Marge

I didn't know my maternal Grandmother but despite dying suddenly at age 53, she lived a colorful life.

She was born Margaret Mary on April 11, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio. The circumstances of her early years can be found in previous blogs (See Tag: Evans).

Her friends and family called her Marge. She went to South High School and was quite popular. During a game in which her school played Holy Name, my grandfather asked her out. She had been asked out by a suitor from her home team and eventually declared she'd go with whomever's team won. My grandfather's team won.

In 1943 she enlisted in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. According to a cousin she did this by running away to Columbus, and was then stationed in Florida. She did this due to an affair with a married man gone wrong. After 3 months she was discharged due to a skin condition the Army was tired of attempting to treat despite the humid location aggravating it.

She married my grandfather and raised 4 kids.

On 4th of July weekend in 1975, she suddenly died to a ruptured cerebral aneurysm.

A wee bit 'o Irish

As a child I knew very little about my Irish roots. In fact, that I was Irish at all. If my sister & I spent St. Patrick's Day with our father he would make the comment that we were the only Irish in the house. One year he was challenged by my step-sister Dawn, " how are they Irish? ". I listened that time.

Eventually I knew the facts. My maternal grandmother was 1/2 Irish from her mother. Technically that made me 1/8th. In middle school I met a friend that was full Irish. Really. Her grandparents were fresh off the boats. I went to the Westside Irish American club. I ate Irish food. I went to the St. Patrick's Day parade, etc. All with the family of this friend. It was more than my family had ever taught me about my "Irishness".

I'd venture to say I'm closest to my Irish line for the simple reason that it's my mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). mtDNA is passed down the female line. Although males receive a copy from their mother's, they do not pass it on. It also has a much slower mutation rate.

My maternal grandmother was an accident and was 20 years younger than her eldest sibling. Her mother's name was Mary Logan Evans and she died when my grandmother was 11 years old due to kidney failure. She died in August 1933 in Cleveland, Ohio and was only 53 years old. Since she died when my grandmother was so young, little was known of Mary.

This is what I know of Mary from oral history and my own research:

Mary was born to John Logan & Agnes Quinn in County Cork Ireland; however, conflicting records also show her born near Downpatrick Northern Ireland in October 1878 or 1879.

Her father, John, first left Ireland for the US. Her mother Agnes set sail at a later date, departing from England, arriving with Mary and two brothers (Patrick & John) in 1883. Mary was 5 years old and as a result, could recall very little of her time in Ireland.

Once in the US she raised Belgian Malinois for Cleveland PD. No known photos or personal stories about her exist. She was interred at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.

d#: 0093040
Name: Evans, Mary
Date: Aug 1 1933
Source: Source unknown;  Cleveland Necrology File, Reel #023.
Notes: Evans: Mary, beloved wife of Isaac Evans, mother of Mrs. James Sullivan, Williams, Albert, John and Margaret Evans, sister of Patrick Logan, Mrs. X. F. Pasdersky and Mrs. Stewart Herbison, at her residence, 9321 Cassius Ave. Funeral Saturday, Aug. 19. Services at Holy Name Church at 9 a. m.

The Kind Soul of Uncle John

John Evans was my mother’s Uncle.

As a child he fell ill and the Pazderski’s nursed him to back to life. He was reportedly never the same or “right” in the head.

Chauffeur's License (he looks rather Johnny Cash in the first photo!)

Photo Booth Uncle John

Death & Birth Certificates 

Uncle John lived with the family his entire adult life at the house on Cassisus. He worked a variety of jobs and helped contribute to the family. One job included working as a chauffeur. According to cousin Jim, he bought the first color TV. The first one on the street!

My mom says Uncle John was a kind man, he always took care of the family even though he was independent (although still living with them). 

Friends and family  - share with me your best Uncle John stories in the comments! 

Where is Uncle Wesley?

Wesley Charles Polachek was born on February 23, 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio (birth place per documents from Mike Polachek). It's often been alleged he was born in Ukraine. He never married or had a family of his own.

He was the eldest Polachek child and was able to read,write, and speak English. Relatively little is known about Uncle Wesley, my grandfather Frank's brother.

The reason I was waiting on this week's post was to get some information from Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Cleveland. Thank you to Linda & Jerry for helping me out. You might recall (here is a refresher if not) my recent post about Louis & Julia (Wesley's parents).  For that reason, I'm sad to say - I've found Uncle Wesley. He was hiding in plain sight.

