Most of the information about my great-great-grandparents below is vague and will be later attached to accurate dates. For now, I simply want to archive the information that I have. And now let us begin...
Ray Hill and Cleo Richardson were married and were the parents of my grandmother, Emma Louise Hill. Cleo (Great Grandma Nana) was born on July 3, 1900. Ray Hill was born on August 1, 1893. Cleo and Ray later split apart, and Cleo married Lee George Harris who adopted Emma Louise. Cleo's parents were Emma Kilgore (Cherokee Indian) and Frank Richardson. Ray's parents were Hester Louise Richard and Milbourn Porter Hill.
Below is a photo of Emma Kilgore (date unknown).
Below is a photo Cleo Richardson (date unknown).
Viola Fern Ward (English) and Daniel Jensen Ahern (Irish/Swedish) were the parents of my grandfather, Dale Ward Ahern. Below is a photo of Viola Fern Ward, taken at her 90th birthday party, which I attended with my family in Venice Beach, CA.
My grandmother Emma Louise Hill was born in Sherman TX on April 9, 1920. My grandfather Dale Ward Ahern was born on March 31, 1916. Below is a photo of his birth announcement.
Here is my grandfather's baby photos. Yes, they made him wear a dress (christening dress). Besides my husband's baby photos, these are the closest I have seen to bearing a resemblance to Riley. My grandfather had piercing blue eyes, too.
My grandparents first met in 1939 in Venice, CA. Grams was 19 years old, and Grandpa was 23 years old. Grams truly despised her name "Emma" for reasons she still cannot fully describe. I absolutely LOVE that name and couldn't understand why she did not like it. In any case, she chose to use her middle name "Louise" early on in life. Dale and Louise lived within a few blocks of one another in Venice, and Dale would often see Louise in the neighborhood here and there. Dale really liked Louise upon first sight. He would send his sister, Virginia, to Louise's house to ask if she would go out with him to see a boxing match one night. Below is a photo of Virginia. Lousie replied, "If he wants to ask me out so bad, tell him to ask me out himself." (LOVE THAT!)
A few days later, Dale approached Louise at her home and asked her to go out with him. He asked if she had a formal dress to wear, and she replied that she had two dresses. He told her to wear one of them because he was taking her to a dance. Dale did not know that word on the street was that he was already seeing someone else at the same time he asked out Louise. He had been dating a girl named Isabel, and many of Louise's family and friends (including her mother) wanted to know why she was interested in seeing him if that were the case. Louise replied that she was about to find out for herself.
Dale and Louise attended the dance looking as sharp as ever. Low and behold, he introduced her to everyone as his girlfriend that night! She thought to herself how interesting it was that he would do that, and thought that perhaps things had ended with Isabel.
A few nights after the dance, Louise was invited to dinner at Dale's parents house. During dinner, the phone rang and Dale's mom answered it. Louise heard her say, "I'm sorry, Dale is not here. He went hunting for the weekend with his uncle." Louise was confused, being that Dale was sitting right next to her. She knew something was up. He quickly mentioned to her that he was going hunting that weekend, in case she wanted to know.
Later that night, they went to the movies. During intermission, Louise spotted Isabel with a date sitting a few rows ahead of her and Dale. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Dale shrunk back in his chair quite a bit. As Isabel stood up to head towards the concession stands, Dale shrunk in his chair even further. Louise did not know what type of arrangement they had, being that they were both on seperate dates, but she was determined to let Dale know what she thought of it. When he dropped her off at home after the movies, he mentioned that he really wanted to see her again. She replied, "While you are on your hunting trip, you think long and hard about what you want. Make a decision when you return and stick to it!" His uncle later confessed to Louise that half way to their destination, Dale wanted to turn around and come home to let Louise know he wanted to be with her. His uncle (Uncle Lenn) refused to turn around and made him sweat it out!
After that, Dale and Louise dated exclusively, and the following year he told her that he wanted to marry her by New Years. Then he started telling her that he wanted to marry her by Christmas. They actually were married on Thanksgiving November 21, 1940. It was a small ceremony and reception for 30 guests. Louise wore a navy blue dress and maroon shoes with white gardenias pinned to her chest. Louise's mom (Nana) hosted the reception at her house. They were married for 48 years before Dale passed away from a sudden heart attack on Father's Day in 1988. Below is a photo of them on their wedding day in 1940, then a photo of them celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary in 1985.
Dale and Louise lived a very fulfilled life. They welcomed 5 children into this world: Michael, Patrick, Kathleen, Timothy, and Kevin (my father). Louise lost two children, 1 between Patrick and Kathleen, and the other between Kathleen and Timothy. My father was born prematurely on January 25, 1952 at 7 months term, weighing 4.5 lbs and had to live in an incubator for 2 weeks. His lungs were undeveloped as well as his finger nails and toe nails. What a little miracle baby he was! Below are photos of my grandparents while Grams was pregnant with Uncle Tim.
Here is a photo before my father, Kevin, was born.
Here is a photo of all the kids together while living on Polk Street. From left to right: Kevin, Michael, Kathleen, Timothy, and Patrick (the comedian).
My grandparents had a photographer friend who would always ask to capture pictures of them and the family. There are several photos that need to be preserved and shared, all of which Aunt Kathy will allow me to recapture at some point. Below is a photo of my grandfather playing cards. What a handsome man.
I also recaptured and restored a photo of my grandfather at work in the 1940's. He was an engineer for Lockheed Martin for a number of years. The photo below is the "before" recapture that includes tears, stains, and flaws. The photo afterwards is my version, which I plan to reproduce for family gifts soon.
As mentioned before, my grandfather passed away unexpectedly on Father's Day in 1988. He and my grandmother were living in Oregon at the time and were out to dinner to celebrate the day when it happened. My grandfather was a no-nonsense man who could be very strict at times, but definitely had a soft spot for his one and only granddaughter (me!) He passed away about a week after my 8th grade graduation, and my parents asked me if I would mind living with my Grams in Oregon for the summer to help keep her company. It was during that time where I bonded with her and built a connection that I will always remember. I became homesick during that time and missed my parents and brother, but I also built a deep sense of gratitude in having Grams all to myself. She introduced me to several of her friends and the stories I have during that time are endless. Cookies, squirrels, purple everything, The Color Purple, Out of Africa, Crocodile Dundee, the swimming pool, the bicycle, a dog named Popcorn, grasshoppers, roses, papaya pills, sleeping alongside Grams for nearly 2 months and never once hearing her cry herself to sleep. The strongest woman I have ever known. These are all things I will never forget.
My grandfather was cremated with his ashes scattered in Ashland, OR alongside a mountain overlooking a Buddhist Temple. The pagoda temple was visible in the distance and very serene. I was there for the ceremony in which my Aunt Kathy poured a bottle of Bushmill's Irish Whiskey (Grandpa's favorite) and fresh rose petals scattered from his rose garden at home, along with his ashes. A few moments after his ashes were scattered, a Monarch butterfly floated across his ashes and landed right on top of them. We all knew that was a sign. Butterflies were my grandmother's #1 favorite thing (alongside anything purple). It was as if my grandfather was looking down from above and letting her know he was there with us.
A few years later, Grams decided to move up to Washington and live with Aunt Kathy. Aunt Kathy has taken the best care of Grams through these years. In 2000 and upon a revisit to the spot where my grandfather's ashes were scattered, they both went to locate the spot. They were unable to immediately find it until a flock of Monarch butterflies came fluttering through the trees. Aunt Kathy stopped the car, and there Grandpa was, waiting for them.
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