Lorraine Horn Palmer, 1924-2013

Lorraine Horn Hall Palmer, age 88, passed away March 16, 2013, in Lakeway, Texas. She was born on October 19, 1924 in San Antonio, Texas to Milton Horn and Helen (Fest) Horn. She was a member of the 1942 graduating class of Thomas Edison High School. She and husband John Hall were long-time members of Los Angeles Heights Presbyterian Church. She worked for more than 25 years, and retired from USAA. After retirement, she and John moved to Lake Buchanan in Tow, Texas near Kingsland, where they were active participants in the local DAV. She enjoyed spending time with her family and traveling; after John’s death, she and husband Ed Palmer traveled extensively throughout the U.S., seeing the sights and visiting family. She was greatly loved by all who knew her and will be sadly missed.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and husband John E. Hall.

She is survived by husband James Edward Palmer; sons Michael Hall and wife Joy, Randy Hall and wife Kathleen, Larry Hall and wife Darlene; grandchildren Christine Apolinar, Jason Hall and wife Hannah; and seven great-grandchildren. She is also survived by sister Helen Gay Smith and husband George, niece Linda Burton Feary, and nephews William Burton and Steven Burton and their families, as well as stepchildren Edward, James, Sandra, Leslie, and David Palmer.

Funeral service to be held at 10:00 a.m. March 20th, at Harrell Funeral Home. Burial to follow at 2:00 p.m. at Lockehill Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.

David Steele Palmer, 1933-2012

From the San Antonio Express-News online edition, December 27, 2012:

David Steele Palmer, born March 3, 1933, died December 26, 2012.  Predeceased by his parents (Mr. and Mrs. James Polk Palmer), and his wife Jerry.  Survived by his children, Dorothy Rogers, James Palmer, Jerry Lebrecht, Carol Navarro, and David Palmer III; 11 grandchldren & 5 great grandchildren. Also survived by his sister, Bernice Jordan & his brother, Rev. James Palmer.

Myrtle Kuentz Lieck, 1925-2012

From the San Antonio Express-News online edition, December 27, 2012:

Myrtle Laura (Kuentz) Lieck, age 87, died December 25, 2012.  She was born August 30, 1925 in San Antonio TX, to Joe Kuentz and Gertrude Hoffmann Kuentz.  She married Raymond Howard Lieck in 1943. Preceded in death by her parents and husband, and survived by her children, Carolyn and husband Frank (Gerry) Condel, Cheryl Palmer, and Debra Lieck.

Fred Grohman, 1927-2012

From the San Antonio Express-News online edition, December 27, 2012:

Fred Grohman, 85, died December 25, 2012.

Mr. Grohman was preceded in death by Mary Francis Grohman (17 years), his parents, Fred and Hattie Mary Grohman and his brother and sister-in-law, Leroy and Betty Grohman. He is survived by his wife of 44 ¾ years, Marilyn Tauchman Grohman; daughters, Linda Amshey, Melanie Grohman, Joni Watkins, Barbara Biemer (Larry), Carol Strickland (Tim), Lori Lampis (Sam) and Wendy Ross (James); grandchildren, Mark Amshey (Jennifer), John Amshey, David Amshey (Amy), Alison P. Ferguson (Barry), Angela Pascale (Damon Ong), Sarah Biemer, Matthew (Gennie) Strickland, Samuel Strickland (Meghan Cantu), Elizabeth S. Haynes (Austin), Jordan Ross, Haley Ross (David Wisian), Karisha Neely (Brett) and Lindsay Bradley; great grandchildren, Braxton Amshey (Mark), Brooklyn, Jonah and Luke Ferguson (Alison), Krystal, Kendyl and Kourtney Neely (Karisha), David, Devin and Ava Bradley (Lyndsay); brother, Richard O. Grohman (Puddle), sisters, Albertha Rogers (Bobby) and Viola M. Kauffman (Chuck).

Leroy Horn Jr. 1930-2012

From the obituary in today's San Antonio Express-News:

Leroy (Roy) Bernard Shelly Horn, Jr., died on November 17, 2012.... He was born in San Antonio, Texas on February 26, 1930, the only child of L.B. and Gertrude Horn who preceded him in death.
 

Birthday Girl

Today is my mother-in-law's 85th birthday. We weren't able to make the trek to Texas this year, to celebrate with her, but we did manage to get down there last year for her 84th. The second photo here was taken then. In the first shot she was about five years old, so it dates from around 1929-30. Quite a cutie, wasn't she?

I'm very fortunate in that she and I have always gotten along really well - I know that's not always the case with mothers and their daughters-in-law. She made me feel like a member of the family right from the start, and over the years she's always treated me more like a daughter than an "in-law." Of course, both of us have always thought the guy I married is pretty great - so we had that in common from the beginning.

October is a Busy Month

For some reason, September and October are important months in my family and my husband’s as well. Lots of birthdays, anniversaries and death dates in those two months. So in honor of all the October events, I’m putting up a couple of family photos today.

The first is a very fuzzy copy of an old cabinet card. The lady in the picture is my husband’s (maternal) great-grandmother, Louisa Matilda Kuentz (nicknamed “Lucy”) who was born October 6, 1869, in San Antonio TX. Her mother and father had both been born in Alsace Lorraine, France, and emigrated to this country in about 1850. Not easy to make out her features, but you can tell she must have spent quite a while with a curling iron.

The second photo has also deteriorated over time – I gave it a slight crop, but didn’t do a lot of retouching. It’s a snapshot of my grandparents shortly after they were married on October 8, 1918. My grandfather still has his WWI cavalry uniform on, so it must have been taken very soon after their wedding. He was born in Scranton PA, into a family that had only recently arrived from Wales. He was stationed in San Antonio during the war and met my grandmother there, and just stayed on after the fighting was over. Well, that’s not entirely true – there was a lot of fighting between the two of them after the war, too – but that’s another story.