Charles E. Ettinger was a son of Paul C. Ettinger and Rubie (nee Weber) Ettinger. He was baptized at Grace Evangelical Congregational Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania on Nov. 11, 1921.
Charles was thrice-married and divorced. His first wife was Beatrice Laura Knerr, daughter of Asa G and Clementine (nee Fegley) Knerr, and she was recalled by my mom as working at the Allen Laundry. At the time of the wedding, Charles worked at Bethlehem Steel and both had attended Allentown High School. They married May 23, 1943, and divorced September 15, 1948. Beatrice not long thereafter married Ezra Allen Wenner, Jr. on Christmas Day 1949 when she was 33 and Ezra was 22.
Charles' second marriage was February 26, 1949 to Evelyn M. Merkel, daughter of Norman and Marion (nee Agor) Merkel. I'd been told he had had no children with his wives, so imagine my surprise in April of 2014 when I found that he and Evelyn had a daughter baptized at Grace Evangelical Congregational Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the family church on January 1, 1950. I thought, "Wow, maybe there's a family member (or more than one if she had a family) out there I have yet to meet." It seems there is, because moments later I found he had a son with Evelyn too, baptized at the same church on February 28, 1954. Much later in fall of 2017, I found a newspaper article about one son's baptism and it mentioned the boy had a brother, meaning there were three children of the marriage of Charles and "Lynn" as she was sometimes known. The Morning Call cites their divorce as occurring in September 1957.
Chick threw me one more surprise. I'd been told he married twice, but I found a record of him wedding Marcella L Hilbert at Grace Church on November 9, 1962, the vows overseen by Rev. C. W. Barner. Locating Marcella's obituary, I learned I have no more surprise cousins out there. Both of them had come into this union with previous marriages, Chick's as above, and Marcella had been wed young on September 2, 1944 to Edward Bentz, who was then in the army, and was a son of Frank and Carolyn.
Charles worked with his father in the family's C.H. Ettinger plumbing and heating business, and later (in 1948 struck) out on his own as a master plumber. His firm emerged clearly in the Morning Call in 1952 while C. H. Ettinger was still in business and both firms appear in an ad for Merion hot water heaters, suggesting you trust your local master plumber for installation.
He ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Allentown in 1959, and graciously took out a newspaper add to thank those who'd supported him and congratulate the winners. He was a local councilman (1969-1973) known as "Chick" Ettinger, and was very socially active. As a young man, he was a bit of a hellraiser who enjoyed drinking and carousing. My mom remembers his being on a school trip to New York City as a young man, and an incident involving a glass door of the train, necessitating his getting immediate medical treatment upon return to Allentown. Charles lived high in his later years as well, enjoying the influence of his position and a succession of new Cadillacs. Charles' dad Paul was clean living and low-key; Chick probably should have been born to my grandpa instead.
On March 14, 1969, Charles' cabin on Adams Island in Allentown burned down. If you have time to remember the firefighter who died trying to put it out, Gary Schafer thank you.
Charles died of cancer of the throat which had spread. His obituary was run before the Allentown newspapers had online archives, so it will need to be researched at the library, but it appeared on August 19, 1978 on page 44.
Charles was thrice-married and divorced. His first wife was Beatrice Laura Knerr, daughter of Asa G and Clementine (nee Fegley) Knerr, and she was recalled by my mom as working at the Allen Laundry. At the time of the wedding, Charles worked at Bethlehem Steel and both had attended Allentown High School. They married May 23, 1943, and divorced September 15, 1948. Beatrice not long thereafter married Ezra Allen Wenner, Jr. on Christmas Day 1949 when she was 33 and Ezra was 22.
Charles' second marriage was February 26, 1949 to Evelyn M. Merkel, daughter of Norman and Marion (nee Agor) Merkel. I'd been told he had had no children with his wives, so imagine my surprise in April of 2014 when I found that he and Evelyn had a daughter baptized at Grace Evangelical Congregational Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the family church on January 1, 1950. I thought, "Wow, maybe there's a family member (or more than one if she had a family) out there I have yet to meet." It seems there is, because moments later I found he had a son with Evelyn too, baptized at the same church on February 28, 1954. Much later in fall of 2017, I found a newspaper article about one son's baptism and it mentioned the boy had a brother, meaning there were three children of the marriage of Charles and "Lynn" as she was sometimes known. The Morning Call cites their divorce as occurring in September 1957.
