style Shop. Only once during their married life did Ted return to his hometown of Greenfield, for five months in 1932. At that time he agreed to make deliveries for his brother who was healing from a broken arm, receiving $1.50 a day for a half-day's work. He also earned income in Greenfield at a grocery. One of the pranks he played on young nephews and nieces was to crumple a dollar bill, and just they reached out to grab the money, would pull them backward by the seat of their pants. He also once pulled a nephew's pants to the ground during a family gathering. The Connellys' home in 1945 was in West Allis, WI but they spent most of their married lives in Waukesha, at the address of 131 Hinman Avenue. They only moved to Woodruff, WI in 1988 in their final year together. Wilma belonged to the First Baptist Church and the Philathea Society, an international organization of Bible study classes. Said an obituary, "She volunteered many years, visiting shut-ins at the local nursing homes. Wilma has left a legacy of love for her family. Her cookie recipes, colorful afghans and kind words will warm hearts for generations. She was commonly referred to as 'Cookie Grandma', 'Grandma Bird' and 'Aunt Nin' to many nieces and nephews." He passed away on Sept. 12, 1999. His remains rest in the long, long slumber of Prairie Home Cemetery in Waukesha. Wilma outlived her husband by a little more than eight years. As her health declined, she was admitted to reside in the Dr. Kate Newcomb Convalescent Center in Woodruff. The angel of death spirited her away on Feb. 23, 2008, just 11 days after her 97th birthday. The headcount of her survivors was 10 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren.
Grandson Ted Calvin Connelly Jr. (1932-living) was born in 1932 and grew up in Waukesh.a, WI, where he was an alumnus of Waukesha High School. Ted Jr. joined the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and became an electrician's mate. He is known to have served aboard the light cruiser USS Worcester in 1954 during the Midishipman Cruise Baker exercise in Europe and Cuba. When in port in Boston, he met his future wife at a skating rink. Then on Valentine's Day 1954, in a wedding ceremony held at St. Stephens Church in Framingham, MA, he married Rita Ann MacDonald (1933-2012). Originally from Framingham, Rita was the daughter of John S. MacDonald. Rev. Patrick Lawlor officiated the wedding. In announcing the marriage, the Waukesha Daily Freeman said the bride "wore a gown of satin and lace and carried a bouquet of white roses centered with an orchid. A lace jacket featuring a stand-up collar and long, tapering sleeves, covered the fitted, strapless bodice of lace. Styling the floor length bouffant skirt were tiers of nylon tulle, lace appliqued, over satin." Rita was a 1952 graduate of Framingham High School and, at the time of marriage, worked for Hodgman Rubber Company. Two sons produced in this union were Michael Patrick Connelly and Ted Calvin Connelly III. The newlyweds' firt home was in Waukesha, WI followed by eight years in Boston circa 1965-1973 followed by a move to Peoria, IL. The Connellys were in Brimfield, IL in 2008.
Michael P. Connelly's book
Great-grandson Michael Patrick Connelly
Great-grandson Ted Calvin Connelly III
- Granddaughter Jean Phyllis Connelly (1936- ? ) was born in 1936. She wed Joe Long ( ? - ? ). They settled in Arbor Vitae, WI.
- Grandson Joe William Connelly (1940- ? ) was born in 1940. He married Lynne ( ? - ? ). They put down roots in Rockford, IL. In more recent years he has resided in Colorado Springs, CO and is married to or a companion of Angelica Francisco.
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| Michael Patrick Connelly's work of scholarship and authorship |
~ Son Francis M. "Frank" Liston ~
Son Francis M. "Frank" Liston (1869-1958) was born on Oct. 26, 1869 in Cass County.
He was a bachelor for many years, and did not marry until he was 55 years of age.
Frank lived in Cumberland, IA and was a longtime mechanic.
On Feb. 20, 1924, he entered into wedlock with 38-year-old Clara Keasey (1885-1929), daughter of John and Minnie (Folsom) Keasey. Rev. A. Breeling, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, presided.
Together they raised a great-niece, Mary Patricia "Patsy" (Liston) Kirchner.
The family was plunged into mourning when Clara died in 1929. She sleeps for all time in Cumberland's Greenwood Cemetery.
By 1930, the widowed Frank and young Patsy lived together with his elderly mother in Cumberland. His work at that time was plumbing. He owned his own mechanical repair shop in a hardware store in Cumberland and is known to have worked on windmills.
Frank died in 1958. His remains were laid to rest in Greenwood Cemetery.
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Patsy Kirchner |
- Grandson Francis "Duane" Kirchner (1944-2010) was born on Jan. 10, 1944 in Greater Community Hospital in Creston, IA. News of his birth was printed in the Council Bluffs (IA) Nonpareil. His early years were spent in the communities of Marne and Atlantic. He was thrice-wed. At the age of 17, he married his first wife, Judy Juhler ( ?- ? ). The couple divorced. His second bride was Marlene Hensen ( ? - ? ), a union which also ended in divorce. In all, he was the father of four -- Ricky Lee Kirchner, David Duane Kirchner, Amanda Rose Michaels and Francis Daniel Kirchner. Duane relocated to the town of Grant in 1985 and stayed put. He earned a living driving a truck for Henningsen Construction Company of Atlantic, IA. On March 2, 2000, he tied the knot a third time to Angela Y. Franklin ( ? - ? ), with the ceremony held in Atlantic. Sadly, at the age of 66, he surrendered to the angel of death in Cass County Memorial Hospital on April 9, 2010. An obituary in the Atlantic News Telegraph said he was survived by 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. The remains were cremated.
Great-grandson Ricky Lee Kirchner wed Tressa. They put down roots in Atlantic.
Great-grandson David Duane Kirchner entered into marriage with Marsha. The pair also has lived in Atlantic.
Great-granddaughter Amanda Rose Kirchner married Scott Michaels. They moved to West Plains, MO.
Great-grandson Francis Daniel Kirchner has dwelled in Grant, IA.
- Granddaughter Debra Ann Kirchner (1962- ? ) was born in 1962. On Aug. 16, 1980, she wed James Streiler ( ? - ? ). They have two children and have lived in Jackson, MO.
- Grandson Billy LeRoy Kirchner (1948-2012) was born on March 3, 1948 in Plattsmouth, NE. He spent his working career as a mechanic and truck driver. He worked on automobiles, built models, and watching wrestling and NASCAR races. Over the years, he resided in Missouri in West Plains and in Iowa in Marne, Cumberland, Griswold, Atlantic, Clarinda, Guthrie Center and Jefferson. His children were Robert Kirchner, Francis Kirchner-Fobble, Chrissy Kirchner-Lewis and Ann Kirchner. He died on Valentine's Day 2012 in Regency Park Nursing and Rehab in Jefferson, IA. His obituary appeared in the Atlantic News Telegraph.
~ Son John P. Liston ~
Son
John P. Liston (1872-1962) was born on June 5, 1872.
Courtesy Glenn Fleming
In young manhood, John relocated to Oklahoma where he eked out a living as a farmer in Tyrone, Texas County, OK.
