Patricia Stepp

Trudy Thornton was Earline |Thornton's unwed mother, giving birth out of wedlock in 1924 to my grandmother. Earline Thornton was raised by her grandparents, Lonnie and Mary Ellen Thornton from age 2 until she married Gene Moore in 1940. Trudy did not marry until 1928, 4 years later, and her new husband was not Earline's daddy. One of her sisters, Granny's aunt though she was raised as their sister, knew who the father was but she passed away before she could tell Granny. She always believed Granny should have been told the truth, told who her biological father was and according to my mother, she suspected who it might be, but today there is no one left alive who knew who Earline's father was. I do know this, Earline was not bitter about it. She loved her grandparents and knew they loved her. She also knew she had a much better life with them than she would have had with Trudy. I wish I knew the whole story, and maybe I will one day find more in one way or another, but I am happy that Granny had a good loving family to raise her and love her in return. My grandmother was a very special woman. I will love her always.

James Lawrence Oshier of Milliken, Colorado United States was born on August 10, 1936, and died at age 62 years old on July 22, 1999.

Hazel Mary (Ayotte) Oshier of North Tonawanda, Niagara County, NY was born on June 1, 1906 in Lake Placid, Essex County, and died at age 88 years old in August 1994 in North Tonawanda, Niagara County.

Earline was my grandmother. We all called her Granny, and Grandaddy was Eugene E Moore. We loved her always though she never once spoiled any of us. She was as apt to swat us for doing wrong as our parents were. We learned not to misbehave at Granny's and expect to get away with it. Always, during our vacations there, we would have Friday night fish fry, followed by homemade ice cream. We kids took turns sitting on the bucket, turning the crank, but it was so worth it to get that ice cream. Granny and Grandaddy loved to fish, often went on fishing trips and always came back with plenty for the freezer, and fresh caught fried fish for dinner. I also remember black eyed peas, ham hocks and beans, corn bread, and all kinds of yummy foodstuff in Granny';s kitchen. She had a big red plastic bird and if I recall, a big fish named Oscar that was so ugly, it was fascinating. I'd watch it for hours. After they moved to Waskom, she had bird feeders and squirrels we would watch in the morning come to eat. As soon as we went outside, they scattered, but always came back.