Marie Willing, First Communion
Marie & Harry, 1926.
Marie was born on January, 23, 1910 in Racine, Wisconsin to John and Elizabeth (Thielen) Willing along with her siblings: Bernard, Hildegard, Raymond, Edmond and Genevieve. She attended grade school and one year of high school before leaving to attend a vocational school. During the summer, Marie picked strawberries at a local farm until she was hired at Kressig Dimestore in downtown Racine. Her sister, Genevieve, recalls in her memoir that "Marie loved to dance and ice skate" as a teenager and was often found on weekends at the Surf Ballroom dancing to the Wayne King Band and that "she was always full of fun and an interesting talker like Papa".
I have never heard how my grandparents met but as evidenced by the photo they were clearly dating in 1926, Marie was 16 and Harry 18. Four years later they were married and shortly after that moved to Kenosha where my Grandfather painted "coming attraction" signs for a local movie theatre and their first child, Joan, was born. The family made another move to Manitowoc, where they welcomed daughter Marlene before settling in Milwaukee where William and Don were born. I have no doubt she was a wonderful mother, baking (I've posted her recipe for her famous "cheese pie" in the recipe section) sewing for her children. When her son Don developed diabetes at the age of eight, she was diligent with his diet measuring all his food and watching him constantly. Don died at the age of 33 from complications of diabetes and it is a blessing she did not have to witness his death.
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Harry & Marie Atwell with their children: Joan, Marlene, Billy, Don 1941 or 1942.
I remember the house on 35th Street in Milwaukee that my grandparents shared, however, I only remember my Grandpa living there. As a child I spent the night one time and slept on one of two Jenny Lind beds, the same beds used by my aunts when they were children. I have these beds now. My Dad was cleaning out his basement and was ready to part with them, but I wasn't.