hello bofb tumblr, today i am going to tell you a little about don hoobler's family. under the keep reading bc its so long <3
his mother's name was kathryn phyllis carrigan and she was born in 1893 to her parents lafayette (1862-1949) and jessie (1866-1939) in ohio. she had eight siblings (count 'em): inez, robert, rufus, bessie, mary, john, ola, and james.
his father's name was ralph brenton hoobler and he was born in 1892 to his parents albert (1870-1917) and mary catherine (??-??) in kentucky. he had one sister, whose name was either bessie or betty.
they got married in 1920 when they were 27 and 28 years old. together, they had four children: mary kathryn, donald brenton, george b, and john robert.
mary was born in 1921, don was born in 1922, george was born in 1925, and john was born in 1927.
before having children, ralph fought in wwi and retired from the army as a sergeant. he ended up passing down his love of the military to his kids, which is very evident if you know anything about don. according to the 1930 census, ralph worked as a button cutter in a button factory.
the entire hoobler family were practicing methodists, which is listed on don and john's military records.
in 1930, ralph died of tuberculosis. he was 37 years old. he is buried in manchester, ohio.
after his death, when their children were aged 3-9, kathryn started working odd jobs and doing what she could to keep their family afloat during the midst of the great depression.
then, george died in 1932 (i don't actually know how, can't currently find it) at the age of 6. he is buried in manchester, ohio.
kathryn's losses didn't end there, as her mother died in 1939 at the age of 73 and her younger brother john died in 1940 at the age of 39. so far for her, that's four deaths in her close family within ten years. (to get opinionated, it's really not that surprising that she got super religious after all these deaths).
according to the 1940 census, the hoobler family ran what i believe was a boarding house. they had a house they owned worth about $900 and an old man living in the house with them.
don graduated from manchester high school in 1940 and immediately signed on with the ohio national guard, which he was with until 1941. he was discharged from the guard after they activated post-pearl harbor, since he was classified as the head of the household, as the eldest boy. he then joined the airborne in 1942 with his best friends robert rader and bill 'shep' howell.
mary graduated from manchester high school in 1939 and went to the cincinatti school of business, where she graduated from in 1941. she then began working for the air corps, working at the wright patterson air field in dayton, ohio (funnily enough, that's also where don worked while in the guard!). in 1942, she was assigned to trinidad to aid in the war effort, where she met her husband albert 'bud' lane. they got married in december of 1942, but she never truly left civil service or the dayton air field until her retirement in 1972.
john graduated from manchester high school in 1945 and enlisted in the us navy immediately after graduation. he never left the states, being stationed in hawaii and along the great lakes. after the war, he went to work at the same airfield in dayton as his sister, where he also retired from in 1972.
don died in january 1945 at the age of 22, from a gunshot wound to the leg. many believe it was a luger, but it was actually a belgian .32 that he picked up in holland off of a german pow. he is buried in manchester, ohio.
kathryn remarried in 1952 to a man named elmer rhude (b. 1895).
mary had 3 sons with her husband: douglas, donald, and david.
john had 2 children with his wife bettye (according to what i found, that is how her name is spelled): mike and debbie.
kathryn died in 1976 at the age of 83. her husband elmer followed her in 1978, at the age of 83. she is buried in florida.
john died in 1997 at the age of 70. i could not find his wife's death dates, or his children's (if they're dead). he is buried in florida.
mary died in 2014 at the age of 93. her husband albert died in 2008 at the age of 88. she is buried in mississippi with her husband.
final interesting facts about mary: 2 of her sons were pastors (douglas and david), douglas's middle name is brenton to keep that going since don wasn't able to do it, and at least 2 of her grandchildren also ended up going into the military. she very much kept the family traditions alive that would have died with don and their father if not for her. so.. shout out to mary.
