Category: (great) grandparents

Jan. 31:  Terry is back in Madison after spending the last week in Salem with his mom.  A memorial service is planned for February 23, the week of Forry’s 93rd birthday.  An obituary follows, which can also be found on the Salem Satesman Journal’s website.

Forrest M. Haller Obituary

SALEM – Forrest M. (“Forry”)
Haller, 92, died peacefully at home on January 24, 2008. Forry was born on February 20, 1915 in Arnegard, North Dakota to Adolph I. and Della A. (nee Rohney) Haller. The family moved to Red Wing, Minnesota in 1922. In 1932, he graduated from Red Wing High School. Several years later, he went west and eventually found a job with Northrop Aircraft in Los Angeles. Over the next 25 years, with a hiatus during 1945-49, Forry rose to head Northrop’s production engineering operations, and he was General Supervisor of Missile Planning there. He worked on numerous Northrop projects, including the YB-49 Flying Wing airplane (a precursor of the B-2 Stealth Bomber) and the SM-62 Snark missile. Forry was married to Thelma (”Topsy”) Arstill on October 22, 1945, and they moved to Palm Springs, California, where they helped to build and manage the White Sun Guest Ranch in Rancho Mirage. In 1947-9, they lived in Portland, Oregon before returning to L.A. From 1951 on, they lived in Manhattan Beach and Los Alamitos, California before retiring to Salem, Oregon in 1972. Forry is survived by his very special wife Topsy, to whom he was married for over 62 years; two sons, Terry L. Haller of Madison, Wisconsin and Michael D. Haller of Salem, Oregon; one grandson, Christopher W. Haller in his senior year at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington; and two brothers, Donald M. Haller of Salem, Oregon and Deane A. Haller of Red Wing, Minnesota. He was preceded in death by his father, Adolph Haller in 1940, his stepfather Fred Gerdes in 1964, his mother Della (Rohney) Gerdes in 1972 and his brother Lyndon W. Haller (wife Lela) in 1999. A memorial service will take place at 2:00PM on Saturday, February 23, 2008 at the First Presbyterian Church, 770 Chemeketa Street NE, Salem, Oregon 97301.

Jan. 29: I’m feeling pretty snoozy this evening.  It’s been a blustery, cold, wet, and snowy day today.  An interesting mix of fog, rain, hail, and snow, just to keep life interesting.
Andrew is currently lying on the floor with Bryan listening to the music from Fantasia.  He’s saying, “I’m scared, I’m scared…” as he listens to the dinosaur segment.  Bryan’s being sweet and saying calming things.
We drove down to Monore this morning to visit my grandma.  She’s living at a nursing home as she recovers from a broken hip.  Poor Grandma really seemed pretty sad.  I think a visit from the cutest little guy and patting an enormous belly helped to lift her spirits, though.   And now, we’re off for a quiet wintery evening at home.

Jan. 26 update:  A memorial service for Forry is being planned for late February.
Jan. 25: Some sad news to report…Terry’s dad, Forry, passed away yesterday.  I believe he was at his home in Salem, Oregon.  Forry has lived through a somewhat stunning list of medical problems, and I kind of think we were all under the impression that he just must be immortal.  Terry’s mom, Topsy, has been doing a tremendous amount of care for Forry over the last ten years.  I believe the last time they came out to Wisconsin was for my wedding in 1999.
I’ve always considered Topsy and Forry another set of grandparents, and it really feels like a huge era is passing to know that Forry is gone.
I hope he is now freed from the confines of an aged body.
Terry is heading out to Oregon to be with his mom and his brother, Michael.  I’d like to be able to join them, but there is no traveling when one is 38 weeks pregnant!  I’ll post an obituary when one is available.

