Laurence Shepard Austin married Mary Kathryn Vance (don't know the date yet, but I'm still looking)
Laurence was born July 29, 1902 and died June 17, 1961. He was 58 when he died of breast cancer. He's buried at Mt. Moriah Baptist Cemetery in Smithfield, Pennsylvania.
Laurence and Mary (Pap-pap and Grandma Austin in my world) had three children:
James Robert Austin - Born November 11, 1925 (Married to Leora Mardell Kennison) * my parents
Pearl Louise Austin - Born July 14, 1927 (Married to Gilbert Hyland)
Omer Vance Austin - Born April 10, 1929 (Married to Dorla Firestone)
I don't remember much about my grandfather. I know that he worked for the B&O Railroad when it carried passengers. I've heard stories about how my grandmother and grandfather traveled from western Pennsylvania to Chicago (where I was born) by train for my first birthday, bringing ice cream snowballs, rolled in coconut and stored on dry ice for the trip.
I know they had a dairy bar/restaurant across the street and that he helped my grandmother there after he stopped working for the railroad. (More about that in snippets about my grandmother)
I don't have any warm, fuzzy memories of Pap-pap. Most of my memories were from the time in his life that he was incredibly sick with cancer.
My mother was a nurse and she agreed to take care of Pap-pap at home so that he could die at home. I remember living there (and getting on his nerves). Since he died in June, I'm guessing we went to live there when school was out. I can't imagine how much pain he was in.
I got on his nerves, but my brother got on his nerves even more. Jimmy was only 3 at the time. I think the noise and general confusion of the presence of a 3-year-old could be hard to tolerate for my grandfather at that time. I was away from the house as much as possible.
I spent my days at the stables down the hill, behind the funeral home next door, that belonged to my great Uncle Jim. I learned to curry and brush the horses, muck the stable, and best of all, I learned to ride. The horses were 3-gaited show horses and my uncle had a large ring with a grass center, cut out of the grass - the size of a show ring, where we would ride.
When I went back to the house at dinner time, and my grandmother (or mother) would say, "Ew! You smell like a horse!", I smiled all the way down to my toes. I loved the smell of horses and the stable. It was my sanity that summer.
In retrospect, I'm kind of amazed at my mother. She didn't like my grandfather much (or at all) and yet she volunteered to take care of him 24/7 so he could die at home - AND drag a 3-year-old and a 13-year-old with her. Where was my father? I think he came and went on the weekends. I believe he had started his optometry practice by then.
It was a long, sad summer and one I quickly put in the back of my mind - except for the horses.
More information about Laurence:Father: Robert Hawley Austin
Mother: Laura Mae Shepard
Laurence was born July 29, 1902 and died June 17, 1961. He was 58 when he died of breast cancer. He's buried at Mt. Moriah Baptist Cemetery in Smithfield, Pennsylvania.
Laurence and Mary (Pap-pap and Grandma Austin in my world) had three children:
James Robert Austin - Born November 11, 1925 (Married to Leora Mardell Kennison) * my parents
Pearl Louise Austin - Born July 14, 1927 (Married to Gilbert Hyland)
Omer Vance Austin - Born April 10, 1929 (Married to Dorla Firestone)
I don't remember much about my grandfather. I know that he worked for the B&O Railroad when it carried passengers. I've heard stories about how my grandmother and grandfather traveled from western Pennsylvania to Chicago (where I was born) by train for my first birthday, bringing ice cream snowballs, rolled in coconut and stored on dry ice for the trip.
I know they had a dairy bar/restaurant across the street and that he helped my grandmother there after he stopped working for the railroad. (More about that in snippets about my grandmother)
I don't have any warm, fuzzy memories of Pap-pap. Most of my memories were from the time in his life that he was incredibly sick with cancer.
My mother was a nurse and she agreed to take care of Pap-pap at home so that he could die at home. I remember living there (and getting on his nerves). Since he died in June, I'm guessing we went to live there when school was out. I can't imagine how much pain he was in.
I got on his nerves, but my brother got on his nerves even more. Jimmy was only 3 at the time. I think the noise and general confusion of the presence of a 3-year-old could be hard to tolerate for my grandfather at that time. I was away from the house as much as possible.
I spent my days at the stables down the hill, behind the funeral home next door, that belonged to my great Uncle Jim. I learned to curry and brush the horses, muck the stable, and best of all, I learned to ride. The horses were 3-gaited show horses and my uncle had a large ring with a grass center, cut out of the grass - the size of a show ring, where we would ride.
When I went back to the house at dinner time, and my grandmother (or mother) would say, "Ew! You smell like a horse!", I smiled all the way down to my toes. I loved the smell of horses and the stable. It was my sanity that summer.
In retrospect, I'm kind of amazed at my mother. She didn't like my grandfather much (or at all) and yet she volunteered to take care of him 24/7 so he could die at home - AND drag a 3-year-old and a 13-year-old with her. Where was my father? I think he came and went on the weekends. I believe he had started his optometry practice by then.
It was a long, sad summer and one I quickly put in the back of my mind - except for the horses.
More information about Laurence:Father: Robert Hawley Austin
Mother: Laura Mae Shepard
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