ForeverMissed
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Her Life
Mom Feb. 2008 Granite Baptist Church Senior Sunday school class ( The Corner Stones ) Trip to Hershey Pa., and then we went to Sight And Sound to see the show

My Mom ... Mary Ann Fefel Harrison

January 6, 2013

My Mom was born March 27th.1914. Her family always said, when she was born she was small enough to fit in a cigar box..I grew up hearing from her that she was 4'11"... but in her senior years, her doctor measured her to be 4'8'' . ( Due to her age and osteoarthritis, she could have shrunk 3").  She was small in stature but had the strength and will of a giant. 1914 was a time when most people had horse and buggies..Very few cars were on the road...She had a wonderful loving Irish / German mother ( Mary Ann Gallagher Fefel, 12/21/1872- 4/7/1941 ). Mom was the youngest of 7 siblings....Catherine 1896-2002, Sarah 1899-1968, Barbara 1902-1995, Louis A.Z. 1904-1961, ( John Oliver 1905-1910,) Margaret E. 1910-1984..


Her father( Louis Albert Zell Fefel 1871-1935 )was a huxter with many horses and wagons which sold all sorts of food staples...fruits, vegetable, fish, etc.   He hired men to drive the wagons. They would follow him in a line, down to the wharfs on Pratt and Light st. where he would purchase the staples and load all the wagons for the day....Mom said they always had good and plenty, even during the depression.


In the winter when it snowed, her father would hitch the horses to a sleigh and take her and other family members to school..      

     

Mom's good life... turns bad.

March 28, 2015
           By the time she was 9 yrs. old,she had to stay home to care for her loving mother who had become an invalid. In those days the term " Parkinsons Desease " was not known. The way Mom discribed her mothers condition ( shaking so bad she couldn't sleep, walk or feed herself. ) Mom would bend her mothers knees and lay down next to her, putting her mothers knees between Mom's Knees, and holding her hands tight to keep her mother from shaking. This was the only way her mother could fall asleep. The family took her to many doctors..and religious healers, but nothing helped. 
           By the time my Mom was 14, the family decided to sell the house and move my Mom and grandmom in with the older married siblings. For 7 yrs. they were shuffled back and forth between two of my mother's older sisters. ( Catherine and Barbara ) Mom's father had moved in with daughter Barbara. 
            When Mom was 21 her father passed away, and 1 year later  on Feb. 19th, 1936 , she married my father Bernard who was 19 at the time. They rented a 1 bedroom apartment near both of her sister's, so she could be close enough to help take care of her  mother. 
            The following year on April 7th 1937 her first child was born. ( Junior )... 13 months later on May 12th 1938, she gave birth to her second child ( Jimmy )..During this time she was still helping to care for her mother.
When her baby Jimmy was 17 1/2 months old he got pneumonia, and passed away on Dec.31st 1939...during that time Mom was 4 1/2 mos. pregnant with her 3rd child ( Carleen ) who was born on May 20th 1940... By this time my father was only supporting his family part of the time.. One year after Carleen was born, Mom's mother passed away.( on Juniors birthday April 7, 1941)....Needless to say, by that time the marriage was disintegrating. The problem was....she didn't approve of bar rooms and alcohol, and babysitters were for emergencies only. If she couldn't take her children, she stayed home with them !!( My father was the opposit of her. ) She married a man who enjoyed drinking and running in bars, with other women. Time after time she forgave him !! and during WWII..Mom went before a judge and had him drafted into the army, because he wasn't supporting his family. After his Basic Training, he came back home on leave, before shipping out to Europe. Mom tried to make things work again, thinking he would change his ways. Everything was fine when he left for England on Sept. 16th 1944. From England he went to Germany.   While he was there, Mom wrote and  told him she was pregnant. He was wounded in action on Feb.6th 1945 and recieved the Purple Heart. Their last baby  Bernadette ( me ) was born Apr. 23rd 1945, while he was in Metz France,  After the war was over he returned to the U.S. on Dec. 20th 1945.. And was mustered out of the army on Jan. 5th 1946.