Wokasch Family

Genealogy, family history, obituaries, and more…

Archive for May, 2009

Margaret Wokasch (Doubek)

May 31

Posted by Mike Wokasch in Obituaries, Wokasch family | No Comments

Margaret Wokasch
Margaret M. Wokasch, 95, of Nile Health Care Center in Minneapolis, died May 18.

Mrs. Wokasch was born on Feb. 15, 1902 to Frank and Antonia (Levenez) Doubek in Rice Lake.

She was a retiree of Char-Lynn and a member of many singing groups in the Minneapolis area, the last being the Happy Re-treads.
Survivors include two sons, Russell and William; four daughters, Elizabeth Edlund, Rita Wokasch, Donna Wiese and Margaret Pfeifer; and 23 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, and a great-great-grandchild. She is also survived by nieces and nephews in the Rice Lake area. Her husband, William Wokasch, died in 1949.

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Distress on the East Side; Hundreds of Families Without Work or Food

May 31

Posted by Mike Wokasch in In the news, genealogy | No Comments

This is an interesting article from the New York Times from March 3, 1894 that discusses the distress of a Wokasch family of eight.  My best guess is that this is the original Adolph Wokasch family.  But it is possible that there is another Wokasch family.

That portion of the city east of Second Avenue, between Seventieth and Ninetieth Streets, is populated by large numbers of working people about whose poverty not much has been said heretofore, because they have struggled bravely against misfortune, and have made their wants known only when starvation and eviction stared them in the face.  It is the district where most of the cigars produced in New York are made–the tenement-house cigar shop district, where thousands of men, women, and children are huddled together, making cheap cigars by day and by night, and inhaling a heavy, rank atmosphere.

Miss E. Wells, Principal of the Jones Memorial School, at 417 East Seventy-third Street, has written to the Business Men’s Committee of the Industrial Christian Alliance, saying that the opening of a people’s restaurant and cheap grocery store would be very beneficial in that district, where hundreds of families are without any work, and have very little relief.  From Seventieth to Seventy-eight Street, east of Second Avenue, there are large numbers of working people, chiefly Bohemian cigarmakers, who are suffering from the effects of strikes.  Many families are in debt for the necessaries of life.  Their rents are long overdue, and the tradesmen feel discouraged by the inability of the people to meet their obligations.  Miss Wells has in her school nearly 500 children from the poorest families.  Over 300 of them are fed daily at the school, and the meals they get there are the only good ones that they eat during the day.  She wishes the committee to send some one to investigate her statements.

1894 MAR 3 – New York Times – Distress on the East Side.

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Mary Ann Wokasch

May 30

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Mary Ann Wokasch (Cass Lake Times)
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Mary Ann Wokasch, 62, of rural Cass Lake, died Oct. 12, 1995 at her home.

Funeral services were held Oct. 16 at the Cease Family Funeral Home in Cass Lake with the Rev. Gerald Algers officiating. Interment will be at the Minnesota State Veteran’s Cemetery in Little Falls, MN.

She was born on Oct. 5, 1933, at Wallingford, Iowa the daughter of Alfred and Helene Gunderson. Her father died when she was 2 years old. Her mother later married Mark Husby, who became her stepfather.

They moved to Jackson, MN where she was raised and educated, graduating from Jackson H. S. in 1951. She attended Business College in Iowa.

She married Duane Wokasch on Sept. 18, 1954 in Jackson. They moved to Minneapolis where she worked as a secretary at the Public Health Center.

They moved to Buffalo Lake, MN in 1969 where she worked at the Buffalo Lake Nursing Home and also the school district. In 1980, they moved to the Cass Lake area, residing on Leech Lake.

She is survived by her husband, Duane of Cass Lake; three sons; Thomas (Gail) Wokasch of Camano Island, Wash., Michael (Barbara) Wokasch of Holland, Michigan, and Mark Wokasch of Ft. Hood, Texas; and a daughter, Patricia (Neil) Burgstahler of Stewart, MN.

She was preceded in death by her parents, a sister, Helen Davies, and three brothers: Leroy, Sherman and Alan.

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Frank S. Henn

May 28

Posted by Mike Wokasch in Henn family, Obituaries | No Comments

Frank S. Henn of Frazee Dies At Age of 88

Frank and Mary's Wedding Photo

Frank and Mary's Wedding Photo

FRAZEE — Frank S. Henn, 88, died Wednesday evening at St. Mary’s Hospital in Detroit Lakes.

Mr. Henn was born in New Jersey Dec. 26, 1873, and had lived in the Frazee vicinity since 1907. He was married to Mary Schmitz at the St. Joesph Catholic church near Perham Nov. 4, 1897. She preceded him in death in 1926.

Surviving are three sonds, George of Frazee; Alex of Perham; Leo of Little Falls; and five daughters, Mrs. C. W. (Louise) Bradshaw, Sacramenta; Mrs. O. Ben (Ann) Olson, Barnesville; Mrs. Gordon (Hilda) Nunn, Frazee; Mrs. Ray (Katherine) Katze, Deer Creek; and Mrs. Milo (Madelon) Huntley, Minneapolis; also three sisters, Mrs. Clara Berger and Mrs. Catherine Wokasch, both of Frazee; and Mrs. Elizabeth Alzheimer, Collins, Mont.; and one brother, Carl of Frazee. there are 18 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren left to cherish his memory. One son William died in 1956.

