LOIS MARIE

Sheckler Bouwman Hutchins
Lois is the 4th child of
Linn and Ada Sheckler

b. 21 March, 1916
Lois had 2 Brothers & 1 Sister
Merril
Lester
Teressa
Lois Married Herman Bouwman
Son of Jacob and Elizabeth

Lois & Herm had 3 children
LaVerne
Carolyn
Arleen

Lois Divorced Herm abt. 1940
Lois Married Irwin Fredrick

Lois was a WWII
CAN DO MOM

Irwin Served In Europe
1942 - 1945
Lois remembers riding in a buggy while living in Colon, MI. and her brother catching fire flys which were bothering the horses. She remembers her Aunt Alva always made bread and washed her feet in the same dishpan. She played the song "Three O'clock in the morning" on Grandma Snyder's victrola - over and over. 

Lois was 3 years old when her mother, Ada Sheckler passed away.  She moved to live with her Aunt Hazel and Uncle Alvin in Battle Creek as did her sister Tressa. Their father, Linn, was driving truck at the time.  This is where Linn met his second wife Ethel and was married. In the summer Lois and Tressa would go back to Colon to spend a couple weeks with Grandma Snyder, until she died.

The family had many adventures after Linn's 2nd marriage until 1934.  Read the stories
in "Memories 1918 - 1942" page.

In 1934 Lois met and married Herman Bouwman, born and raised in Grand Rapids. They moved to Allegan where LaVerne and Jean were born.  Lois needed to divorce Herman, but before it became official, she moved in with her parents who had just built a new home on Hutchins Lake, and Arleen was born there.

She then moved her kids into a cottage on the lake for a while then into an apartment in a big brick house just east of the Baptist Church in Fennville.  She was able to start work at the canning factory just two blocks away. 

Around 1942 labor was needed for the war effort and Lois moved to Grand Rapids to work in a parachute factory, LaVerne and Arleen went to live with her parents and Jean went to live with Frank and Edith Lickley, east of Bravo.  This worked for a short time but Lois found a way to make a home in Grand Rapids and the kids were back with mom. Read RULES.
Lois then met Irwin (RED), born and raised in Fennville, MI. The two  were married out at Lois's parents house at the lake. At first LaVerne only lived with them in their 1st house, right behind the Fennville City Hall. 

Lois made a big mistake while living here. Red had his check cashed and brought it home and put all of the cash on the kitchen table while they went through several other papers. It was found that some of the paper could be thrown away so Lois picked the cash with the papers and threw them into the kitchen stove which was a wood burning stove. The cash was gone.

A year later better living arrangements were possible in a different house two door  west of Consumers, where Red worked. The whole family became one here, finally. Lois working at the Post Office at this time and they had many years of happyness which continued in their third house located behind the high school.
After the war Lois found work in Fennville and they moved to a house just west of Consumers and across the street from the Carters.  Mrs. Carter always made bread on Saturday and the kids were sure to get some. This is where all three, LaVerne, Jean and  Arleen graduated from.  Lois did work at a couple different places during these years.
A clerk at Tabors Drug Store and bookkeeper at Van Hartesveldt's Market. Actually her son LaVerne also worked in these 2 places while in High School. 

Lois and Red bought their 1st home on the north side of  Hutchins Lake after all  the kids had graduated.  After Red retired, they bought a mobil home east of town out by the woods with many dogwood trees.   In 1995 Red passed away.  Her daughter Jean had been living in Holland since her husband has passed and Arleen's husband had also passed away not too long before Red.  These three ladies have purchased a new home and now all happily live together.   Her son, author of this web page, lives  with his wife Letha in the Seattle, WA area and near their  two children.

MOM's 90th Birthday               -                     Obituary