CHARLES TAYLOR FAMILY (by Lorena Taylor)

CHARLES O. TAYLOR (CHUCK) was born in Chilton, Wisconsin May 16, 1913 the first child of CHARLES and KATHERINE MERTZ TAYLOR. His family was living in Chicago when his mother died during the flu epidemic of 1918. Thereafter Chuck and his brother lived with different uncles and aunts in Chilton and Hilbert, Wisconsin.

At age 21, Chuck went to Milwaukee to attend college. After a couple years with no more money and no work to be found during the depression years of the 1930's, he enlisted in the Army Engineers. As a corporal, he did a geodetic survey of the West Coast and some bench marks bearing his name still can be found in that area. Later he transferred to the Army Air Corp and was in the initial cade that opened Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas in the summer of 1941.

I was born Nov. 4, 1921 and raised in Muenster, the eleventh child of JOE and EMMA PULTE FISHER. I graduated from Sacred Heart High in the first graduating class in 1939, attended Our Lady of Victory College in Fort Worth and North Texas State University. It was while I was in my first year of teaching at Wichita Falls that I met Chuck.

Chuck and I were married here in Sacred Heart Church Sept. 17, 1942 and from then on lived in many places, wherever the military sent him. First there was Washington, D.C., then San Antonio, followed by Independence, Kansas where our first child, ROGER DONALD was born Dec. 23, 1943. From there Chuck was transferred to Monore, LA. The next assignment took him to Atlanta, Georgia. I came back home to have our second child, VIRGINIA LEE (GINNY), born in Gainesville on Jan. 21, 1946, as we could not find housing in Georgia.

Next, Chuck was sent to the Phillipine Islands. One year later, and with another child, JEROME ALLAN (JERRY), also born in Gainesville, March 10, 1947, three young children and I joined over a hundred wives and their children on a 23 day trip by Army transport ship to the Phillipines. This was shortly after World War II and the living conditions outside Manila were quite a challenge, but interesting. We were happy, as we were together again. It was an experience I would not trade for a million dollars, nor give a nickel to repeat.

When we returned to the states we lived on base at Wright-Patterson, Ohio for two years, followed by two years at Midwest City, Oklahoma. Chuck's next order took him back overseas to Korea during that war. Again the children and I came back to Muenster to live. After his return we were moved to Georgia where our last child, STEVEN CHARLES, was born in Atlanta, April 2, 1956.

By now Chuck was eligible and applied for retirement as we wanted a more stable home life for our children. He retired from the Air Force after having completed over 20 years of service and having held every rank from Private through retirement grade of Lieutenant Colonel. We moved back to Muenster in November, 1956 where we had brought the former Henry Fette farm, two miles south of town.

Our children easily adjusted to country life and Chuck and I became involved in church, school, and civic activities. To our great loss, in 1963, Chuck had a serious heart attack and died at Sheppard, AFB ten days later on April 16. The children and I stayed on the farm until after the three oldest left for college.

When Muenster Memorial Hospital opened up Feb. 3, 1964, I started to work there and continued on until I retired in November, 1986. In 1971, I sold our farm and the next spring Steve and I moved into a house I had built across the street from the hospital and where I still live, at 408 W. Sixth Street.

Our children are scattered except for ROGER who lives here with his wife, JANE (ENDRES), and children SANDY and SCOTT. Roger is the co-owner of the Muenster Garden Center, GINNY lives with her husband PRENTISS (PETE) MANGUM and three children, JOHN, MICHAEL and SARAH at Seattle, Washington. PETE is a retired Army pilot and is now working for the National Transportation Safety Board investigating airplane crashes. GINNY is a registered nurse and works part-time.

JERRY and his wife, JANE (DOLAN) are living in St. Louis, MO where they both teach physics and math. STEVE and DOREEN (PELS) are parents of NICHOLAS and twins, LAURA and ADAM, and now live in Muenster. He is an assistant manager of a Wal-Mart store.

MUENSTER TEXAS: A CENTENNIAL HISTORY, 1889-1989, Compiled & Edited by The History Division, Muenster Centennial Committee, Muenster, Texas, 1989, Pgs. 561-562

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