Funeral services will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 15, at the Sacred Heart church of which he was a member. The Rev. Fr. Monsignor Adam Junghans will officiate. Rosary will be at eight Friday evening at the Sacred Heart church. Friends may call all day Friday until 7 p.m. at the Miller Funeral Chapel in Frazee. Interment Saturday will be in the church cemetery.

1961 JUL 13 – Daily Journal – Frank S. Henn dies at age of 88

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Elmer Wokasch: “Hand caught in Corn Husker”

May 27

Posted by Mike Wokasch in In the news, Wokasch family, genealogy | No Comments

Here’s a newspaper clipping about Elmer Wokasch:
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HAND CAUGHT IN CORNHUSKER

Employee in Fairmont Canning Company Badly Injured—Hand Remains in Machine Until Apparatus Is Taken Apart.

Fairmont, Aug 20 —Elmer Wokasch Fairmont canning company employee, suffered a badly crushed left thumb and torn left hand late Tuesday at plant No 2 when the hand was caught m a corn husking machine.

Officials feared Wokasch’s hand had been torn off in the gears of the machine and advised that it not be removed until doctors arrived.

Medical men supervised work of taking the husker apart while Wokasch gritted his teeth but withstood the intense pain. He was taken to the clinic weak from shock and released this morning Doctors thought he would regain full use of the hand in about two weeks.

1931 August 20, Evening Tribune.

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1964 – Harriet & Delores Wokasch

May 27

Posted by Mike Wokasch in In the news, genealogy, research | No Comments

Newspaper clippings about the death of Harriet Wokasch and her daughter Delores Wokasch. Delores (Babe) Wokasch Harriet Theresa Wokasch (Kessler)

2 Fairmont Women Die In Car-Truck Collision

MANKATO, Minn. (AP)—Two Fairmont, Minn., women, mother and daughter, were killed today in the grinding headon collision of their car and a heavily loaded truck. Killed were Delores A. Wokasch, 34, a Fairmont telephone operator, and her mother, Harriet, 53. Mrs. Floyd Wokasch.

The two had spent the night in St. Peter, Minn., and left for Fairmont early in the morning, with the daughter driving. Miss Wokasch, a telephone worker for 16 years, was due at her switchboard at 7 a.m. — about 1 1/2 hours after the crash occurred.

The women had driven to St. Peter Wednesday. Miss Wokasch’s birthday, and had decorated graves for Memorial Day.

They stayed overnight at the St. Peter home of Mrs. Wokasch’s sister, Mrs. Harold Hudson.

Their car, and a truck carrying 44,000 pounds of watermelons collided about 5-20 a.m. on Highway 60 about a half mile southwest of the Highway 169 intersection.

The truck driver, Robert F. Agard, 31, Haines City, Fla., escaped injury.

Coroner Wallace E. Mathews said Delores Wokasch was pinned in the wreckage. Police said the Wokasch car was hurled back 82 feet by the impact and landed in the ditch.

The truck trailer crashed in the ditch on one side of the road and the tractor section plunged into the ditch on the opposite side. The car was traveling southwest, apparently headed for Fairmont.

The deaths raised the Minnesota highway toll to 282, compared with 270 through this date a year ago.

1964 May 28, The Evening Tribune.

Two are killed near Mankato
MANKATO, “Minn. (AP) – Harriet Wokasch, 63, and Delores Wokasch, 34, of Fairmont Minn., were killed Thursday in a car-truck collision five mile; south of here on Highway 60.

The truck, loaded with 44,000 pounds of watermelons, was driven by Robert Agard, 31, of Florida. He was not hurt.

1964 May 28 – Mason City Globe

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) – An Oklahoma truck driver was acquitted
Wednesday of an proper highway lane use charge growing out of a fatal accident near Mankato.

A municipal court jury deliberated 30 minutes before bringing in an innocent verdict for Robert F. Agard, 31, Muskogee, Okla.

Agard drove a semitrailer truck that collided with a car last Friday. Mrs. Floyd Wokasch, 53, Fairmont, and her daughter, Delores, 34, were killed.
Agard testified he crossed the center line only after seeing the Wokasch car coming directly at him in his lane.

1964 June 05 – Winona Daily News – Driver cleared in Mankato Crash

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Wokasch Memorial Day salute

May 25

Posted by Mike Wokasch in genealogy | No Comments

There is a strong tradition of service in the Wokasch family.Graves at Arlington

Pfc. Martin Wokasch, serial number 37030093, was killed in action in Manila, the Philippines on January 22, 1945.

Other Wokasch family members that have served:

If I have left anyone off, please contact me.  Or, if you have any stories to share, please add a comment.

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Excerpt from the “Diary of the Sweet-Wilson Expedition”

May 25

Posted by Mike Wokasch in family history | No Comments

From the “Official diary of the Sweet-Wilson expedition into the frozen tundra of the far north, 1946,” located in the Alaska Historical Collection.

