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GRAHL (GROELER) Family History, Part III

Arthur William GRAHL⁴ (1910-1977)

1261. Arthur William Grahl⁴ was born on September 18, 1910, in Wyandotte, Wayne County, Michigan. He served just under a year at Camp Campbell, Kentucky, during World War II and afterward, on December 22, 1943, he married Catherine Eva Jurkewicz, a native of New York who moved to Wayne County as a toddler. They had two children:

12611.	Ardith Kay Grahl5	--	--	--
12612.	Arthur William "Billy" Grahl, Jr.	26 Sep 1948	10 Oct 2010	(62)

Arthur grew up in Wayne County, Michigan, south of Detroit. He and his family moved to 3326 11th Street in Wyandotte by 1930, probably after his father died. He worked as a machinist there in 1941.^{[City 1930, 1941]}

During World War II, Arthur was drafted into the Army in Detroit as a private on October 14, 1942. He was assigned to Camp Campbell (later Fort Campbell), Kentucky, which had just been constructed that year. Judging from his shoulder insignia, he was assigned to the 12th Armored Division, the "Hellcats," which was activated at Camp Campbell a month before he enlisted. Arthur's service was cut short when pain in his right leg caused by a varicose great saphenous vein became unbearable. He had been bothered by the vein since 1939 so a medical disability board reviewed his case in September 1943 and approved him for an honorable discharge. During this time he was assigned to Casual Company of the "3557th SU". Arthur was discharged on October 2, 1943, and returned to Wyandotte. Soon after Arthur's discharge, the 12th Armored Division was restationed to Abilene, Texas, and went on to sweep across northern France, the Maginot Line, and, as General Patton's "mystery division" in Third Army, southern Germany.

Upon return to Wyandotte, Arthur and Catherine Eva Jurkewicz obtained a marriage license on December 16, 1943, and were wed on December 22 in Belleville, Wayne County, to the west of Wyandotte. Arthur was 33 years old and Catherine was 26 (although she wrote down 25). Arthur had been working as a laborer and Catherine as a riveter--a "Rosie the Riveter"! Witnesses for their marriage were Arthur's younger sister Sophia and Catherine's twin sister Estelle Sampson.^{[Marr 1943]}

In the mid-1940s he moved to Pontiac, Oakland County, to the north of Detroit and started a family. He worked at the Fisher Body Division of General Motors as a layout man in 1955 and at that time lived at 55 Earlmoor Boulevard.^{[City 1955]} Arthur worked as a welder for 25 years at GM.

The Grahl family moved west to California, around 1955 or 1956, a little while after his in-laws did, and settled in Analy Township, Sonoma County, on the outskirts of Sebastopol.

Catherine Eve (Jurkewicz) Grahl died on June 2, 1974, in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California, at the age of 56 years. She was buried at Pleasant Hill Memorial Park in Sebastopol.

Arthur William Grahl died three years later on October 18, 1977, in Sonoma County, at the age of 67 years. He is also buried at Pleasant Hill Memorial Park in Sebastopol.

Benjamin F. GRAHL (1912-1995)

1262. Benjamin F. Grahl was born on October 11, 1912, in Michigan, likely in Wyandotte or Ecorse, Wayne County.

Ben lived at home with his mother at least through 1940. He worked at a gasket factory in 1930, but as the Depression dragged on, holding employment became tougher. Come 1939 he only managed to work for 18 weeks and earned $350. He was unemployed and seeking work in 1940.^{[Cen 1939, 1940]} The following year, Ben was listed as a stock (person).^{[City 1941]}

Ben lived with his mother at 45089 Ecorse Road, Belleville, Wayne County, at the time of her death in 1951.

Later Ben moved in with his sister Sophie after her divorce.

Benjamin F. Grahl died on March 8, 1995, in Wyandotte at the age of 82.^{[Dth 1995]} He had been living with his sister Sophie at the time.

Charles E. GRAHL (1914-1989)

1263. Charles "Chuck" E. Grahl was born on May 8, 1914, in Michigan, likely in Wyandotte or Ecorse, Wayne County. He married Dorothy Forrest and had one daughter:

12631.

Dorothy Grahl

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--

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Chuck lived at home with his mother at least through 1940. Employment was hard to find during the Depression and come 1939 he only managed to work for 3 weeks and earned $55. He was unemployed and seeking work in 1940.^{[Cen 1939, 1940]} The following year, Charles was listed as a machinist at The Beals & Selkirk Trunk Company, which was across the railroad tracks and about six blocks north at 6th Street and Superior Boulevard.^{[City 1941]}

Chuck and Dorothy later divorced and Chuck remarried to a woman named Lucille.

Dorothy worked as a cashier for General Motors Truck Company (GMTC) Federal Credit Union in Pontiac in 1955.^{[City 1955]}

Charles lived at 35835 Schley Street in Westland by 1983 and lived here until his death.^{[Public 1983]}

Charles E. Grahl died on December 12, 1989, at the age of 75, in Coweta County, Georgia. He had been living in neighboring Heard County at the time.^{[Dth 1989]}

Otto Richard GRAHL (1916-1989)

1265. Otto Richard Grahl was born on October 14, 1916, in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan. He married Agnes Eleanor Oden (Ogoniewicz/Ogon) around 1940 and had two children:

12651.	Richard Grahl	--	--	--
12652.	Janice Grahl	--	--	--

Otto registered for the draft in 1940 at the age of 23. At the time he was living on 30th Street in Detroit and worked for George Harms at 426 East Jefferson Avenue (General Motors), along the Detroit River in Wyanotte. He was described as 5' 11" tall, 143 pounds, with grey eyes, brown hair, a ruddy complexion, and a scar on his right wrist.^{[Draft 1940]}

The Grahls were married around 1940 and moved south to 1024 Fort Park Boulevard in Lincoln Park, Wayne County, by 1944, where Otto worked at Ford's River Rouge plant as a coremaker.^{[City 1944]}

Otto enlisted in the U.S. Army on August 3, 1945, a couple months after the fall of Berlin and German surrender, and just days before the atomic bombings and surrender of Japan. He served just 12 days short of year and was discharged on July 23, 1946.

The family remained at 1024 Fort Park Boulevard through at least 1947, but after the war Otto took up work as a linoleum layer for Wilkinson Floor Covering in Detroit.^{[City 1947]} Soon after they moved around the block to 1406 Reo Avenue in Lincoln Park.^{[City 1950]}

The Grahl family later lived in Garden City, Wayne County, Michigan, in the western suburbs of Detroit.

Agnes Eleanor (Oden) Grahl died of cancer on June 14, 1986, in Southfield, Oakland County, Michigan, at the age of 70.^{[Dth 1986]}

Otto Richard Grahl died three years later after battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ("ALS" or "Lou Gehrig's disease") on May 19, 1989, in Novi, Oakland County, Michigan. He was 72 years old.^{[Dth 1989]}

Sophia (GRAHL) CARNEY (~1920-~2009)

1266. Sophia "Sophie" Grahl was born about 1920 or 1921 in Michigan, probably in Ecorse or Wyandotte, Wayne County. She married Earl Carney, a truck driver, and had three sons:

12661.	William Carney	--	--	--
12662.	Robert Carney	--	--	--
12663.	John Carney	--	--	--

Sophie was only three years old when her father was tragically run over by a freight train. She lived at home with her mother and elder brothers at 3326 11th Street in Wyandotte, through at least 1941, when she was listed as a waitress in Wyandotte.^{[City 1941]}

Sophie and Earl later divorced, and sometime afterward her elder brother Ben moved in with her until he died in 1995.

Sophia (Grahl) Carney died about 2009.