Chick threw me one more surprise. I'd been told he married twice, but I found a record of him wedding Marcella L Hilbert at Grace Church on November 9, 1962, the vows overseen by Rev. C. W. Barner. Locating Marcella's obituary, I learned I have no more surprise cousins out there. Both of them had come into this union with previous marriages, Chick's as above, and Marcella had been wed young on September 2, 1944 to Edward Bentz, who was then in the army, and was a son of Frank and Carolyn.
Charles worked with his father in the family's C.H. Ettinger plumbing and heating business, and later (in 1948 struck) out on his own as a master plumber. His firm emerged clearly in the Morning Call in 1952 while C. H. Ettinger was still in business and both firms appear in an ad for Merion hot water heaters, suggesting you trust your local master plumber for installation.
He ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Allentown in 1959, and graciously took out a newspaper add to thank those who'd supported him and congratulate the winners. He was a local councilman (1969-1973) known as "Chick" Ettinger, and was very socially active. As a young man, he was a bit of a hellraiser who enjoyed drinking and carousing. My mom remembers his being on a school trip to New York City as a young man, and an incident involving a glass door of the train, necessitating his getting immediate medical treatment upon return to Allentown. Charles lived high in his later years as well, enjoying the influence of his position and a succession of new Cadillacs. Charles' dad Paul was clean living and low-key; Chick probably should have been born to my grandpa instead.
On March 14, 1969, Charles' cabin on Adams Island in Allentown burned down. If you have time to remember the firefighter who died trying to put it out, Gary Schafer thank you.
Charles died of cancer of the throat which had spread. His obituary was run before the Allentown newspapers had online archives, so it will need to be researched at the library, but it appeared on August 19, 1978 on page 44.
Charles E. Ettinger was a son of Paul C. Ettinger and Rubie (nee Weber) Ettinger. He was baptized at Grace Evangelical Congregational Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania on Nov. 11, 1921.
Charles was thrice-married and divorced. His first wife was Beatrice Laura Knerr, daughter of Asa G and Clementine (nee Fegley) Knerr, and she was recalled by my mom as working at the Allen Laundry. At the time of the wedding, Charles worked at Bethlehem Steel and both had attended Allentown High School. They married May 23, 1943, and divorced September 15, 1948. Beatrice not long thereafter married Ezra Allen Wenner, Jr. on Christmas Day 1949 when she was 33 and Ezra was 22.
Charles' second marriage was February 26, 1949 to Evelyn M. Merkel, daughter of Norman and Marion (nee Agor) Merkel. I'd been told he had had no children with his wives, so imagine my surprise in April of 2014 when I found that he and Evelyn had a daughter baptized at Grace Evangelical Congregational Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the family church on January 1, 1950. I thought, "Wow, maybe there's a family member (or more than one if she had a family) out there I have yet to meet." It seems there is, because moments later I found he had a son with Evelyn too, baptized at the same church on February 28, 1954. Much later in fall of 2017, I found a newspaper article about one son's baptism and it mentioned the boy had a brother, meaning there were three children of the marriage of Charles and "Lynn" as she was sometimes known. The Morning Call cites their divorce as occurring in September 1957.
Chick threw me one more surprise. I'd been told he married twice, but I found a record of him wedding Marcella L Hilbert at Grace Church on November 9, 1962, the vows overseen by Rev. C. W. Barner. Locating Marcella's obituary, I learned I have no more surprise cousins out there. Both of them had come into this union with previous marriages, Chick's as above, and Marcella had been wed young on September 2, 1944 to Edward Bentz, who was then in the army, and was a son of Frank and Carolyn.
