Of all the ancestors in my tree whom I have never met, these are the two people who have had a profound influence on my life. My mom’s parents, they died a few months before I was born and I love the stories I've heard about them and their love for each other.
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| 25th Anniversary |
Their faith and belief in God that they taught and shared with their daughters has continued, and sad as it was, their deaths were a deciding factor for my dad becoming a pastor, sending our family along a path, that although my siblings and I may have groaned and joked about being “pastor’s kids,” I can imagine my life any differently.
Charles Lloyd Walters was born on June 29, 1923 in Clear Lake, Iowa to Cecil Lloyd and Lillian Emma (Ransom) Walters. Chuck moved around a lot in his young life. He father was a preacher and the family was often moving from one place to another. Eventually the family settled on a farm near Annandale, Minnesota. Chuck farmed along his father and then on his own. It was here he raised his own family until the time of his death.
Marion Elisabeth Lundeen was born on February 20, 1925 to Edward and Agnes (Lindberg) Lundeen, of Albion, Minnesota (near Annandale). She attended college in St. Cloud and then taught at Annandale. My mom says she had a variety of different colored shoes she would wear to school to keep the attention of her first graders. She also considered herself "half-dressed" if she didn't have her earrings on.
Chuck and Marion were married on July 12, 1952 at the Albion Free Church, the same church where many Lundeens and Walters worshiped, were married and buried. The bride “wore an ice blue gown of nylon tulle and lace, an ice-blue veil caught at the temples with blue forget-me-nots. Her bouquet was of pink camellias, pink and white carnations. Her pearl necklace and earrings were a gift from the groom. For ‘something old’, the bride wore her grandmother’s ring of Swedish gold.”
Chuck and Marion died on July 15, 1979 and are buried next to each other in the Albion Free Church.
Very interesting. I remember going to that site where the explosion had happened when I was little. Lillian was my great grandmother,and Lloyanne my grandmother. Your blogs are very informative, thanks!
ReplyDeleteSo that makes us second cousins! Thanks for reading!
DeleteHi, Nellie--we should meet-you sound as sentimental about our family as myself and many of my Lundeen/Isaacson cousins are. I am Becky (Thommen) Nye and your Grandma Marion and my mom, Joyce (Lundeen) Thommen were first cousins. I remember that summer day in 1979 when my mom got the call from my Aunt Margaret Lundeen of Annandale about Marion and Chuck and the baby.
ReplyDeleteI'm sitting here going through photo albums reminiscing about this incredible family we are a part of and looking at some of the same pics you have on your blog.
Hi Becky,
DeleteSorry I didn't reply earlier. I haven't posted in a while and just now saw your comment. Our Lundeen family is pretty great, isn't it :) And it is always great to connect with cousins!
Hello Nellie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this entry in 2014. I am a descendant of the Chet Kallberg (1911-1994) family of Minneapolis. I grew up being told the Lundeen’s of Annandale were distant cousins of ours. Walter Lundeen of Minneapolis was a good friend of the family, and I went to Minnehaha Academy with Wade Thommen. To this day many members of my extended family purchase their cars exclusively from Lundeen Ford. My grandfather Chet and his wife (Beatrice) had a cabin on lake Pulaski during my childhood years. While there in the summers we would on occasion visit the Lundeen’s at various Annandale locations. I have a distinct memory of attending a Lundeen family gathering sometime in the 1970’s. I also remember the day when I was told there was an explosion which took the lives of 3 members of the family, however due to my young age at the time specifics of the event were scant. But the knowledge of the tragedy has stayed with me all of these years. Thus recently I decided to consult the internet to see if any information of that day could be found, and thereby fill in the specifics my memory lacked. Your blog post from almost 10 years ago was one of the first hits. My grandmother Beatrice was the family genealogist, and I am certain she was the one who told me at a young age the Lundeens were relation. However, as I grew into adulthood and began my own genealogy research, I could not find any evidence of Lundeen blood ties. Be that as it may, our families have had a close bond over the years, irrespective of actual genetics. I would be very interested to know more details of that day in 1979, such as where the house was located and even perhaps any newspaper article(s) covering the tragedy.
Sincerely,
Kurt Rosselit
Edina, MN
rosselitk@hotmail.com