Grandfathers

I was the daughter of a military man.  That meant we lived where the US Air Force decided we’d live.  As such it was never anywhere near where my mothers’ parents were, they lived in Los Angeles, CA or my father’s parents, who lived near Boston, MA.  That being said, I knew and remember my grandfathers.  We would occasionally visit, and those visits probably number more than even I remember.

The same could not be said for my mother.  I realized recently that both her grandfathers died the same year, which was 5 years before she was born. She grew up never knowing either of her grandfathers.  

Perry Clinton Royer was born September 10, 1876 in Illinois.  As a young man, Perry served in the Army as a private of “O” Battery of the First Regiment of the Artillery.  He enlisted for 3 years in April of 1899, but my May of the same year he was discharged due to a heart condition. 

He married Grace Browne and the family moved from Iowa, to Canada, to Ohio and finally to Los Angeles.  By then the family comprised of four daughters. They lived at 1031 Monterey Road, Los Angeles

One evening in January of 1926 the family sat around the dinner table with Perry sitting at the head of the table.  Perry, who was then 47 years old, had previously experienced some heart pains. Soon, he noticed his throat swelling and told his family that he wanted to go to his bedroom.  Grace helped him to bed and sent Pauline, their oldest daughter, who was then 22 years old, out to fetch the doctor.  Pauline ran to a neighbor’s home, who drove her to the drugstore where she could phone for a doctor.  There were no phones in the homes at that time. By the time Pauline got back home with the doctor, Perry Royer had died.  It appears the heart condition discovered 27 years earlier, when Perry was recruited into the Army, took Perry way too soon.

In June, later that year, Pauline Royer married Ivan Holm.

Charles J Holm was born May 8, 1866 In Narpes, Finland.  He immigrated to the United States in 1886 settling first in Leadville, CO where he married Johanna Erickson, then later in Aspen.  Charley worked as a miner.  

Charley worked in the mines at Leadville from 1887-1892.  Then in Aspen from 1892 to his death in 1926 of miners consumption after years of mining in lead and silver mines.  The negative consequence of mining on the human body include respiratory complications caused by inhaling fine particles from the large amounts of dust generated by blasting and drilling.

Charley was considered through and conscientious in his mining work.  His fellow worker held him in high esteem and he was considered one of the best miners in the area. 

The job that allowed Charley to provide a home for his family is ultimately what killed him at the age of 60.

The wives of both men lived another 13 years, in the case of Johanna Holm and 24 years in the case of Grace Royer.  Barbara grew up knowing her grandmothers and visiting them often.  She never knew what it was like to sit on the lap of her grandfather, or go for walks, hear stories or play games with a grandfather.  I feel sad for my mom now for that, and am more grateful for the few memories I have of my own grandfathers.