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Margaret Kleiber Born (Childhood Pics) 1946
According to our sources at Ancestry.com (currently worked by her nephew James) when Margaret Ann Kleiber was born on September 18, 1946, in Wyandotte, Michigan, her father, Charles, was 29, and her mother, Loretta, was 26. She married Richard Anthony Turowski on February 7, 1972, in Las Vegas, Nevada. She died on March 30, 2019, in Southgate, Michigan, at the age of 72, and was buried in Flat Rock, Michigan.
Margaret enjoyed taking trips with family and visited far too many places to mention here, but some of them included several visits to Disney World and Disney Land, Hawaii, Bahama’s, and California. Except for a brief period where she lived in California, Pegs place of residence was primarily in Michigan.
Since she was born so close to Marks birthday there are many pictures of the two of them growing up together.
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Ken Selvia Born 1946
Kenneth Ray Selvia was born in 1946, in Terre Haute, Indiana, the son of Emma and Mr. Selvia. He married Marie Elaine Wampol on August 10, 1968, in West Terre Haute, Indiana. He has several brothers.
Kenny served in the military during the Vietnam war and patrolled the Mekong Delta during that time, a stretch of wetlands that was a key factor during the war.
Kenny married Criss (James Aunt) in the early 80’s and they moved from Taylor Michigan to Lake George Michigan which is near Central Michigan University.
Kenny sings country music and has a great voice that could be heard on the Detroit airways in the 70’s and 80’s. Kenny is also a cousin of basketball legend Larry Bird.
Cousin Barbara Sokel Born 1944
When Barbara Sokel was born in 1944, her father, William, was 24, and her mother, Dorothy, was 25. She has one son and one daughter with Joseph Gedman. She lived in Westland, Michigan, in 1993 and moved to Redford, Michigan, sometime between 1993 and 1995. She currently lives in Northern Michigan.
James Dad remembers Barbara’s wedding in the mid sixties as he was the ring bearer, his sister Margaret was a bridesmaid, and cousin Sandy was the flower girl. It was one of the biggest events of the sixties and for sure a big event in James Dad’s childhood.
After the wedding Barbara and Joe lived on the other side of Telegraph from where James lives now and James Dad was born. For a long time, James Dad and Barbara worked not too far apart in an industrial park area of Farmington just off Ten Mile not to far from Grand River.
We usually would see Barbara at Grandma Grafs Christmas Eve party in the sixties and early seventies.
Tribute to Raymond Kleiber 1924 – 1943
Raymond died in World War 2 and is James Raymonds’ namesake. Unfortunately we do not have many pictures of Raymond so if anyone has anymore I would love to get them. Most of the stories about Raymond I heard from my Father. My dad used to say that Raymond had the height but not the talent to play professional ball, where as he had the talent but not the height. I have retyped his obituary and included the original clipping which is a little hard to read.
Private Kleiber, a paratrooper was killed in a plane crash on Leyte while enroute to the United States. The Plane was evacuating wounded men from the Pacific, and Kleiber was being returned home for further hospitalization after having suffered head injuries February 28, when he landed with the 503rd parachute infantry on Corregidor. He had been overseas 18 months and during that time had participated in several major battles from New Guinea to the Philippines.
Ray was born in Detroit. He was graduated from the Lincoln Park high school with the January 1943 class and worked for the Great Lakes Steel corporation, Ecorse, before entering the army. Besides his parents, he leaves two brothers, Sergeant Charles in Hawaii and Donald at home, and two sisters, Mrs. Dorothy Sokel and Virginia Kleiber, both living with their parents.
Loretta Working At Dupont 1943
During the war many of the wives took jobs that were normally done by men at that time, Grandma Loretta was no different and took a job working at Dupont in the electro-chemical department at their Michigan Plant.
Charles Thomas Sent To Pacific War 1942
After his wedding to Loretta, Charles was sent to the Pacific to fight world war 2. He spent a year at Christmas Island and a year in Hawaii. While these pictures are all black and white, you can still see the beauty of both islands and the interaction the soldiers had with the islanders. He was on a boat heading to what he believed was Japan when it was announced that the war was over and the boat was turning around. Within a week or two he was in Chicago getting discharged from nearly 5 years of service during World War 2, a war that cost him his younger brother Raymond and made his family a gold star family.
Charles Thomas Kleiber was very proud of his service, he kept his honorable discharge on his desk along with Raymonds Purple Heart.
Washington DC War Years 1942
The newly married couple Loretta and Charles took a trip to visit the capitol of the United States, Washington DC. The war was raging and Charles was scheduled to be shipped out to a Pacific destination. The horrors of Pearl Harbor were still fresh in everyone’s mind and the war was already taking its toll on American citizens worrying about their boys coming home from fighting halfway around the world. A visit to Washington DC was a good reminder of what people were fighting about.
Loretta really enjoyed the cherry blossoms that lined the streets of Washington DC and would work to support the cause along with her sister Louise and Cousin Cil (Rosie the Riveter for some of them), all three having their husbands in service to their country (In addition to Charles, Louise husband Harry and Cil’s husband Francis, truly they were the greatest generation).
Charles would spend the rest of the war in the Pacific theater and return home safetly to Loretta (and a Detroit Tiger World Series Victory, just as his son would do nearly 40 years later in 1984 – Tigers must be waiting for the next generation of Kleiber to leave the military because these were the last two World Series that they have won and have not won one since).
Loretta and Charles Kleiber Wedding 1941
Loretta and Charles Kleiber were married in what many consider “the war Years” even though the attack on Pearl Harbor would not happen for 10 months.
Charles was the oldest son of Millie and Benjamin Kleiber and Loretta was the eldest daughter of Rose and Joe Graf. The marriage would last over 50 years until Charles death in 1995. They would have three children, Margaret Ann, Christine Louise, and Charles Joseph.
After the marriage Charles would enlist in the military and serve until the end of the war in 1945, Loretta would support the home front war effort working at the Dupont chemical plant.
Photos of the Marriage include the wedding certificate, a group shot of the parents (Ben and Millie, Joe and Rose), along with Bridesmaid Louise and Best Man Harry who themselves would get married a short three years from now.
Loretta Kleiber Graduates High School 1938
Loretta Rose Graf graduated high school in 1938. Shown here is her graduation picture.
Loretta (Kleiber) Graf Born 1920
According to our sources at Ancestry.com (currently worked by her grandson James) when Loretta Rose Graf was born on January 29, 1920, in Harrison City, Pennsylvania, her father, Joseph, was 32, and her mother, Rose, was 29. She married Charles Thomas Kleiber on February 15, 1941, in Wyandotte, Michigan. They had three children in 14 years. She died on August 3, 2000, in Grand Traverse, Michigan, at the age of 80.
Loretta enjoyed traveling with her family probably more than anything else. There was hardly a month in the spring, summer, or fall that at least one trip was not planned. While she did not like travel in the winter, she simply kept her adventures more local during that season.
Included in the photo gallery are pictures from Loretta’s childhood and growing up in Pennsylvania with her younger sister Louise and her younger brother Joseph along with her parents Rose and Joe Graf.