I knew he had been in an accident; however, I wasn't sure exactly where his remains ended up. To start, I do need to divulge a few facts. I've spent hours trying to figure out more about this accident. I was only able to get fragments out of Aunt Arlene such as "Wesley", "truck", "run over" and the rest of the family was useless. How/why was he hit? Was it truly an accident? Was the driver drunk? Was it just too dark out? I've tried to obtain the full accident report - I would like to at least know the name of the person that took his life - but it's been destroyed.

Id#: 0280392Name: Polachek, WesleyDate: Nov ? 1950Source: Cleveland Press;  Cleveland Necrology File, Reel #064.Notes: Polachek, Wesley, beloved son of the late Louis and Eva, brother of Mrs. Mary Hasychak, Mike, Mrs. Katherine Ziccardi, Mrs. Martha Lynch, Steve, Frank the late Nick. Friends may call at the Lester J. Gallagher Faneral Home, 9615 Miles Ave. Funeral Saturday, Nov. 11, services at Holy Name Church at 9 a. m.

At 1:15A on November 8, 1950, Wesley was walking home from work. Wesley worked as a bowling alley janitor. He was on Broadway about 100 feet south of Jones Rd when he was struck by a truck in Cleveland. This is approximately less than 1/4 mile from Holy Name Catholic Church (where my family attended services and his funeral was held). He was also nearly home - his home at the time of the accident was less than 1/2 mile away. Uncle Wesley almost made it home that night.

Autopsy Report

Wesley was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Alexis, mostly due to head injuries. His remains were identified by his brother Mike.


From his death certificate I learned his SSN & applied for his paperwork. This revealed the middle name Charles.

Additionally, I learned he was interred at Calvary. But ... where was? where was he at?

Going back and forth with Calvary from the west coast is tedious to put it best. So when I found out where he was, I was shocked - as was my mother.

Wesley's Death Certificate

At Calvary, we know where most of the family is. I've been to visit various family members multiple times. My mother can even pick out "Baby Lynch" (her Aunt Martha's) children's graves. (We think there are 6 or so.)

Before I reveal where Wesley is, I wanted to share what my mother said:

"My mom knew where everyone was. We went over there. Why didn't she say anything? She never talked about Uncle Wesley."

Turns out -

Wesley is buried double deep with Louis & Julia. In the 64 years since he died his name was never added to the grave marker (you can see the grave from my previous post). We've all been over there but never knew he was there. While trying to find him I even asked my cousins who came up blank. It's sad we were visiting a grave to remember Louis & Julia but we were unintentionally forgetting someone. The good news is, we can change that going forward.

I'd like to think this was not intentional, not the result of bad blood between the siblings. My best guess is that they were either " going to get around to it " or squabbled over who was paying, doing, organizing, etc what. Wesley was the first sibling that died that they had to deal with. Nick died while Louis, but not Julia, was still alive but the government took care of that. Louis had died by the time Wesley had - the burden was on the shoulders of the siblings.

Who knows the reasons, they have all passed away.

So to my extended family - the next time you stop by to visit Louis & Julia - lay some extra flowers for Uncle Wesley.

Along Came Anna Mae

My grandmother was a "change of life" baby. Her older sister Edith gave birth to her first child in January 1922. My grandmother, Marge, followed in April 1922. Although the pair were technically aunt & niece, they were more like sisters.

Marge & Anna Mae

Anna Mae died in 1996 and I did attend her funeral; however, I don't recall ever meeting her personally. Growing up we did have a steady relationship with her son, "Uncle" Pat &  (his wife)"Aunt" Martha Finn.

It was at the funeral that I met many of my extended cousins, including Anna Mae's sister Lois. To this day, I can still recall the tenderness in which each of the elderly relatives recalled my deceased grandmother.

Then talk turned towards a spooky event.

Anna Mae Age 68

A few days before Anna Mae's passing she stopped talking. Towards the end Uncle Pat & Aunt Martha's dogs stood sentry. During the last hours of her life she began talking to the ceiling and the dogs watched, heads facing the ceiling. Synoptic flashes of a dying person?

It was then that she began calling my grandmother by name and saying things like " Marge? Is that you Marge? I've missed you! " according to the Finn family.

Marge & Anna Mae's Prayer Cards

They died 21 years and 1 day apart.

In the years since, I've spoken with various relatives about her & my grandmother. Anna Mae's granddaughter told me that she used to take out old photo albums and share stories of times with Margaret. My mother isn't sure what hijinks the two would get into but they were always giggling about something or other. I'd love to ask her about their "adventures" and if Lois ever took part!