On April 14, 1904, in Des Moines, John at age 33 was united in the bonds of holy matrimony with 33-year-old Helen C. "Nellie" Kelley (1871-1947), daughter of Irish immigrants Anthony and Mary (O'Hara) Kelley who had settled in Monroe County, IA. Justice of the peace Zell G. Roe officiated, with Ed. W. and Mrs. Kelley attending as witnesses. On John's marriage license, the maiden name of his mother was badly misspelled as "Kansas Penegro."
The federal census enumeration of 1910 shows the childless couple in Cumberland, Union Township, Cass County, IA. At that time, he was employed as a teamster for a transfer company.
Then during the decade between 1910 and 1920, they relocated to Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, IA, where John had secured a job as manager of an oil company. Nellie's unmarried sister Clara D. Kelley, and widowed roomer Earl C. Nickelson, dwelled in their home in 1920. Both of their boarders worked in the local dry goods company.
The pair moved yet again during the 1920s to Omaha, NE, where they appear to have remained for the balance of their lives together. When named in an Omaha newspaper story in July 1924, as a witness in an investigation conducted by Attorney General Ora S. Spillman, John's employer was S.L. Collins Oil Company.
John branched out on his own by 1925, forming John P. Liston Oil Company, located at the corner of 30th and Hamilton. He advertised his grand opening in the Omaha Evening World, offering service, free air and drainage pits, plus on opening day a half-pound box of candy for every five gallons of gasoline or two quarts of lubricating oil purchased. He became a member of the non-profit Independent Gas Retailers' Association of Omaha.
In May 1926, a year after opening, he was robbed one night of 25 gallons of gasoline, seven quarts of oil and a crank from the gas tank. When again in November 1930 a thief attempted to rob him in person, John pulled a handgun out of his pocket and shot the intruder twice.
Census records indicate that in 1930, John continued to earn a living as a retail merchant for an oil business. That same year, Nellie's mother died in their residence. Circa 1934, in addition to oil and gas products, he sold Firestone tires.
In 1940, having survived the Great Depression, he remained as proprietor of his oil station. Living under their roof in 1940 was Nellie's divorced sister, Clara Boland.
Circa 1947, the couple's address was 1014 North 31st Avenue, with the business address as 3002 Hamilton Street. Sadly, Nellie died in Omaha at the age of 76 on July 15, 1947. Her funeral mass was held at St. Cecilia's Cathedral, with burial was in the city's Forest Lawn Memorial Park. A short death notice appeared in the Omaha World-Herald. John also published a card of thanks in the World-Herald for all of the kindnesses and flowers provided by their friends.
Later in the year of his wife's passing, the 75-year-old John underwent surgery for cataracts on both eyes. He thus was rendered temporarily blind. Four of his best friends pitched in to operate his service station during his hospitalization and recuperation -- A.L. Goodno, S.R. Brown, S.J. Condron and G.A. Kiser. When asked by a World-Herald reporter about the close timing of his wife's death and his eye surgery, he commented wryly, "Trouble seems to come in pairs." Once back home, and walking with a cane, he would stop by the shop once a day, wearing dark glasses and walking to and from his home alone. He also told the journalist that his friends "don't need any supervising. They're doing a perfect job."
The widowed John wed again by 1950 to Ada G. (1876- ? ). They are shown together in the 1950 federal census of Omaha, with the 77-year-old John continuing to own his gasoline station. Three lodgers in the household, all employed by a local health and accident insurance firm, were Kathleen Kerkove, Margaret Rhodes and Lucia Arensmeir.
Death spirited John away in August 1962 at the age of 90. His tired remains were lowered into the sleep of ages in Newlons Grove Cemetery back in his old hometown in Iowa.
~ Son Roy Smith Liston ~
Son Roy Smith Liston (1875-1951) was born on June 25, 1875 in Cumberland, Cass County. The baby's aunt Abbie Martin was present and assisted with the birth.
On Nov. 24, 1897, in Creston, IA, when he was 19 years of age, Roy entered into marriage with 16-year-old Minnie (April 2, 1879-1952).
Three known offspring borne of this union were Beatrice Robertson Graham, Burnell Roy Liston and Frances "Frankie" Brien.
They relocated by 1905 to Montana and first planted themselves in Billings followed by Livingston, Park County. Circa 1910, the United States Census shows Roy working in Livingston as a grocery store salesman.
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| Missoula, Montana, where five mountain ranges converge |
Later in 1910, they moved to Garden City near Missoula, MT and stayed put for the balance of their lives. Roy continued his employment as a grocery store salesman as of 1920, with his cousin Frank P. Loudon ( ? -1945) in the household. Their address was 705 Alder Street, a structure which was still standing in 2023.
The Liston children were neighbors and friends of the Maclean family, made famous in the 1992 Hollywood movie A River Runs Through It, directed by Robert Redford. The film depicts a stern minister (played by Tom Skerritt) of the 1920s whose sons (Brad Pitt and Craig Sheffer) find common ground in fly fishing despite their vastly differing personalities.
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A River Runs Through It, starring Craig Sheffer and Brad Pitt as the Roy Smith Listons' neighbors Norman and Paul Maclean. Guild Film Distribution Ltd |
The family's' world was shattered when their son was killed in a motor racing accident at the Missoula fairgrounds on the Fourth of July 1922. The grieving Roy later filed a wrongful death lawsuit, seeking $10,000 from the car's driver James Reynolds, alleging recklessness and carelessness. In court testimony, it became public that the crash had occurred on an extra lap after their car had already won and given the checkered flag, with Reynolds trying to push the Ziesing vehicle out of the way so that a second car owned by Reynolds could finish higher. The jury ruled in Roy's favor, but only awarded damages of $5,500.
On appeal to the Montana Supreme Court, the case was heard by Associate Justice A.P. Stark, who ruled in February 1924 that the damages amount was excessive. He sent the case back to the Missoula County District Court with instructions that a new trial be held, on the question of the damages, unless the Listons agreed to accept a reduced amount of $3,000. The judge's opinion, reported the Great Falls Tribune, was that "the boy was 20 years of age at the time of his death and the father could claim only such a sum as the boy could reasonably be expected to earn in a period of a little less than one year, up to the time of his becoming of age."
Federal census enumeration records for 1930 show that Roy was now making a living as a bookkeeper, and cousin London remaining under their roof. His employer at that time was J.M. Lucy & Sons, and he continued in this work into the late 1940s.
Roy and Minnie marked their golden wedding anniversary on Nov. 24, 1947, with an open house at the local Moose hall, drawing some 300 guests. At precisely 8 p.m., the very same time they were originally wed, they repeated their vows. The pair were pictured in a related story in the Missoulian, which said that "Mrs. Liston wore a corsage of baby orchids for the occasion and the table was decorated with chrysanthemums and held a two-tiered wedding cake adorned with white flowers and gold leaves... Mrs. Lyle Carr played Lohengrin's wedding march for the processional."
Sadly, at the age of 75, Roy died in Missoula on June 24, 1951. His remains were lowered under the sod of Missoula Cemetery.
