Elma and Walter Marks

Elma Harriett Roth is the daughter of Johann Heinrich 'Henry' Roth (1882-1949) and Anna Schwabenland (1885-1979). She was born on April 1, 1917 in Fresno, California and had siblings Christina (1906-1907), Katherine (1908-1908), Henry Jr (1910-1982), and Helen Loraine Roth (1925-2004). She married Walter Marks (1915-1999) in 1939 at the Zion Congregational Church and they had two sons together, Neil and Gordon. As said in the Elma Harriet Marks: Obituary, "Elma was blessed with a keen wit, a compassionate way of listening, and an independent, feisty spirit that enabled her to live on her own until the age of 87. She rose every morning 6:00 a.m. and would start the day by reading the newspaper. She was curious and interested in the world, and was knowledgeable about politics and current events." Elma was a long-time member of Trinity Lutheran Church and a member of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia where she frequently volunteered in a way to supporting her family heritage that she cherished so much.

Walter Marks is the son of Johann 'Henry' Markus/Marks (1870-1949) and Margaret Elizabeth Kerner (1879-1941). He was born on July 27, 1915 in Fresno, California and had siblings John Henry Jr (1898-1908), Katherine Elizabeth (1900-1983), Conrad (1901-1955), Ethel (1904-1986), Charles Karl (1905-1987), James Peter (1907-1991), Henry (1910-1974), Alex (1913-1992), Ernest (1918-2019), and Leroy Thomas Marks (1923-2011). He married Elma Harriett Roth (1917-2005) in June of 1938. Together they had sons Neil and Gordon. He enlisted and served in the United States Navy during WWII aboard the U.S.S Ara. Walter was a member of the Edison Social Club, the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, and the American Legion 509.