A few miles down the road cameras again began clicking with three gold prospectors as their subjects. These gentlemen were employed by the Yukon Gold Corporation to test sidecreeks of the Delta River in order to determine whether or not the area would be worth large-scale operations. The Yukon company expects to put in a big dragline here but will have spent $3000-4000 conducting tests such as this before any amount of gold is taken out.

The gentleman wearing long boots is Lloyd Wokasch, 37, of Helena, Mont., who commented that after all this posing he probably could get a job in Hollywood as a stand-in for Gene Autry’s horse. Lloyd formerly worked for the Caird Engineering Works in Helena, and came to Alaska last May, with his brother, Leonard, by driving up the Alcan with a truckload of mining machinery intended for the Yukon company’s Delta River project. The two had done a little mining in Montana and had always wanted to see Alaska, so they took a testing job for the summer.

Leonard, 27, still wearing his OD pants, spent four years with the 43rd Division, as a private, and fought his way from New Guinea to Tokyo. He plans to return to Montana next fall but may come back in 1947 to do some prospecting on his own. “There are thousands of acres the old-timers never touched,” he says. “They couldn’t have found all the gold in Alaska. Now we’ve got roads so we can drive farther into the bush, taking more equipment and staying in longer. Besides, at least we know now a lot of places where not to look.” Len says it costs $3-4000 to outfit and prospect for one summer in Alaska, and even if you hit some colors you’ll probably have to come back again & again to show enough to attract the interest of a mining company. The profit, of course, comes not from what you pan but from the sale or lease of land in which you can prove there is paying gold.

(Pages 107-108).
Download a copy of these pages: The official diary of the Sweet-Wilson Expedition

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Lloyd H. Wokasch

May 17

Posted by Mike Wokasch in Obituaries, Wokasch family | No Comments

HELENA INDEPENDENT RECORD — Jul. 6, 1998

WOKASCH, Lloyd, H. age 89, formerly of Helena. Graveside services will be at 2pm. Tuesday at Sunset Memorial Gardens. Friends may pay their respects at Retz Funeral home Monday from 2:00-8:00 pm. Memorials may be made to Marysvil
2 CONC le Pioneer Society, Marysville, MT, 59640.

Lloyd Wokasch
Lloyd H. Wokasch, age 89, died July 1, 1998, in Port Angeles, Washington.

Llody was born on March 24, 1909, in Hymore, South Dakota, to Joseph and Wilhemina (Elfert) Wokash [sic]. After attending schools in Fairmont, Minnesota, Lloyd moved to Montana in 1935.

Lloyd married Hessie [ed: Jessie?] Williams of Marysville in 1936. He worked at the Schatz Ranch, Marysville Mines, Caird Engineering and Armour Metals as a machinist. Lloyd did custom rock picking in the Helena area after his retirement. Lloyd moved to Sequim, Washington, in 1994 to be with his daughter and son-in-law.

Lloyd is preceded in death by his spouse, his parents, a brother, Leonard, and a sister, Luverna. Survivors include his daughter and son-in-law Wanda and Kenneth Power of Sequim, Washington; a sister Pearl Barnett, of Fergus Falls, Minnesota; two grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Visitation will be held at Retz Funeral Home Monday from 2 to 8 pm. Graveside services will be held at Sunset Memorial Gardens Tuesday at 2pm.

Memorial contributions may be made to Marysville Pioneer Society, Marysville, MT, 595604.

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Minnie Catherine Wokasch (Elfert)

May 17

Posted by Mike Wokasch in Obituaries, Photos, Wokasch family | No Comments

Mrs. Wokasch of Fairmont Dies at 79

Mrs. Minnie Catherine Wokasch, 79, of 615 No. Hampton St. died Sunday noon at the Fairmont Community Hospital. Death was due to a stroke.

Mrs. Wokasch had been in failing health for the past year, suffering a stroke Dec. 3. She has been hospitalized since.

Mrs. Wokasch was born March 15 , 1887 in Clayton Center, Iowa. Mrs. Wokasch moved with her parents to Minnesota and Martin County as a child, the family settling in Westford Township.

She married Joseph Wokasch March 19, 1908 in Fairmont. They spent their first two years of marriage in Highmore, S.D. then they returned to Martin County and farmed near Granada until 1918 when they moved to Fairmont. She has resided here since Mr. Wokasch died in August 1952.

Mrs. Wokasch was a member of the St. John’s United Church of Christ, its Ladies Aid, the Royal Neighbors and the Woman’s Relief Corps.

Surviving are four children, Lloyd of Helena, Mont., Miss Luverna Wokasch and Leonard of Fairmont and Mrs. Albert Barnett of Mankato; four grand-children and four sisters, Mrs. Thomas Wokasch, Mrs. Lenore Hoppe, Mrs. Herbert Maloof Fairmont and Mrs. Clude Curry of Portland, Ore.

Funeral services will be 2pm Wednesday at the St. John’s United Church of Christ. Burial will be at Fairview Memorial Park.

Visitation at the Olson Funeral home is from Tuesday until time of family services at 1pm Wednesday.

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