Minnie only outlived her husband by a little more than a year, west of Butte in Silver Bow County. With her suffering from diabetes, cervical cancer and a kidney infection, the grim reaper of death cleaved her away on Aug. 20, 1952 as a patient in Community Hospital in Butte.
Daughter Beatrice Liston (1899-1970) was born in about 1899 in Iowa. On New Year's Day 1919, at her parents' residence in Missoula, MT, she was unified in matrimony with World War I veteran Turley T. "Buster" Robertson ( ? - ? ), son of Mary I. Robertson, the mother a longtime home economics teacher. Some 25 relatives and close friends attended the ceremony, which was announced on the pages of the Butte (MT) Miner. Rev. William McPherson, of the Trinity Methodist Church, led the rites. The Miner said that the "groom but recently returned after serving a year in the army." The pair produced two children, Beatrice Arlene Crisafulli and Turley Robertson. The family made its home in Missoula at 336 South Fourth Street, in 1923, and then in Seattle. Sadly, the marriage was rocky, and Turley moved out. In October 1936, Beatrice filed for divorce, citing "desertion," and seeking custody of their 16-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son, as reported in the Spokane (WA) Spokesman-Review. Fate turned the following year when Beatrice and Turley reconciled and remarried, only to divorce again in December 1939 on grounds of his failure to provide for her. In time she and the children made a move back to Missoula. Former husband Turley spent his final years in a veterans' hospital in Los Angeles and died in Nov. 1943. In January 1940, Beatrice wed again to George L. Graham ( ? -1988), son of Lewis and Sarah Graham and also an Army veteran. George and his brother had homesteaded a farm in Roosevelt County, MT prior to his joining the military. Afterward, he and the brother owned a business and worked in Colorado before coming back to Montana in the 1930s. He eventually became a painting contractor in Missoula. The Grahams remained in Missoula. Beatrice died in August 1970. As a patient in the Royal Manor Care Center, George passed away at the age of 95 on April 19, 1988. His obituary in the Missoula Missoulian reported that a graveside service was held at Missoula Cemetery, by the hand of Rev. Beryl Burr.
- Grandson Turley Tendell Robertson (1927-1958) was born on Sept. 7, 1927. He spent his early years in Washington State and was caught in the middle of his parents' two divorces in the late 1930s with custody awarded to his mother. He moved back to Montana where he was a 1947 graduate of Missoula High School. Turley is known to have served in the U.S. Navy for three years during World War II. He worked after the war for Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company. On Nov. 19, 1948, in Missoula, MT, he married Shirley Ora Dunnweber ( ? - ? ) daughter of Ora E. Dunnweber of Helena, MT in a ceremony held in the Church of the Holy Spirit, by the hand of Rev. Thomas W. Bennett. Their marriage license was announced in the Spokane (WA) Spokesman-Review. Shirley was pictured in a wedding story in the Missoula Missoulian, which noted that she "wore a gray suit with black accessories and carried a white Bible covered with a shower arrangement of pink rosebuds and white carnations." She was a 1947 alumna of Missoula County High School and had studied at St. Patrick's School of Nursing. Two sons were born into this family -- Michael T. Robertson and Timothy O. Robertson. Then during the Korean War, Turley volunteered with the Missoula Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. Among his duties was a July 1953 flight seeking the victim of a drowning in the Bitter Root River. Shirley filed for divorce in March 1958, with her petition granted a month later. Turley remained in Missoula as a now-single man. Tragically, on Sept. 2, 1958, after an evening spent at two bars, his life was snuffed out when he lost control of his vehicle on U.S. Route 93 about a mile south of Missoula near Greenacres. The Missoulian reported that "the car apparently went out of control after it rounded a curve by the city animal shelter and careened back and forth across the highway before rolling. Robertson was thrown from the vehicle when it landed on its wheels across the highway, in front of a model. His body was lying to the right of the road about 40 feet past the car." A friend who was a passenger in the car only received minor injuries. In reporting on the accident, the Spokane Spokesman-Review said that it "occurred less than two hours before the close of the Labor day holiday period and boosted Montana's week end toll to four, compared to five for Labor day last year. It was Missoula county's 7th auto fatality of the year." A coroner's jury ruled that the cause was "excess speed and carelessness."
- Granddaughter Beatrice Arlene Robertson (1920-1991) was born on May 13, 1920 in Missoula, MT. She spent her girlhood in Seattle, WA and then back in Missoula. At the age of 18, on Feb. 5, 1939, she married Joseph Crisafulli ( ? - ? ), with their wedding rites held in the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, presided over by Rev. Fr. Sarek in Glendive, MT. They became the parents of five -- Joey T. Crisafully, Mary Lou Taylor, Kathleen R. Green, Patricia J. Evans and Judith A. Kline. Over the entirety of their married life together, the couple dwelled in Glendive. Beatrice spent a decade as a news reporter for the Ranger Review. She held memberships in the National Federation of Presswomen and the Montana Presswomen's Association, and over the years won state and national awards for her stories. In 1968, she captured second prize in an NFP writing contest. She also liked to paint, read and write short stories, and belonged to the Sacred Heart Altar Society. Beatrice passed away on Feb. 4, 1991, at the age of 70, in Glendive Medical Center. Rev. Fr. Patrick Zabrocki led the funeral mass held in the family church, followed by interment in Dawson County Cemetery. Her obituary and photograph appeared in the Billings Gazette. Survivors included 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Great-grandson Joseph T. "Joey" Crisafulli married Pam. They were in Glendive, MT in 1991.
Great-granddaughter Mary Lou Crisafulli wed (?) Taylor. Her home in 1991 was in Glendive.
Great-granddaughter Kathleen R. Crisafulli was joined in wedlock with Rod Green. Circa 1991, they were in Glendive.
Great-granddaughter Patricia J. Crisafulli entered into marriage with Lee Evans. The pair established a residence in Edmond, OK.
Great-granddaughter Judith A. Crisafulli was united in matrimony with John R. Kline. They planted themselves in Helena, MT.
Son Burnell Roy Liston (1901-1921) was born on June 23, 1901 in Cumberland, Cass County, IA. He moved in boyhood with his parents to Montana, settling in Missoula. Burnell never married, and his life ended senselessly. In 1921, he lived at 705 Alder Street in Boulder Hot Springs, MT and was a mechanic working in autombile garages in Missoula. The Wolf Point Herald said he "was considered an expert mechanic. He was well known locally and more a good reputation." One of Burnell's interests was the high speed car of his friend James E. Reynolds, considered "Montana's dare devil auto racer." On the fateful Fourth of July 1921, the two rode together in a race at the Missoula fairgrounds, which ended in a freak accident at 100 miles per hour, instantly claiming Burnell's life. Reported the Herald, "Reynolds, with Liston as mechanician, had just crossed the wire, a winner in the 25-mile free-for-all, and in completing the lap the front wheel of his car, a Hudson six, caught the rear wheel of the car driven by Wilbur Ziesing, throwing the wheel from the latter's car and turning his car into the fence. The powerful machine tore through the wooden boards, plunged down a 25-foot embankment and into and through the side of one of the fair grounds barns. Liston was instantly killed, the broken ends of boards of the barn probably taking his life." The news was widely reported, including in the Los Angeles Evening Express, Minneapolis Star Tribune and Nanaimo Daily News in British Columbia, Canada. Reynolds, with a fractured skull, was hospitalized for months before being released. He went on to manage a hotel in Boulder Springs.
