| 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
Son of Elmer and Bertha
 |
|
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
Lois and Red were both cremated and their ashed spread. Their children placed a memorial for them at the Fennville Cemetery
|
||