Charles worked with his father in the family's C.H. Ettinger plumbing and heating business, and later (in 1948 struck) out on his own as a master plumber. His firm emerged clearly in the Morning Call in 1952 while C. H. Ettinger was still in business and both firms appear in an ad for Merion hot water heaters, suggesting you trust your local master plumber for installation.
He ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Allentown in 1959, and graciously took out a newspaper add to thank those who'd supported him and congratulate the winners. He was a local councilman (1969-1973) known as "Chick" Ettinger, and was very socially active. As a young man, he was a bit of a hellraiser who enjoyed drinking and carousing. My mom remembers his being on a school trip to New York City as a young man, and an incident involving a glass door of the train, necessitating his getting immediate medical treatment upon return to Allentown. Charles lived high in his later years as well, enjoying the influence of his position and a succession of new Cadillacs. Charles' dad Paul was clean living and low-key; Chick probably should have been born to my grandpa instead.
On March 14, 1969, Charles' cabin on Adams Island in Allentown burned down. If you have time to remember the firefighter who died trying to put it out, Gary Schafer thank you.
Charles died of cancer of the throat which had spread. His obituary was run before the Allentown newspapers had online archives, so it will need to be researched at the library, but it appeared on August 19, 1978 on page 44.
Charles was thrice-married and divorced. His first wife was Beatrice Laura Knerr, daughter of Asa G and Clementine (nee Fegley) Knerr, and she was recalled by my mom as working at the Allen Laundry. At the time of the wedding, Charles worked at Bethlehem Steel and both had attended Allentown High School. They married May 23, 1943, and divorced September 15, 1948. Beatrice not long thereafter married Ezra Allen Wenner, Jr. on Christmas Day 1949 when she was 33 and Ezra was 22.
Charles' second marriage was February 26, 1949 to Evelyn M. Merkel, daughter of Norman and Marion (nee Agor) Merkel. I'd been told he had had no children with his wives, so imagine my surprise in April of 2014 when I found that he and Evelyn had a daughter baptized at Grace Evangelical Congregational Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the family church on January 1, 1950. I thought, "Wow, maybe there's a family member (or more than one if she had a family) out there I have yet to meet." It seems there is, because moments later I found he had a son with Evelyn too, baptized at the same church on February 28, 1954. Much later in fall of 2017, I found a newspaper article about one son's baptism and it mentioned the boy had a brother, meaning there were three children of the marriage of Charles and "Lynn" as she was sometimes known. The Morning Call cites their divorce as occurring in September 1957.
Chick threw me one more surprise. I'd been told he married twice, but I found a record of him wedding Marcella L Hilbert at Grace Church on November 9, 1962, the vows overseen by Rev. C. W. Barner. Locating Marcella's obituary, I learned I have no more surprise cousins out there. Both of them had come into this union with previous marriages, Chick's as above, and Marcella had been wed young on September 2, 1944 to Edward Bentz, who was then in the army, and was a son of Frank and Carolyn.
Charles worked with his father in the family's C.H. Ettinger plumbing and heating business, and later (in 1948 struck) out on his own as a master plumber. His firm emerged clearly in the Morning Call in 1952 while C. H. Ettinger was still in business and both firms appear in an ad for Merion hot water heaters, suggesting you trust your local master plumber for installation.
He ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Allentown in 1959, and graciously took out a newspaper add to thank those who'd supported him and congratulate the winners. He was a local councilman (1969-1973) known as "Chick" Ettinger, and was very socially active. As a young man, he was a bit of a hellraiser who enjoyed drinking and carousing. My mom remembers his being on a school trip to New York City as a young man, and an incident involving a glass door of the train, necessitating his getting immediate medical treatment upon return to Allentown. Charles lived high in his later years as well, enjoying the influence of his position and a succession of new Cadillacs. Charles' dad Paul was clean living and low-key; Chick probably should have been born to my grandpa instead.
On March 14, 1969, Charles' cabin on Adams Island in Allentown burned down. If you have time to remember the firefighter who died trying to put it out, Gary Schafer thank you.
Charles died of cancer of the throat which had spread. His obituary was run before the Allentown newspapers had online archives, so it will need to be researched at the library, but it appeared on August 19, 1978 on page 44.
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