Daughter Frances "Frankie" Liston (1916- ? ) was born in about 1916 in Montana. She was joined in marital union with James M. Brien (1908- ? ). They dwelled in Silver Bow, MT in 1950 and later in Butte, MT. One son born to the pair was Poull L. Brien. The federal census enumeration of 1950 shows that James' occupation was as a photographer for the local electric company in Silver Bow.
- Grandson Poull L. Brien (1942- ? ) was born in about 1942 in Montana.
~ Son Charles Ross Liston ~
Son Charles Ross Liston (1878-1943) was born on July 22, 1878 in Cumberland, Cass County. Family friend Mrs. E.M. Lamkin attended the birth and helped bring the baby into this world.
Charles grew up on a farm and made farming his work in young manhood in Cumbeerland. He was twice-married. On Oct. 29, 1902, he wed 23-year-old Margaret Louise Bourck (1879-1909), daughter of Henry and Amelia (Heilman) Bourck. Rev. C.F.Hillman officiated, with Mrs. Joe Liston and Fred Bourck attending as witnesses.
A trio of known offspring produced by the pair were Margaret Isabel Liston, Roland Ross Liston and Charles Bourck Liston.
Sadly, their union only lasted for seven years. Celebration turned to horror, when in childbirth with their third baby, Margaret Louise died on Aug. 16, 1909 at the age of 29. Her mortal remains were lowered under the sod of Noble Center Cemetery.
Charles spent a little over three years as a widower. On New Year's Day 1913, now age 35, he entered into marriage a second time with 21-year-old Minnie Elizabeth Spieker (1892-1971), a wedding held in Atlantic, IA. She was the daughter of John and Lena (Shaw) Spieker. With H.G. Liston and Lena Liston at the nuptials as attendants, Rev. Elias Handy presided.
The second marriage led to five more children -- Wilma Lodeen Mathews, Walter Wayne Liston, John Roger Liston, Robert Linn Liston and Marleta Jane Bever.
Death enveloped Charles at the age of 64, on Jan. 21, 1943, in Des Moines. His remains repose for eternity in Noble Center Cemetery in Cass County.
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| Beardshear Hall, where Margaret got her professional start at Iowa State |
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| Dr. Margaret Liston |
Son Roland Ross Liston (1906-1935) was born on Aug. 20, 1906 in Cumberland, IA. He received his degree at the University of Iowa and took graduate level courses. He married Patricia A. ( ? - ? ). In December 1932, he and Marc Stewart established a life insurance business in Iowa City as representatives of New York Life Insurance Company, with offices at 107 South Dubuque Street, near the lobby of the Hotel Jefferson. The Listons' home address in the mid-1930s was 2018 38th Street. As of 1935, he was an officer with the Junior Chamber of Commerce Tragically, diagnosed with a severe form of vertigo known as "neuronitis," added to brain inflammation called "encephalitis," he suffered for about three months until the spectre of death cut him away at the age of 28 on June 15, 1935. Burial was in the sacred soil of Noble Center Cemetery.
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Charles B. Liston Courtesy Special Forces Roll of Honour |
Son Charles Bourck Liston (1909-1944) was born on Aug. 16, 1909 in Grant, IA. He attended two years of high school and learned the trade of motor vehicle mechanic, making his residence in Atlantic, IA. On Jan. 12, 1935, the 26-year-old Charles married Eleanor Jean Forsythe (1916-1979), a resident of Atlantic and the daughter of W.J. and Effie (Schofield) Forsythe. Officiating their wedding ceremony was Rev. H.M. Sippel of the Adel Church of Christ. They eventually divorced, and he moved to California. During World War II, he joined the U.S. Army Air Force and was assigned to the 1st Air Commando Force, training as a glider aircraft pilot. On the fateful day of March 6, 1944, while on a secret mission over Burma, the craft crash-landed in the Chindwin River area and he was captured by Japanese forces. From there he was sent to a prisoner of war camp in Burma in what today is Myanmar. During his imprisonment, on or about April 2, 1944, he died in the camp at the age of 34. His remains were not discovered until after the war, in 1946. On the second date of his journey, on May 17, 1946, while his remains were being air-lifted on a C-47 to Calcutta, India, the plane crashed. Whatever was left of his body was never recovered. Posthumously, he was awarded the Air Medal, Prisoner of War medal and the Purple Heart. His name was etched onto the Tablets of the Missing in Manila American Cemetery, The Philippines.
Daughter Wilma Lodeen Liston (1913-1993) was born on Dec. 17, 1913 in Greenfield, Adair County, IA. She married Daniel Mathews ( ? - ? ). The couple's two children were Daniel Mathews Jr. and Luru Lea Deason. Wilma was employed for 15 years as a stenographer with the federal government. The Mathewses lived in Hemet, CA for 22 years until 1991, when they relocated to Oceanside, CA. Burdened with Alzheimer's disease, she passed into the arms of eternity at the age of 79, on May 29, 1993, in Garden Terrace Convalescent Center in Vista, CA. Her survivors included six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Burial was in Noble Center Cemetery in her home state of Iowa.
- Grandson Daniel Mathews Jr. made his home in Del Mar, CA in 1993.
- Granddaughter Luru Lea Mathews married (?) Deason. She dwelled in Oceanside, CA in 1993.
Son Walter Wayne Liston (1916-1987) was born on April 12, 1916 in Cumberland, Cass County, IA. On May 25, 1938, at the age of 22, he was joined in wedlock with Winifred Arlene Capp (1916-2003), with their nuptials held at Perry, IA. Their union endured for 49 years until the separation of death. Two sons in this family were William Liston and Charles Liston. The couple went on to a life of farming near Adel and then to Linden for 16 years until 1958. They relocated again to a fary near Perry, remaining there for 21 years until they retired and moved into the town of Perry. Walter belonged to the Otley lodge of the Masons, was a hospital dad of the Za-Ga-Zig Shrine, a trustee of the Rowley Memorial Masonic Home and an elder with the First Christian Church. He also held memberships in the Perry chapter of the Order of Eastern Star, Rotary Club, Perry Golf and Country Club, and Raccoon Valley Shrine Club. In recognition of his service to others, in 1954, he was bestowed the Kiwanis Outstanding Community Service Award. He died in Dallas County Hospital at the age of 71 on Oct. 31, 1987. The funeral was jointly led by Rev. Bruce Dobyns and Rev. Beth Dobyns in the family church. His remains sleep for all time in Violet Hill Cemetery.
- Grandson William Liston made his home in Perry, IA in 1987.
- Grandson Charles Liston has resided in Marion, IA.
Son John Roger Liston (1918-1982) was born on May 19, 1918. On July 1, 1950, he wed Mildred Smittle (Sept. 26, 1922- ? ). Sadly, he surrendered to the angel of death, at age 64, just two days before Christmas 1982. Burial was in Junction Township Cemetery in Grand Junction, IA.
