All Souls

My dear Catholic friend Angie reminded me this morning that in her Church, today is All Souls’ Day, conclusion of the spiritual triumvirate they’ve made out of this cross-quarter day (halfway between autumn equinox and winter solstice) Samhain: All Hallows Eve (which we heathens know as Halloween), All Saints’ Day, and All Souls Day.  The first is a vigil for All Saints’ Day, where the saints are remembered and honored, then today is for the souls of the departed.  The vigil is to pray for those dear to us now gone, and they will pray for us.  To show her how close we hold our dear departed, I took a picture of our “family wall” where we’ve been hanging pictures of our predecessors over the past several years.  

While my pic gives an appreciation for the scope of the project, details of individual pictures are missing.  Angie’s Android doesn’t take some things from my iPhone, like Powerpoint files, like I tried to send her about an upcoming lecture.  So I thought I’d cover a couple bases by posting the annotated pics on my blog, keeping me in touch with memories of the pictured persons.

Here’s my Grandpa Ike with his 2 sisters back in Holland in the 1880s

Here’s my Grandpa and Grandma Slater with my mother, Marion, early 1920s.  Grandpa’s fierce visage mellowed with time to yield the smiling friendly face everybody loved.

Here’s those Slater kids in the mid-30s.  Baby James, Marion (Mom), and Doris (Aunt Dorie)

Kathy’s grandparents: Harald and Gladys Olsen, ~1928, possibly their wedding.

Kathy’s mom Ruth with her bestie, Rex.

The Ike family ~ 1930.  Dad (Dickie), Bob (born Bowenus, nicknamed Bub), Gary (born Gerritt).  Then Grandpa (Dirk), little Florence, Grandma (Dena)

Slater Family mid 30s.  Grandpa (Bill), Mom (Marion), Grandma (Vera), Aunt Dorie (Doris), Uncle Jim

Mom and Dad in their youth, before World War II and Little Bobby came along

These are my biologic parents.  Marlene Gilbert and Dick Spei had a fling based mainly in the Thumb in ’51-2.  I got to know them both starting in 2009.

Here are the Clarks in all their glory, late50s.  Major, Clutch, Ruth, Kitty (later Howard Cosell), Bob, Ric, Kathy.  Only Bob and Kathy are still with us.

Clutch and Ruth headed to some Christmas gala in Akron.  As the new orthopedist in town, Clutch was in demand socially. The edges are clipped off in the wall pic, but I left them on here.

The Ikes relax at Glen Lake, 1947.  Mom (Marion), Grandpa, Grandma, Dad.

Mom and Dad at play after the war, before Bobby.  They were both pretty good athletes and a force on the golf course.

Clutch and Ruthie graduate 1954.  An MD for Clutch and a BA in dental hygiene for Ruth.

Dr. Robert Clark of Pittsburgh hosts his grandsons Bob and Ric, 1962

Grandpa Ike standing astride his kingdom at Bissell, where he was an ace machinist.

Grandpa Slater shortly after signing on to the Grand Rapids fire department in February 1929.  That’s him to the left, the dark-haired handsome man with a bow tie.  This was the pic that inspired the whole project.  This is a scan of one of my paper copies and doesn’t show the whole oval picture.

An iconic Clark family picture: Jimmy (Mertz) all ready for something.

Very much alive, here’s the Clarks after dinner at Costanoa, a resort south of Jim’s home in Pescadaro.  Left to right: Orion, Mertz (Jim), Skyler (behind the phone), me, Janet (mom), Kathy, Aislynn. So, that’s the Family Wall.   Once I post this, there won’t be too many hours left in All Souls day.  I hope my friend Angie realizes each struggle with a file to post can be a little prayer, as I’m thinking of them all the while.  I know from my charmed life that they are praying back all the time.  If you’ve got family photos languishing in a storage box somewhere, get them out!  We owe so much to those who came before; it’s not only right that we remember and acknowledge them, and it’s good for the soul..

Recall Mr. Prine in this topic.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXbEFTv9zr0&list=RDnXbEFTv9zr0&start_radio=1.