An Ancestor I Admire

        It’s hard to pick one.  Some are just names and I really don’t know them.  Others were in my life briefly.  Others, like my parents, have been in my life for many years.

(1)       My parents – the love and devotion they had for each other.  Dad passed away in February 2024 and Mom is still thriving.  They raised a family on a very limited income (and they never let it be known).  We were never without food, clothes or shelter.  We had a lot of good times and did a lot of things together as a family.  That is rare now a days.

(2)      

Grandma Fern – a strong, independent woman who raised nine children during the 1930’s through the 1950’s.  Money was tight and it seems like they moved a few times during the early years of their marriage.  She suffered a stroke that took away her speech, and she had to learn to write with her left hand (this happened just before I was born).

(3)       The ones I can’t name – living through the various wars (like Thomas Stead – Civil War) or moving to a new country and learning the language (Kludt, Ahrendt, and Reisner families).  Or even establishing a new nation (Patrick Porter & Thomas Pinson, to name a couple).

Great Granparents w/family
William Kludt & Susan Reisner

 

Grandparents Ed Kludt
& Bernice Swinehart

Great Grandparents
Bernice Stead & 
Raymond Reynoldson

Great Grandparents
Harry Swinehart &
Bertha Davis