Theckla Bell and Elaine

Theckla Laura (Lundt) Bell was born to William Heinrich R. Lundt (1872 - 1944) and Laura T. Leiteritz (1876 - 1964). She had siblings Laura Augusta and Loren William Lundt. Theckla Lundt married Hugh Samuel Bell (1891 - 1963) on June 17, 1918, in Nashua, Iowa. They adopted daughter Elaine Kroetch in 1932.

Elaine Marguerite Kroetch was adopted by the Bell family when her mother died (she was age 8). Since her younger sister was also adopted (by the Dahlquist family) and her brothers Fred (who lived with his Aunt Wea) and Frank (who lived for a time with his Aunt Thelma) were sent to live with family, even at the young age of 8 Elaine insisted that she and her siblings see each other often. And they did. They always told stories of the mischief they got into as kids. As a result, they were close all of their lives and so were their children ("the cousins"). Although only Frank and Elaine lived in Washington state as adults (Norma lived in San Diego and Fred lived in Dayton Ohio), they spoke on the phone often and visited often. Fred died first (lung cancer), then Frank (cardiac arrest), then Norma, then Elaine. Although her mother's family didn't like our grandfather and therefore obtained an order from a (family friend) judge to keep him from the children, they did see my grandfather as adults. My dad (Frank) and Fred saw him often. The girls still held a grudge against him.