This lovely colorized photo of my grandmother was shared with me by my A(u)nt Pam on 10/11/19. She shared with me today at lunch with my mother at Siena Bistro in Willow Glen that she keeps this photo on her desk. I can see why! What a bright light. Not exactly sure of grandma’s age or exact date, but she’s just old enough where I can see in her face the person she later became.
Very nice dress btw.
Date & Place:
in Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington United States
So, another slight correction: She was born at 11:20a. Her mother always joked that she "arrived in time for lunch." (A reference to the fact that your grandmother loved food!). Also, I know that she was 4 in this photo (at least that's what she said) and I'm thinking that they lived in Portland when she was 4.
Joyce Vandever (as she was known in her later years) was a loving mother of two daughters Kathleen Rae (Kroetch) Pinna & Pam (Kroetch) Marks who she had with Frank Kroetch, and grandma to two grandchildren Daniel J Pinna & Layne. Joyce had a half-sister, Lois (Benning) Ewen, the product of her father's first marriage. She also had a step-brother, Charles Henry Barrett Jr., from her mother's second marriage to Charles Henry 'Heinie' Barrett Sr.
She had many friends and relatives in California, Washington state, England and Wales. Her best childhood and lifelong closest friend was Beverly Clarice (Washington) Scoffone in Monte Sereno California. Joyce loved being a grandmother and spent countless weekends with her grandchildren. She lived in the California Hawaiian mobile home park at 3637 Snell Ave in San Jose for many years when it was an adult community.
To hear Joyce describe herself see Joyce Vandever In Her Own Words
The 1930's were a decade of severe stress: the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, the rise of Nazism. But it was also the end of Prohibition, the beginning of the change of land management (poor farm ...
I want to build a place where my son can meet his great-grandparents. My grandmother Marian Joyce (Benning) Kroetch always wanted to meet her great-grandchildren, but she died just a handful of years before my son's birth.
So while she didn't have the opportunity to meet him, at least he will be able to know her.
For more information about what we're building see About AncientFaces. For information on the folks who build and support the community see Daniel - Founder & Creator. My father's side is full blood Sicilian and my mother's side is a combination of Welsh, Scottish, German and a few other European cultures. One of my more colorful (ahem black sheep) family members came over on the Mayflower. He was among the first to be hanged in the New World for a criminal offense he made while onboard the ship.
I'm a Founder of AncientFaces and support the community answering questions & helping members make connections to the past (thus my official title of Founder & Content and Community Support ). For me, it's been a labor of love for over 20 years. I truly believe with all of my heart that everyone should be remembered for generations to come.
I am 2nd generation San Jose and have seen a lot of changes in the area while growing up. We used to be known as the "Valley of Heart's Delight" (because the Valley was covered with orchards and there were many canneries to process the food grown here, which shipped all over the US) - now we have adopted the nickname "Capital of Silicon Valley" and Apple, Ebay, Adobe, Netflix, Facebook, and many more tech companies are within a few miles of my current home in San Jose (including AncientFaces). From a small town of 25,000, we have grown to 1 million plus. And when you add in all of the communities surrounding us (for instance, Saratoga, where I attended high school, living a block from our previous Mayor), we are truly one of the big cities in the US. I am so very proud of my hometown. For more information see Kathy - Founder & Content and Community Director My family began AncientFaces because we believe that unique photos and stories that show who people are/were should be shared with the world.
My mother is Pamela Thompson. My dad is Richard William Russell. My mom grew up in Fenwick Michigan. My dad grew up in Hart Michigan. They had 2 kids together. Living in Michigan.
I'm the creator of AncientFaces which we began in 2000 while I was a sophomore at Santa Clara University.
To our amazing friends and super active members - thank you for your support & patience as we've slowly but surely evolved AncientFaces into the place where our loved ones live on through our memories.
This particular account is for my personal interests. Feel free to reach out and say hi! One of my more colorful (ahem black sheep) relatives was one of the first to be hanged for criminal punishment in the U.S.