Son Robert Linn Liston (1922-1998) was born on Feb. 1, 1922. He joined the U.S. Navy during World War II and attained the rank of machinist's mate. On May 1, 1943, he entered into marriage with Hazel Madeline Dymond (Jan. 14, 1921-2016), a native of Adel, IA and the daughter of Otis Byron and Pearl Madeline (Beane) Dymond. They became the parents of three -- Laura DeWall, Robert C. Liston and Ronald B. Liston. She grew up attending the country school Van Meter No. 2 and was a 1938 graduate of Adel High School. She then studied at the American Institute of Business in Des Moines and worked as a young single woman in Nevada and Adel. After the war's end, the couple labored on his mother's farm and saved enough to buy their own northwest of Adel, where they raised dairy cows and Hy-Line chickens. Robert then sold their livestock and began selling farm bureau insurance in Dallas County.They belonged to the United Presbyterian Church. Death swept him away on April 24, 1998, at the age of 76. Hazel outlived her husband by 18 years. She resided in Pocahontas, IA and joined the Hope United Methodist Church. Said an obituary, "Hazel enjoyed gardening and was very proud of her flowers. She also enjoyed sewing and doing embroidery work. Hazel was a great cook and her family especially enjoyed the baking and cooking that she did for them over the years." Death carried her away on Oct. 31, 2016. Survivors included a dozen grandchildren and 16 grandchildren. Her funeral was held in her church in Pocahontas, followed by interment of the remains in Summit Hill Cemetery.
- Granddaughter Laura Liston wed Dan DeWall. The pair was in Pocahontas, IA in 2016.
- Grandson Robert C. Liston married Suzie. They have lived in Eldora, IA.
- Grandson Ronald B. Liston was joined in wedlock with Sheila. They migrated to Colorado and in 2016 were in Glenwood Springs, CO.
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| Marleta and Raymond Bever |
- Granddaughter Anita Bever married (?) Johnson. She was in Milford, NH in 2012.
- Grandson Bruce Bever wed Joan. They settled in Des Moines.
- Granddaughter Patricia Bever was joined in wedlock with Bill Swigert. Circa 2012, they dwelled in Panora, IA.
- Grandson James Bever entered into marriage with Linda. The couple put down roots in Adel, IA.
- Grandson Merle Bever was united in matrimony with Janet. They have made a home in Springfield, MO.
~ Daughter Luru May (Liston) Weir ~
Daughter Luru May Liston (1881-1913) -- also spelled at times as "Lura" and "Laura" -- was born on Aug. 31, 1881 in Cumberland, Cass County. Family friend Mrs. E.M. Lamkin assisted as the midwife during the birth.
On June 29, 1904, the 23-year-old Luru was wed to Dr. Mat Blakely Weir (Nov. 2, 1882-1954), age 22, a native of Montezuma, Poweshiek County, IA and the son of Alexander J. and Roberta Jane (Sheele) Weir. The wedding ceremony was held in Cumberland, by the hand of Rev. Frank Caldwell, with Blanche Liston and Deck Weir serving as witnesses. On their marriage license, her first name was spelled "Beulah" and her mother's as "Clandice."
Four offspring the pair bore together were Thelma Keenan, Dr. Royal "Roy" Weir, Dr. Richard "Basil" Weir and Dr. Don C. Weir.
They made a home in Grant, Montgomery County, IA. Matt was considered "one of the leading physicians" of the town, said the Villisca Review.
Worry turned to fear and then to grief when Luru contracted diphtheria in the spring of 1913. She suffered for a week, and was treated by several physicians, but there was little hope. She "fought valiantly for life," said the Review, "but the odds against her were too great."
Death gathered her away into the great beyond at the age of 31 on April 18, 1913. Led by Rev. J.N. Flosler, of the Methodist-Episcopal Church, funeral services were held in the Weir residence and were well attended. Her mortal remains were lowered under the grassy sod of Grant Cemetery.
Mat was left as a single parent and four young mouths to feed. After 29 months of widowed life, he wed again on Sept. 7, 1915 to Pearl Parker (1892-1986). One son born to this union was Dr. Lauren Wallace Weir.
Mat died in Montgomery County, IA in 1954. Burial was in Grant Cemetery.
As a widow, Pearl endured for another three-plus decades. The angel of death claimed her at the age of 94 in June 1986.
Daughter Thelma G. Weir (1905-1991) was born on Feb. 24, 1905 in Montgomery County, IA. In a wedding held in Wahoo, NE, the day after Christmas 1933, she married William Henry "W.H." Keenan (Feb. 5, 1909-1988), son of J.J. and Mary Keenan of Poweshiek County, IA. Two sons borne of this marriage were a premature unnamed son and William W. Keenan. Their baby died at 2 hours, 35 minutes after birth on Nov. 15, 1935. The family resided in Centerville, IA in 1935 and in Clarinda, IA. Later they migrated to the West Coast and settled in San Clemente. A teacher, Thelma is known to have taught in several Southern California schools. She relocated once more to Baldwin, KS in July 1985. William died in San Clemente at the age of 79 on Sept. 30, 1988. The body was returned to Iowa to be interred in Grant. At age 86, Thelma passed away in Orchard Lane Nursing Facility in Baldwin on St. Patrick's Day 1991. Burial was in Grant Cemetery.
- Grandson William W. Keenan (1942-2007) was born on Feb. 11, 1942 in Clarinda, IA. On July 5, 1963, in Los Angeles, he wed Joan Bernice Giffords (1943-2019). The marriage ended in divorce in April 1967. He dwelled in Lawrence, Douglas County, KS in 1991. Death swept him away in Lawrence at the age of 65 on Aug. 9, 2007. The remains sleep for all time in Grant Cemetery.