Dec. 13: When I talked to my dad last night, he said that Grandma was scheduled to be in the hospital for about three days and then would be in rehab at a nursing home for about three weeks.  If she’s able to get her mobility back, that would put her back home around January 5…but I imagine that it’s going to be a long road for my poor grandma. Her  osteoporosis is really advanced, and her bones are so frail that they think that her hip may have broken while she was walking and caused her to fall rather than the fall causing the break.  Old age is not for the faint of heart!
Speaking of old age, Grandma told me about the poem “When I am old, I shall wear purple” about 15 years ago.  She got a really big kick out of it, and it makes me laugh because Grandma is so conscientious and quiet and reserved that the idea of her letting loose and “eating three pounds of sausage at a go” is just ridiculous!
3:30 pm update:  Grandma’s operation was successful, and she will be in recovery for about an hour.
Dec. 12:  I just got a note from my dad this morning telling us that my grandma (his mom) fell in her kitchen last night while answering the back door.
She was taken by EMS to the Monroe Hospital.  ER X-rays indicated that Grandma broke her hip.  The break occurred at the “neck” of the femur and requires hip replacement surgery (replacing the ball of the hip), which is happening today.

My poor, sweet grandma!

Nov. 6: We’re back home after spending the day in Monroe for my grandpa’s funeral.  Michael, Lisa, Maretta, Kyle, Bryan, and I drove down this morning amidst some windy, chilly November weather.  The sun shone on and off through the day, and the wind made the weather rather nippy.
Grandpa’s funeral was really nice.  The priest who did the service has known Grandma and Grandpa for 35 years, and his homily focused on five of the things that were important and special about Grandpa: his faith, his family, his work, his military service, and his personality (including his musical talents).  He also said some really nice things about Grandma and the wonderful person who she is.
After the funeral, we ate a yummy luncheon where we got an opportunity to talk to some of our relatives.  A contingent of us then traveled out to the cemetery for a burial that included a military honor guard.  The sun came out to warm us at just the right moments, and a lone bugle played taps as a lovely end to the service.
We went to Grandma’s for some Oreos and conversation before heading back to Madison.  Photos of the visitation on Monday night and of the events of the day are in the gallery.

Oct. 31: It’s just not a good month for our paternal grandparents.  Or who knows, maybe from their perspective, ending long and rich lives, it is a good month.  In any case, I’m sad to report that I got a call from my dad last night letting us know that his dad had died that evening.  Dad and Grandma were both with him, and actually, when they talked to me, they were still sitting with him.
Grandpa moved to a nursing home last year and has been in and out of the hospital as he has struggled with emphezemia and resulting serious lung and breathing problems.  Dad has been traveling down to Monroe one or more times each week for the last several years to help with things and to share their company.  I’m sure that without his yeoman’s work that things would have progressed long ago.
Aunt Julie has has a large set of pictures of Grandpa and Grandma scanned in on her website.  Some of my favorites are Michael and Grandpa, Grandpa with his ice cream truck, my wedding with Grandpa and Grandma, and then just a nice picture of Grandpa looking like himself.
Also, here’s a couple early pictures of Andrew and Grandpa (spring 2006) (summer 2005).  A draft obituary follows below.

Grandpa’s draft obituary

MONROE – Myron “Mike” Jacob Babler, 85, died on October 30, 2007, after a long battle with emphysema. He spent much of the last year of his life at the Monroe Manor, where he continued to enjoy good conversations with his family, friends, and the Manor staff—and keep tabs on sports, local news, and world events via television.

Myron was born on December 19, 1921, in Deaconess Hospital in Monroe, Wisconsin, to Jacob Lee and Emma Frederica (nee Feldt) Babler. He grew up in Monroe and for a while on a farm outside of Monroe.  He was a 1939 graduate of Monroe High School.

