Person Page

     Nelson Edward Walker was born as Edward Towne on 27 February 1929 at St. Joseph Hospital in Mishawaka, St. Joseph Co., Indiana.³ He married Barbara Ann Propst, daughter of Clarence W. Propst and Nancy Valera Craig, on 21 April 1956 at the Main Street Methodist Church in Muncie, Delaware Co., Indiana.^4,5 He died on 1 February 2008 at age 78.⁶ He was buried on 7 March 2008 at Florida National Cemetery (Sec 323C, 272) in Bushnell, Sumter Co., Florida.^6,7
     He was adopted shortly after his birth by Lowell A. Walker and his wife Lottie, and his name was changed to Nelson Edward Walker.¹ He is listed with them in the 1930 census as a lodger, at age 1.² The adoption and name change became official on 27 January 1931⁸, and he is listed as their son in the 1940 and 1950 censuses.^9,10
     He graduated from Plymouth High School in Plymouth, Marshall Co., Indiana,¹¹, and in 1950 was working as a clerk for a finance company.¹⁰
     Later that year, on 6 September, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served as a hospital corpsman during the Korean War, and was discharged on 28 June 1954.^12,6
     He and his wife Barbara met at a dance at Lake Manitou near Rochester, Fulton Co., Indiana.¹¹ After their marriage they moved to South Bend, St. Joseph Co., Indiana.¹¹
     He graduated in 1958 from the Elkhart University of Medical Arts in Elkhart, Elkhart Co., Indiana, as a certified medical technologist and radiology technician.¹¹ He and Barbara then moved to Marion, Grant Co., Indiana,¹³, and he joined Marion General Hospital in Marion, Grant Co., as a medical technologist.^6,11 He retired about 1988.^6,11
     He and Barbara moved to Sweetser, Grant Co., in 1969¹³, then to Bradenton, Manatee Co., Florida, in 1996, after they had both retired.^6,14,11
     He had several heart-related health problems later in life, including a heart attack at age 54, followed by two bypass operations and the installation of a pacemaker and defibrillator.¹¹

     Edward Pontarelli was born on 19 August 1904 in Rocchetta, Italy.² He married Suzanne Pontarelli, daughter of Michael Pontarelli and Annette Carsello, on 25 June 1933 in Cook Co., Illinois.⁵ He died on 30 March 1991 in Dade Co., Florida, at age 86.^6,7 He was buried in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois.⁷
     He immigrated to the United States from Italy in 1910, sailing with his mother and two siblings from Naples on the SS Celtic on 7 April, and arriving at the port of New York on 19 April. Their final destination was Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, where his father was then living. Their names in the passenger list are given as Claudia Giannini (age 34), with children Maria (10), Eduardo (5), and Antonio (5). Gennaro Pontarelli is listed as the person they will be joining, in Chicago, and named as Claudia's husband and the children's father.³
     The family is listed in Chicago in the 1920 census. By then Gennaro, Claudia, and Antonio had anglicized their given names to George, Clara, and Tony. Eduardo is listed as Harry, for reasons unknown. Perhaps he hadn't yet settled on an "Engish" name. In all other records found online, he's listed as Edward.⁴
     He enrolled at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, St. Joseph Co., Indiana, and is listed there as a civil engineering student in the student directories for the 1922-1923, 1923-1924, and 1924-1925 school years.⁸ He was joined by his twin brother Anthony in the fall of 1923. He lived off campus his third year. The 1924-1925 student directory lists both him and Anthony at 221 S. Taylor, while the 1925 South Bend City Directory lists them at 1123 S. 21st St.⁹ He may not have graduated, however. The 1925-1926 student directory is not online, but he is not listed in any commencement program, or in the student directories from 1926-1930.^10,11 But, in the June 1928 Notre Dame Alumnus magazine he is listed as being "among the Chicago gang" in the class of 1926 who returned to campus June 1-3 for the 1928 commencement weekend.¹²
     He was living at the Vendome Hotel in Evansville, Vanderburgh Co., Indiana, on 17 June 1926, when he was fined $5 and costs for driving over a fire hose on Main St.¹³ He and his brother Anthony are listed in the 1927 Evansville City Directory at the Vendome Hotel, both working for their father George, a sewer contractor. George is also listed, at the McCurdy Hotel.¹⁴ George is again listed in Evansville in 1928, on Stringtown Rd., but Edward and Anthony are not.¹⁵ However, Edward was apparently still there in 1928, as he was arrested for driving while intoxicated on 3 August 1928, and gave Stringtown Rd. as his residence. He was fined $50 plus costs, and sentenced to either 60 or 180 days (newspaper accounts differ) at the Indiana State Farm (now the Putnamville Correctional Facility in Putnam Co., Indiana, near Greencastle). The commitment to the State Farm was suspended, under the condition that he leave town.^16,17
     He and Ione Elizabeth Town, daughter of Howard William Town and Jessie Mae Phillips, had a son together, born as Edward Towne in Mishawaka, St. Joseph Co., Indiana, on 27 February 1929. On the birth certificate his occupation is listed as "School - Notre Dame," but as noted above he's not listed in the student directory for 1928-1929. Both his and Ione's mailing address is given as 121 1/2 Laporte Ave. in South Bend¹, the same address listed for Ione's parents in the 1929 South Bend City Directory.¹⁸ He and Ione were unmarried, and their son was adopted by Lowell Walker and his wife Lottie. He is listed with them in the 1930 census with the name Nelson Edward Walker¹⁹, and the adoption and name change became official on 27 January 1931.²⁰
     He's listed back in Chicago in the 1930 census, along with his parents and a younger brother.²¹
     He was involved in a tragic car accident in Chicago on 26 September 1936, when his car hit two pedestrians crossing Irving Park Blvd at Lockwood Ave. Adolph Larsen, 52, was killed, and Roy Smith, 29, was injured.²²
     He's listed with his wife Suzanne and daughter Anita in Chicago in 1940²³, and in Gary, Lake Co., Indiana, in 1950.²⁴ He was working as a sewer construction foreman in 1940, probably for his father, but moved into real estate sales by 1950. He and Suzanne began visiting Bal Harbour, Dade Co., Florida, in the 1930s, and moved there permanently about 1956.⁷

     Vera Lillian Mountjoy was born on 7 July 1914 in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Co., Michigan.¹ She died on 25 July 1914 in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Co., Michigan, from convulsions.¹ She was buried on 26 July 1914 at Riverside Cemetery in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Co., Michigan.¹