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| Downtown St. Louis, Missouri |
Son Dr. Royal A. "Roy" Weir (1906-1997) was born on Sept. 24, 1906 in Grant, Montgomery County, IA. Circa 1933-1935, Royal was employed as a junior surgeon at the Missouri Pacific Hospital in St. Louis. Circa 1933, he tied the knot with MOPAC Hospital nurse Murl Fern James (1906-1998), daughter of Gertrude Lutz. News of their marriage was announced in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Charleston (MO) Enterprise-Courier and Sikeston (MO) Standard. They remained together for an extraordinary 64 years. Murle had grown up in Cape Girardean, MO and at the time of marriage had been employed at the hospital for six years. Their family of four children included twins Mathew James Weir and Royal Alexander Weir, Lura "Gertrude" Weir, Lee David Weir and Barbara Weir. The Weirs resided in St. Louis for decades, with their newlywed residence at 3635 Shaw Avenue. By the mid-1930s, they put down roots at 1755 South Grand Boulevard. Joy turned to grief when the twins died shortly after their premature births, in St. Luke's Hospital, Matthew on Jan. 5, 1935 at 12 days and Royal at 16 days. The infants' tender remains were transported to Iowa for burial in the Grant Cemetery. In August 1948, the couple began building a new country residence near Arnold, MO, on Highway 61 and Tenbrook Road. They also acquired a 440-acre farm south of Foristell, Warren County, MO, which the Wentzville (MO) Union said in February 1951 included "an attractive modern home" and was "probably the largest farm sale ever made in this locality." He continued to buy farmland, and in December 1951 added to his portfolio a 360-acre tract on Highway T and Boonslick Road, three miles south of Foristell. Royal is known in 1950 to have served on an Incarnate Word Hospital fundraising committee which announced plans for a $1 million expansion of the Josephine Heitkamp Hospital and was pictured in the Globe-Democrat. By July 1951, with him now chairing the committee, the effort had raised an initial $150,000 toward it amended $500,000 goal, and by November 1952 had received a $141,000 pledge from 123 staff physicians. Circa 1953, he chaired a planning committee of the board of education of Fox School at Arnold, said the Jefferson County Record, with the board asking "the help of citizens of the district in solving the mounting educational problems which are continually adding to the complexity of the Board's problems." Adding to his public image, he was described by the Globe-Democrat's Bob Goddard among local "snappy dressers." Family vacations in the 1950s were spent in Miami Beach and Jacksonville, FL. The Weirs lived in the 1990s in Ballwin near St. Louis and were members of Shiloh Methodist Church. Royal passed away at the age of 90 on Sept. 7, 1997. The Post-Dispatch published an obituary. Murl only outlived her husband by four months. She succumbed to the spectre of death on Jan. 3, 1998. The pair sleep for the march of ages in Grant Cemetery, Montgomery County, IA.
- Granddaughter Lura Gertrude Weir (1936- ? ) was born in about 1936 in St. Louis. She and her brother Lee made news in the gossip columns of the Jefferson County (MO) Record in the summer of 1950 when they spent six weeks on vacation in Puerto Rico in company with their private Spanish language tutor. In September 1952, she was crowned as the official sweetheart of the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Jefferson County. Lura was a 1953 graduate of Herculaneum High School and in 1957 received her degree from Iowa State University. During her summer college breaks, she enjoyed time spent at Rockaway Beach on Lake Taneycomo. She then began her career as a Spanish teacher at Fox High School in Arnold, MO. Lura was united in holy matrimony with Federico Cano ( ? - ? ). They made a home in St. Louis in 1960 and were the parents of Carlan Elizabeth Maynes, Michelle Kimsey and Nicole Short. In 1988, in Durango, CO, Lura married again to Robert Hemsted (July 16, 1923-2004), a native of Redding, CA and the son of Karl and Lillian Hemsted. He had grown up on a California ranch, served as a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps and employed for 37 years as a pilot for TWA Airlines. Divorced from his first wife, he brought four stepchildren into the second union -- JoAnn Relyea, Barbara Smith, James Hemsted and Jeffrey Hemsted. Robert, said an obituary, "enjoyed deep-sea diving and once conducted deep-sea research in a miniature submarine to study how deep fish can live. He was also involved in research on African safaris, studying the mites on different animals. He lived in Egypt, the Bahamas, California and New York before retiring to Durango [and his] hobbies were photography, cooking, golf, reading and sailing." Stricken with incurable cancer, Robert was enveloped by death at the age of 81 in Durango on Aug. 9, 2004.
Great-granddaughter Carlan Elizabeth Cano (1960- ? ) was born in 1960 in Lutheran Hospital and weighed 6 lbs. at birth. She entered into marriage with (?) Maynes and has resided in Durango, CO.
Great-granddaughter and Nicole Short
Great-granddaughter Nicole Cano was united in matrimony with (?) Short. She has lived in Durango, CO.
- Grandson Lee David Weir (1937-1979) was born on New Year's Day 1937 in St. Louis. He was a 1954 graduate of Herculaneum High School and then studied at the University of Iowa. In March 1957, he joined the U.S. Army and trained at Fort Leonard Wood followed by Fort Campbell, KY, becoming a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division. Sadly, in June 1960, the Probate Court of Jefferson County adjudged him as "incompetent," with his guardianship assigned to his father. He died in St. Louis at the age of 42 on May 18, 1979. His remains repose for all time in Grant Cemetery in Iowa.
- Granddaughter Barbara Jean "Betsy" Weir (1939-2019) was born on Jan. 8, 1939 in St. Louis' Missouri Pacific Hospital. Her birth was announced on the pages of the Charleston (MO) Enterprise-Courier. She studied at Central Methodist College in Fayette, MO. On April 25, 1959, she entered into marriage with Alan Robert McBride ( ? - ? ), son of Willis McBride of Arnold. The ceremony and mass were conducted in the Immaculate Conception Church by the hand of Rev. Walter J. Fuchs. Reported the Jefferson County Record, the bride "was attired in a ballerina length full skirted dress of pink and white lace with cap sleeves and featuring a large pink satin bow at the front of the bodice. Her short veil was of sheer pale pink and she carried a prayerbook decorated with sweetheart roses centered with an orchid." They went on to produce two daughters, Amy Gurera and Suzie Muenz. Alan was an alumnus of Bishop DuBourg High School and, at the time of marriage, was in the U.S. Army, training at Fort Riley, KS. Barbara in 1961 earned her bachelor of science in education degree from Central and, in addition to raising her two children, went on to teach elementary school for years. The McBrides dwelled in Lee's Summit, MO. Among Barbara's passions were St. Louis Cardinals baseball, travel, casino visits and collecting antiques. Sadly, Barbara passed away at the age of 80 on Christmas Eve 2019. The family requested in an obituary that any memorial contributions be made to the Blue Springs Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association to the benefit of Shop With A Blue Springs Cop.
Great-granddaughter Amy McBride wed (?) Gurera. She was deceased by 2019.
Great-granddaughter Suzanne "Suzie" McBride married Robert Muenz.
Son Dr. Richard "Basil" Weir (1909-1991) was born on Sept. 29, 1909 in Grant, Montgomery County, IA. He was only five years of age when his mother died. He received his degree at the University of Iowa, as part of a military dental unit, in February 1931. He launched his own dentistry practice and planted himself by 1933 in Atlantic, Grove Township, Cass County, IA. On Oct. 7, 1933, he entered into marriage with Beatrice Showell (May 15, 1904-1978), of Atlantic City, NJ and the daughter of Charles H. and Annie (Reed) Showell. The wedding was presided over by Rev. Richard P. Chambers of the First Presbyterian Church. The Weirs did not reproduce. As of 1940, the United States Census shows the pair in Atlantic, with Beatrice working as an assistant in Basil's dental office. During World War II, he put his private practice on hold when he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and trained at Lowry Field in Denver. He attained the rank of captain. Again in 1950, the federal census enumeration lists the couple in Atlantic/Grove, with her no longer working. Beatrice passed away in Atlantic on Jan. 17, 1978. A brief notice of her death was printed in the Des Moines Tribune. Later in the same year, he wed Mildred Mae (Watson) Hemsted (Nov. 7, 1912-2000), widow of World War II casualty John W. Hemsted. Their union endured for a dozen years until the separation of death. Sadly, he died in Atlantic on Jan. 7, 1991. Mildred outlived Basil by nine years. The grim reaper cleaved her away in Iowa City on Nov. 19, 2000.