He met the love of his life, Lucille Evelyn Krueger, in April 1941, and, unable to wait for Christmas, proposed marriage to her (coincidentally) shortly before Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941.
They were married on April 18, 1942. After only three short months, in July 1942, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He did not return home for good until September 1945. During his time in the army, he landed on Omaha Beach’s Easy Green in the Normandy invasion on the morning of June 7, 1944, (D-Day +1) as part the 457th Anti-Aircraft Battalion, 29th Division of General Omar Bradley’s 1st Army. Later he became part of General George Patton’s 3rd Army and the 90th Infantry Division and fought as an infantryman in the Battle of the Bulge. He was awarded three Purple Hearts during his service in that battle, one for a bullet grazing his face, another for being hit by shrapnel, and a third for having frozen his hands and feet. One time, at considerable personal risk, he and a buddy decided to aid a severely wound German soldier whose plight they felt was genuine—despite the fact that they knew the Nazis sometimes used this as a trick to kill Americans. His children, proud of the role that their dad played as part of the “greatest generation,” wrote his war memories in a booklet entitled “So That We Live Free, Myron J. Babler: His Experiences as a Soldier During World War II as Told to His Children.”

After returning home to his beloved wife, the couple made their home in Monroe. Myron went to work in a cheese factory near downtown, and after having walked across the street one day to Goodmiller’s Ice Cream Co. for an ice cream bar, his career path was changed forever. While chatting with the owner, he was offered a job selling ice cream to farmers and folks living in the rural stateline area. He took the job, and after nine years, Schwan’s ice cream and frozen foods company of Marshall, Minnesota, bought out Goodmiller’s.
Myron was personally hired by Marv Schwan, the company’s founder, and became the company’s first sales representative in Wisconsin. He stayed with the company another 29 1/2 years and became the “ice cream man” that generations of children and adults in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois welcomed into their homes and hearts. He loved the entire region, working its byways through the changing seasons, monitoring agricultural crops, enjoying the landscape, riding its hills and curves, and knowing its changing skies. He loved its people, knowing who they were, how they were doing, learning their dreams, watching their kids arrive and grow, and hearing about both their troubles and triumphs. He loved being part of the Schwan’s family and being in a job that brought smiles. He retired at age 67.

Myron’s 65 happy years of marriage included raising a family of four, three sons and a daughter. It also included many years of being close with his parents, who lived in Monroe. His children remember his love, his pride in his family, his support of each of them, how hard he worked to provide for them, his humor, his hugs, how he respected people, and how they respected and knew him.

Beyond his work with Schwan’s, Myron loved his musical life, which began with the violin (his idea) and expanded as a young man with his group, Mike’s Knights, playing for crowds in small towns throughout the area—and even one time on WLS in Chicago. He enjoyed jamming with friends on his accordion. He later entertained hundreds of area residents and visitors by playing the organ and piano on Friday and Saturday nights at several local establishments, including Marco’s in Monroe, The Swiss Wheel in Monroe (including playing earlier the same night that a fire destroyed the building), and The Chalet in Brodhead. Another side business for him was selling pianos and organs, often to people who enjoyed listening to him play music on the weekends.

After retiring, Myron was a devoted fan and attendee of both the boys and girls sports teams at the Monroe High School. He also closely followed the Wisconsin Badger and Green Bay Packer games.

He loved Monroe; Cheese Days; the Green County Fair; attending mass at St. Victor’s Church; visits with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren; talking with people; taking naps on Sunday afternoons; sitting on the porch to watch the traffic go by on busy 16th Street; listening to many kinds of music, including Swiss music; playing the piano, organ, and accordion; watching Laurel and Hardy movies; watching travel shows and learning about distant places; visiting his brother in New Glarus and Monticello and his sister in Oshkosh; limburger cheese; eating chocolate (including having two Oreo cookies each morning with breakfast); taking long drives around town and driving around the courthouse square; going out for a beer; and watching the greyhound races in Dubuque.

Myron is survived by his wife Lucille and their four children: Kim Babler of Madison; Gary Babler of Stoughton; Scott (Marcia) Babler of Libertyville, Illinois; and Julie (Kevin) of California. He is also survived by his older sister, Phyllis Drews, of O’Fallon, Missouri; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren (his ninth great-grandchild is expected in February).

He was preceded in death by his father, Jacob, on December 28, 1970; his mother, Emma, on February 12, 1979; his younger brother, Duane, on April 10, 2001; and his daughter-in-law Margot (nee Davis) Babler on August 31, 2007.

