“The Geo W. Derry, Sr. family - Doyle, Geo, Ardis, Alice, Duke with Janis in front. I think this was taken just before Duke and Marian were divorced - but I’m not sure what year that was. This was taken at Doyle’s house in Ft. Worth.” -from Jan
posted by Paula
“It looks like Melvin is showing Duke how to do something - shoot a gun? load one? slingshot? I think it’s Aunt Vivian in the background on the left. Duke looks like he’s about 7 or 8 years old.” -from Jan
posted by Paula
Duke, Ardis, Doyle, Geo, Alice & Jan (in front of Doyle) - August 1952
“This was when everyone came home after we had moved to a 4 room apt the previous fall. Duke & Marian (she was pg with Mike) lived in Norfolk and didn’t stay overnight. It was crowded but a lot of fun. Paul was 16 months old.” -from Jan
posted by Paula
I heard a lot of stories that Doyle, Ardis and Duke told about their growing up years. Here are a few of them. These events took place after 1931 which is when they moved to Valentine.
1. Mom was in the hospital with phlebitis (legs packed in ice) and Daddy and the kids decided to make strawberry jam, with Daddy telling Doyle and Ardis how to do it. They thought he was so smart since he knew how to do this. What they didn’t know was he was going to the hospital and asking Mom what and how to do it.
2. Doyle was driving the car (she was 15 or 16) and a black cat started to cross her path. She backed the car up around the block so it couldn’t cross and so she wouldn’t have any bad luck.
3. Ardis and Duke were having an argument and Ardis became totally infuriated and threw the butcher knife at him. At the last second she hollered DUCK! - He did - because the knife went into the door in back of where his head had been. (Every time I heard this story, I could just see that knife moving back and forth in the door!)
4. Duke’s real name was George William Derry, Jr., and he got the nickname after they moved to Valentine. He said he was walking along, all dressed up and this man (whose name I don’t remember) saw him and asked him why he was all duded up - some how Duke came out of that.
5. When we moved to Wayne in 1939, Duke enrolled at Wayne City High School as Duke Derry. Mom didn’t find that out until it came time for graduation - at that time his name in the records was changed to his real one.
6. When they lived in Eli, there was a 1 room schoolhouse that Doyle and Ardis attended. Duke was 4 and bored - he wanted to go to school, too. He’d sneak in after school would start and the teacher would chase him out. One of the last times he got chased out she took the broom to him and hit him below his left shoulder blade. I think he was allowed back in school after that. When he was in the Army Air Corps, he had surgery on his back and the tumor that was caused by that broom hit was removed.
I never quite understood why but somehow in the transition from Eli to Valentine, he was dropped back a grade so he didn’t graduate until he was 18.
Jan (Janis Derry Burch)
From left, back row: Bill May, Geo W., Melvin, Arthur (Grandpa), Melvina (Grandma) Derry
Front row: Sandy, Madelyn (Melvin’s daughter), Altha M (Zaida Derry May’s daughter), Arthur May (Zaida’s son), Janis (Geo’s daughter), & Duke (Geo’s son)
[Edited on August 4 2008 to replace picture with higher-resolution scam. Click on the picture to see it full size.]
Paula
Ardis & Claude (married August 18, 1944) used to joke around saying that Waller and Nell went on their honeymoon with them. Yes, Doyle was there - in fact she is the only member of the family who was at each of the first marriages of us 4 kids. Doyle and her 3 kids came to Nebraska for Duke’s marriage to Marian in August 7, 1949, and she flew to DC to my wedding, March 16, 1957. Daddy couldn’t come to my wedding because he had already agreed to check cattle loans; Duke was going to fly back to DC in a Kansas Air Guard but there was some snag so he couldn’t come so Doyle came - I walked down the aisle by myself but when the minister asked who gave me away, she stood up and said she did for my mother and father. I thought that was pretty neat!
We also took her to National Airport so she could fly back to Ft. Worth - I was still in my wedding dress and veil - we walked into the terminal and a little 4 yr old girl saw us and exclaimed, “A BRIDE!” — A very favorite memory - I’ll never forget how that little girls eyes lit up.
Aunt Jan