Son Dr. Don C. Weir (1912-1995) was born in 1912 in Iowa where he grew to manhood. He received his bachelor's degree at Creighton University in Omaha and then his doctorate of medicine from the same institutition. In 1938, he married Dorothy Arnold (1914-2009), a Tennessee native. Their union endured for a remarkable 58 years. The three children born to this union were Barbara Funk, Candy Gladders and Don C. Weir Jr. Don is known to have made a home in Omaha, NE in 1935 and by 1940 with Dorothy and his married brother Royal in St. Louis. He went on to a long career as a radiologist in St. Louis. He briefly interrupted his career during World War II to join the U.S. Army and rose to the rank of colonel. At the close of the war, he joined the staff of St. Mary's Health Center in Richmond Heights, MO, working as a radiologist and over the span of 32 years becoming chief of radiology. He also served on the medical staffs of the Missouri Pacific Hospital, Firmin Desloge Hospital and the Veterans Administration Medical Center. He contributed to his profession in 1963 as president of the St. Louis Medical Society. Moving into a partially academic role, he joined the St. Louis University School of Medicine, where from 1969 to 1976 he was a professor and chair of radiology. He retired altogether in 1978. The Weirs' home in the 1990s was in Webster Groves, MO. As he became increasingly infirm, he went tolive at Delmar Gardens in Chesterfield, MO. Sadly, he died at the age of 83 on Sept. 20, 1995. He was pictured in his St. Louis Post-Dispatch obituary, in which the family requested that any memorial donations be made to the John Burroughs School or the Westminster Christian Academy, both of St. Louis. Burial with military honors was in the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Lemay, MO.
- Granddaughter Barbara Weir married (?) Funk. Her home in 1995 was in Kansas City.
- Granddaughter Candy Weir may have been named for her great-grandmother, Candace (Pringey) Liston. She wed (?) Gladders. She dwelled in Olivette, MO in 1995.
- Grandson Don C. Weir Jr. settled in Walnut, IA.
~ Daughter Blanche Abigail (Liston) Scarr ~
Daughter Blanche Abigail Liston (1884-1984) was born on April 14, 1884 in Cumberland, Cass County. Sarah M. Pringey assisted with the birth.
On April 8, 1911, when she was 27 years of age, Blanche was wed to 27-year-old bank teller Furniss Morton Scarr (Sept. 6, 1884-1967) also spelled "Furness." He was a resident of Council Bluffs, IA and the son of George and Clara (Morton) Scarr. The wedding was held in Cumberland, by the hand of Rev. Jackson Giddens, and witnessed by George F. Scarr and Charles R. Liston.
Two known children produced by this marriage were Clara Scarr and Lewis Furness Scarr.
Federal census records for 1920 show the family in Council Bluffs, IA, with Furness continuing his work as a bank teller. By 1930, he was promoted to assistant cashier of the bank.
During the early years of the 1930s, in the midst of the Great Depression, the Scarrs uprooted their lives and moved to Southern California. They settled by 1935 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, and remained for decades. As of 1940, Furness earned a living as an independent real estate salesman. By 1950, now 65 years of age, he had no occupation and may have been retired.
Furniss passed away on Sept. 9, 1967 in Santa Monica.
Blanche outlived him by 16-plus years. She died in Santa Monica on Jan. 13, 1984.
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| Lester Slack's employer in 1940, Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica |
Daughter Clara Candace "Claire" Scarr (1912-1994) was born on Nov. 11, 1912 in Council Bluffs, IA. She was baptized on June 8, 1913 in the First Presbyterian Church of Council Bluffs. She was a 1930 graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School and attended the University of Wisconsin, Lindewood College and Iowa State College. As of 1935, she was enrolled at the University of Southern California. Clara on Dec. 28, 1939 married Lester Slack (Feb. 9, 1911-1976), a native of Wellington, KS. Together, they produced a brood of two -- Linda Slack and David Slack. They made a home together in 1940 at 8538 Cashio in Los Angeles, with him holding a job at Douglas Aircraft. Circa 1948, her address in Santa Monica was 250 17th Street. The couple divorced by 1950, with Clair and the children remaining in Santa Monica, and Lester living alone in Centinela, CA, working as an aircraft factory assembler. She is known to have been a mathematics teacher at Emerson Junior High School in Los Angeles County during the 1950s. Her final residence was in Los Angeles. She died in the city of angels on July 8, 1994.
- Granddaughter Linda Slack (1942- ? ) was born in about 1942 in or near Los Angeles.
- Grandson David Slack (1945- ? ) was born in about 1945 in or near Los Angeles.
Son Lewis Furness Scarr (1926- ? ) was born in about 1926 in Council Bluffs, IA. As a boy he moved to California with his parents and put down roots in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County. He was a graduate of Santa Monica High School and Occidental College and joined the staff of the Alhambra Post-Advocate newspaper. On Feb. 3, 1950, he was joined in wedlock with Lila Lee Phillips ( ? - ? ) in nuptials held at the First Methodist Church of North Hollywood, officiated by Rev. C. Sumner Reynolds. She was the daughter of Dewey Lawson and Frances Phillips, of 15209 Covello Street, and was an alumna of Van Nuys High School, Los Angeles City College and Los Angeles State College. In announcing the happy event, the Van Nuys News published her bridal portrait and said that her "white satin wedding gown fashioned with a scalloped neckline had a Chantilly lace yoke, long sleeves and flowing skirt. The wedding veil was attached to a seed pearl tiara and she carried a cascade of white roses and hyacinths." The pair's one known son was Michael P. Scarr. By 1952, he had moved to the San Gabriel Post-Advocate as a staff writer, while Lila was elected vice president of the Alhambra Junior Chamber Wives Club. In time he joined the San Diego Union as an editorial writer and in 1962 took part in the Copley Newspapers Seminar for Editorial Executives, held at Borrego Springs, CA. Their residence at that time was in Rancho Santa Fe, CA. Then in 1969, he was part of a winning team of 14 journalists within the Copley News Service who captured the "Ring of Trush" special merit award for their coverage of the 1968 presidential election campaign as well as "exhaustive backgrounding and consistent reports on trends and public reaction."
- Grandson Michael P. Scarr ( ? - ? ) earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. In June 1988, he entered into marriage with Carla E. Bloomquist ( ? - ? ), daughter of Charles E. Bloomquist of Venice, CA. She also was a UCLA alumna and a graduate of Loyola Marymount College. The newlyweds first lived in Santa Monica.
~ Son Henson "Glenn" Liston ~
Son Henson "Glenn" Liston (1887-1972) was born on March 25, 1887 in Cumberland, Cass County. Sarah M. Pringey served as a midwife during the birth.
The youngest of the children, he was age 13 when his father died.
When he was 22 years of age, on Oct. 15, 1909, he was united in marriage with 21-year-old Lena Estella Denman (Dec. 9, 1887-1963), a native of Belton, Bell County, TX, and the daughter of H.B. and Susan (McGuire) Denman. Their wedding vows were made in Guymon, Diamond Township, Texas County, OK.
