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My Four Grandparent Families

My four grandparents:

  1. Lloyd Jonnes (1890-1952)
  2. Barbara Lukemire (1891-1974)
  3. Bertram Bonn (1902-1964)
  4. Helen Vermilyea (1909-1994)

How well did I know each grandparent?

I never met my paternal grandfather Lloyd Jonnes.  He died in 1952, a year before I was born.

I knew my paternal grandmother, Barbara Lukemire, somewhat well but I can’t say we were close.  Visits were rare during my childhood.  I am only sure of two such visits —

  • 1957, a week stay with us in Maplewood, Minnesota
  • 1962, several day visit to her in Santa Bernadino, California

Barbara Jonnes, Maplewood Minn., 1957

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Visiting Barbara Jonnes, San Bernadino, Calif., August 1962

Later, when Barbara developed health issues, she came to live with us in the Yellow House.  I think it was for about eight or nine months.  I was 14 as a I recall.  At the time, however, she was depressed and withdrawn.  Other than playing double solitaire, she tended to stay to herself.

I have a vivid memory of her suddenly showing interest in me one day.  She jumped up and exclaimed “My goodness, your arms are so long.  I’ve never seen arms this long.”  She pulled out a tape measure and proceeded to measure their length, talking non-stop.  I remember it well because it was so out-of-character.  She was almost never animated about anything then.  She also became animated one evening in discussing her long-lost eldest sister, Mary Lukemire, who disappeared when Barbara was about 12.

I believe Barbara struggled to understand children.  My mother made this point a few times.  She wanted us to call her Barbara for example.  We were never supposed to call her Grandma!

I saw my maternal grandfather, Bert Bonn, many times as a child, especially when we lived in Minnesota from 1955 – 1959.  Unfortunately he died of liver cancer in 1964.

Both grandfathers died at age 62  I was so nervous when I was 62!

That leaves my maternal grandmother, Helen Vermilyea.  I knew her well, both as a child and an adult.  She was the grandparent I was closest to by far.  I loved her dearly.  She’s also the only grandparent who my children came to know.  It meant a lot to be able to say goodbye at her death bed in 1994.

How well did I know each grandparent family?

The family I knew the best were the Bonns.  This is partly why I identify so much with my Norwegian heritage.  They were 100% Norwegian.

My maternal grandfather Bert Bonn had 5 siblings:

  1. Madeline Bonn (1894-1966)
  2. Orville “Jack” Bonn (1896-1985)
  3. Vernice “Bunny” Bonn (1899-1988)
  4. Beatrice Bonn (1904-1976)
  5. Dorothy “Babe” Bonn (1906-1997)

Madeline, Bea, and Babe all lived in Minnesota along with my grandfather’s family and I saw them regularly, especially Madeline until her death in 1966 and of course Babe.  Many Thanksgivings and Christmases were spent with my mother’s family, true Norwegian-Americans.  I only saw Jack Bonn and Bunny a few times each because they lived in California.  I may have met Bunny only once or twice, actually.

Only two of the siblings had children: Bert 4 and Bea 3.  Madeline, Jack, Bunny, and Babe never had children.  (I seem to recall that Bunny had a baby that died in childbirth.)  As for Jack, he never married.  He reputedly had many girlfriends, so I keep half-expecting to see a DNA match crop up!

Although I knew my maternal grandmother Helen King Vermilyea better than any other grandparent, I didn’t really know her family that well.  She had 5 siblings:

  1. David “Bud” Vermilyea (1911-1980)
  2. King Vermilyea (1914-1989)
  3. Phyllis Vermilyea (1916-1995)
  4. John Vermilyea (1919-1992)
  5. Caroline Vermilyea (1924-2014)

Of the four families, the one I knew the least was the Lukemire family.  It’s hard to believe, but to this day I have never met a Lukemire!  Except my grandmother of course.

How familiar was I with each grandparent’s hometown?

Jonnes      –  Circleville, Ohio

Lukemire  –  Williamsburg, Ohio

Bonn         –  Montevideo, Minnesota

Vermilyea –  Coleraine, Minnesota 

I know Circleville and Montevideo the best.  They are central to my life history and identity.

Curiously, I have never been to Williamsburg, Ohio.  That kind of matches up with the fact that I never met a Lukemire.  Barbara almost never talked about her family, other than the one time I remember her getting very expressive .

I did not visit Coleraine and nearby Grand Rapids, Minnesota until 2014 on a genealogical road trip.  However, Grandma Bonn told so many stories about her family and upbringing that I felt a connection to her hometown.

And yet, because of the large family involved, I have more Lukemire cousins than any of the four.

Second cousins per grandparent family:

Jonnes (Ginny 4, Burn 3)  7

Lukemire (Grace 12, John 4, Ed 4,

Bonn  (Bea 4) 4

Vermilyea (King 1+, Phyllis 4, John 5, Caroline 6) = 16

 

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