Dotzour, G. Gordon, 83, prominent realtor of West Wichita and owner of Dotzour Realtors, died Thursday, October 18, 2007.
Service, 1:00 P.M., Monday, October 22, First Presbyterian Church. Graveside service will follow at 4:00 P.M., Resthaven Cemetery. Viewing, 4:00-9:00 P.M., Saturday, October 20 and 1:00-9:00 P.M., Sunday, October 21, Downing & Lahey Mortuary West.

Gordon Dotzour was born on January 28, 1924 to Grover and Jennie Dotzour. He grew up in Riverside and attended North High School where his father, Grover, was the first principal.
Gordon played on the Redskin 2-man and 4-man State Championship golf team in 1940. Gordon attended Wichita State for a semester where he played clarinet with the Jazz Band. He enlisted in the Army Air Force. After his discharge he finished his BA degree at Stanford and played on the Stanford golf team which won the National Championship that year.

He returned to Kansas and took a job at the bank in Macksville where he met Betty Jo Cotton. They were married in 1947 after a short courtship.
Gordon took a job with Sheaffer Pen Co and then returned to his love of golf as an Assistant Pro at McDonald Park Golf Course working with Tex Consolver and Dean Adkisson. During those years, Gordon, Tex and another Wichita pro, Gene O’Brien, played on the Tourof the PGA.
Gordon then went into the real estate business with Luis and Tony Casado.
Under their tutelage he learned the Real Estate business and opened his own business, Dotzour Realtors, with an office on West Douglas. He later built his offices at 9100 W. Central. While in the Real Estate business Gordon promoted West Wichita. He laid the groundwork for the first bank in West Wichita, the National Bank of Wichita and was one of the first directors. He published The Westerner, a weekly area newspaper, and was on the Wichita Park Board when Pawnee Prairie Golf Course was built. After many years of promoting the area he was often referred to as the “Mayor” of West Wichita.
Gordon and his son, Mark, developed the Gleneagles Addition in west Wichita. Gordon retired in 1982 from business after health problems and returned to playing golf at Rolling Hills and enjoying life with his wife, son and grandchildren.
Survivors, wife, Betty Jo; son and daughter-in-law, Mark and LuAnn of College Station, TX; grandchildren and their spouses, Bryan and Althea Dotzour, Melanie and Ben Davis; great-grandson, Andrew Dotzour.

Memorials established with First Presbyterian Church, 525 N. Broadway, Wichita, KS 67214 and Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice, 313 S. Market, Wichita, KS 67202. Tributes may be sent to the family via www.dlwichita.com.
Published in the Wichita Eagle from 10/20/2007 – 10/22/2007.

Oct. 18: Sad news to report tonight.  We got a call from Bryan’s mom around supper time that Bryan’s grandpa, Dandy, has passed away.  It feels really strange to think that he is gone.  Bryan is flying out to Wichita tomorrow afternoon.  Things feel all off-kilter here.

Oct. 18: I really wish that I wasn’t writing this post.  Bryan’s grandpa, Dandy, moved from the hospital to a Hospice center in Wichita yesterday.  Bryan, his sister, and his parents have plans to meet in Kansas on Friday to spend time with Dandy and with Grandma Jo and to be there to support each other.
Dandy is such a wonderful, generous, full-of-life person, and it’s hard to know that he and Grandma Jo and Bryan’s dad are in a position where they are having to say goodbye.  My heart is with them.  In fact most of my thoughts are with them too.
Bryan’s dad is an only child, and they are all so close.  I feel like it must somehow be harder when there are less people to carry the burdens, to support and remember together.
Dandy was so happy to see and hear about Andrew.  Andy and Dandy he would say.  I would really like to take Andrew down to give Dandy another opportunity to see him, but it seems like this weekend is probably a better time for Bryan to be able to go down and support his dad and grandma as an adult rather than as a parent-trailing-a-toddler.
I feel so very lucky to have married into a family that is filled with such wonderful people.  My world is better (immeasurably so!) because of the family that Dandy helped to raise.