Together, they produced two known children -- Cynthia I. Williford and Jack D. Liston.
The federal census of January 1920 lists the pair in Cumberland, Cass County, with their son having been born a few months previously in Nebraska. Glenn earned a living in the hardware and implement business for 16 years.
The Listons pulled up stakes in 1925 and moved to Texas, where Glenn found work as an electrician for a public utility company. Their residence in 1930 was in Dalhart, Dallam County, TX, and they kept a boarder in their home, 20-year-old Walter Crumpston.
Again in the 1931-1932 timeframe, they relocated to Randall County, TX, settling in Amarillo, TX, remaining there for decades. His occupation in 1940 was making installations for a refrigerator company. Their home in 1944 was located at 3008 Polk Street.
He then formed his own commercial refrigeration business and with Lena worked in the company in 1950. His final employer was Spool Stockyards.
The Listons' address in the 1950s and early 1960s was 221 Eastern. They marked their golden wedding anniversary with an open house for 200 guests at the home of their son, and were pictured in a related article in the Amarillo Globe-Times.
Lena fell and broke her hip on May 19, 1963 and was hospitalized. Her health plummeted, and she passed away in Northwest Texas Hospital at the age of 75 on June 10, 1963.
Glenn lived for another nine years and in 1968 moved into Houston, TX, where his married daughter was residing. He died in Sam Houston Memorial Hospital at the age of 85 on Sept. 4, 1972. Funeral services were presided over by Rev. Dr. W. Winfred Moore of the First Baptist Church. His remains were lowered into eternal slumber in Llano Cemetery in Amarillo, TX. The Globe-Times printed an obituary. The headcount of his survivors was four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Daughter Cynthia I. Liston (1913-1985) was born in about 1913 in Cumberland, IA. In a wedding ceremony held in Amarillo, TX on June 30, 1935, she was joined in wedlock with Willis "Victor" Williford ( ? - ? ), son of W.T. Williford of Arkansas. One known son of the pair was Thomas G. Williford. Victor was employed in Amarillo in 1940 as an auditing clerk for the Soil Conservation Service. As of 1950, their home was in Harrison County, TX, at a government reservation near Highway 43. At tht time, Victor earned income as an administrative officer and personnel supervisor at the local military ordnance depot. They were in Joliet, IL in 1963 and Houston, TX in 1972 before moving to New Braunfels, TX in about 1977. In addition to raising their son, Cynthia was an artist. She held memberships in the St. John's Episcopal Church, New Braunfels Art League, Canyon Lake Art Guild, Capini Academy of Fine Arts of San Antonio and Water Color Group, also of San Antonio. Their final address was 9 Bluebird Drive in New Braunfels, TX. Cynthia died at home at the age of 73 on April 19, 1985. Her funeral was held in St. John's Episcopal Church, officiated by Rev. Robert Keith. Cremation followed. Her obituary appeared in the New Brunfels Herald-Zeitung.
- Grandson Thomas G. Williford (1939- ? ) was born in about 1939 in Amarillo, TX. He resided in Houston, TX in 1985.
Son Jack D. Liston (1919- ? ) was born in late 1919 in Omaha, NE . His early years were lived in Cumberland, IA and Dalhart, TX. He was a graduate of Amarillo High School and went on to study at West Texas State College and the University of Texas. In 1938, he was in Amarillo, TX. On Aug. 24, 1938, he married Bonne Rhea Whittenburg ( ? - ? ), daughter of George Whittenburg of Canyon, TX. Their nuptials were held in the home of her brother J.A. in Amarillo, by the hand of Rev. Charles Wilson of the First Christian Church, and announced in the Canyon News. The story in the News said that she "wore a shell pink satin gown with a cascade veil and carried an arm bouquet of gardenias and lilies." Bonne was an alumna of West Texas State Training School and had studied at the University of Texas. They became the parents of Roy "Robert" Liston, Jack D. Liston Jr. and Bonne Rhea Craig. As of 1963, he made a home in Amarillo, TX. An Amarillo obituary summarized his career by saying "He served as a flight instructor, a fighter pilot and was a captain in the Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war, he worked in the newspaper, broadcasting and aviation business until moving to San Antonio in 1967." Jack married a second time to Lou Olsen ( ? - ? ). Her three stepchildren from an earlier marrige were Jim Olsen, Eddie Olsen and Bob Olsen. He died in San Antonio on April 11, 1999. Rev. Bill Nix led the funeral service at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church.
- Grandson Roy "Robert" Liston ( ? - ? ) was a student at the University of Texas in 1969. He married Patricia. They settled in Georgetown, TX and were there in 2015.
- Grandson Jack D. Liston Jr. (1944-2015) was born on Oct. 30, 1944 in San Angelo, TX. He grew up in Amarillo and was a 1966 graduate of Amarillo High School. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas. He then took post-graduate studies in his alma mater's McCombs School of Business. He then devoted his professional career to brokering stock and commodities trading. He entered into marriage with Janie Sue Harrison ( ? - ? ). They resided in Amarillo for many years. Five offspring born into this family were Christian Reid, Elizabeth Jahn, Jack D. Liston III, Miles Batten Liston and Lauren Jones. In 2002, upon their retirement, the couple moved to Weinheim, Germany. Said an obituary, "A lifelong Germanophile, living in Weinheim was a dream come true for Jack and he and Janie enjoyed life, travelled extensively and were surrounded by many wonderful friends. He will be remembered for his generosity of spirit, bright mind, sparkle in his eye, and marvelous sense of humor." Death came to carry him away in Weinheim at the age of 71 on Nov. 16, 2015. Funeral services were held in Amarillo's St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, led by Rev. Jo Roberts Craig.
Great-granddaughter Christian Liston married Craig Reid. In 2015, they lived in Denver, CO.
Great-granddaughter Elizabeth Liston wed (?) Jahn. She has dwelled in Amarillo.
Great-grandson Jack D Liston III entered into marriage with Marti. They made a home in 2015 in Dallas.
Great-grandson Miles Batten Liston was joined in matrimony with Hayley. Their residence has been in Amarillo.
Great-granddaughter Lauren Liston was united in wedlock with Chris Jones. They moved to Rio Rancho, NM.
- Granddaughter Bonne Rhea Liston ( ? - ? ) was born on (?). She wed (?) Craig ( ? - ? ). Bonne and her brothers were stockholders in Hallmark Aviation of San Antonio, with its headquarters at Stinson Field. Hallmark's president was Robert McAtee, and other shareholders were John R. Shaw, Eagle Pass Mayor Arturo and Jack Pitluk Jr. In 1969, the company asked the Aeronautics Commission for permission to provide air freight services at major Texas airports. Said the San Antonio Express, "It was the second such application ever filed with the commission." She lived in Amarillo in 1999. She was deceased by 2015.
Copyright © Mark A. Miner 2014-2019, 2023 |
Research for this page graciously shared by Michael Patrick Connelly, John Brant and the late Donna (Younkin) Logan. |