Caspar Albert Staeheli Grave Marker is Received

Friday, February 22, the Caspar Albert Staeheli grave marker was delivered to my home via UPS.  I removed the top of the package containing the marker to reveal a stone looking exactly like the image provided by Affordable Markers of Atwater, California. 

The marker is beautiful.  Several people have contacted me about participating in laying the marker at the gravesite.  I will contact those interested to plan a date for doing the work. 

An internet search offered many choices for grave markers.  Affordable Markers was the most helpful in selecting the design and allowing flexibility in text size, placement and wording.  I am very satisfied with their service and product quality. 

 

Staeheli Family Website Changes

Originally I began with a Google based website for reporting Staeheli family history.  In time I discovered there was not sufficient memory to post the many photos I had acquired.

Three years ago I started a second website with more memory which I anticipated would enable posting more photos.  Technically and aesthetically the new website has been too difficult for me to achieve the results I want.  Consequently, I will not renew that website but will return to the Google website for reporting.

There are limitations to the Google website which restrict my ability to present reports as I would like.  I am looking at alternative websites which claim to be easy to set up and manage.  Also, it might be possible to establish a second Google website to post photos.  After some research I will decide how to proceed then will inform readers of this blog.

Verne Alexander Reports on Paul and Glenn Staeheli

In April, 2011 I received this email from Verne Alexander.  At that time I started a blog post which I never finished or reported.  This is Verne's email as he sent it:

 

I am not a member of the Staeheli family per se.  Paul Mathias Staeheli was my uncle, having married my father’s (Robert Alexander) sister Erma.  Glenn Albert was my cousin. 

In reading the section on Paul Mathias I noted some errors, and my intent here is to offer more accurate information.  Paul served his entire NP career in Spokane.  The nomadic career path listed for Paul properly belongs to his son, Glenn (spelled with two “N’s”).  Glenn was a road foreman of engines, not an inspector.  I am almost certain that his wartime service was in the Navy, not the army.

Paul had a one car garage on our property in Spokane, which was but a three block walk to the NP roundhouse.  I thus saw him frequently during my childhood as he came by on his way to or from work.  He had a gruff exterior, and I was afraid of him.  As I grew older I got a better handle on what he was like, which led to a greater appreciation of the man.  He had a Calvinistic work ethic, and believed that everyone should.  He was reserved around people until he was satisfied that they had the right character.  If ever one got a sign of approval from Paul, it meant a lot.  Paul lived in a house he built on our original homestead property during my father’s childhood and youth.  My father’s father (Elmer E. Alexander) had been out of my father’s life since he was 6 years old.  Paul stepped in as a father figure, and remained my father’s principal role model for the rest of his life.  They were frequent companions on the railroad, hunting and fishing, and at the Staeheli house.  I moved away from Spokane to attend school, but was privileged to be able to visit Paul on what proved to be his death bed.  There was a lot of denial going on in the family at the time, but without using the words Paul made it very clear that he knew he was dying and that this would be our last contact.  I felt genuine affection from him, and I was inspired by the manner in which he was facing his death head on, just as he faced everything in his life.

 I did not get to know Glenn until after he retired from the railroad.  He shared many of his father’s characteristics.  We talked railroading extensively; he as a professional and me as a fan and modeler.  Before he died, Glenn absolutely insisted that I ride my bicycle on a stretch of abandoned Milwaukee road bed In the Bitterroot mountains of Idaho.  I shall forever be indebted to him for urging me into one of the greatest experiences of my life!

 I am extremely happy to have had the opportunity to read so many things about the Staeheli family that I did not know.  I have Addy on my HO scale model railroad and I run a milk train that collects raw milk in cans as it works its way up from Spokane.  At the Staeheli creamery in Addy it exchanges its can car of raw milk for another car of finished dairy products.  These are unloaded at the team track in Spokane, one of the principle customers being the Davenport Hotel.  In real life the creamery never had rail service, but having it on my layout is a nice way of preserving memories.

My best to you as you continue in your pursuit of family history.

Verne Alexander

CRAP is the acronym for my HO scale Colville, Republic and Palouse railroad.  The CRAP runs north and south out of Spokane.  To the north it resembles the GN Kettle Falls branch; to the south it resembles the NP Palouse and Lewiston branch.  It is harvest time in 1944, and the war is still going on.

 

Cancer Affects My Research and Reporting

Staeheli family research is a priority for me.  However, my health has become a higher priority.  In December of 2003 my prostate cancer was diagnosed.  From January, 2004 until August, 2012 I had three interventions which have all failed so my cancer has recurred.  Fortunately, I have investigated a non-standard therapy provided by a clinic in Los Angeles, California where a friend of mine has been successfully treated for over a decade.

In September, 2012 I began an aggressive treatment program directed by the LA clinic supported by a local oncologist at Kennewick General Hospital.  My response has been excellent.  Initially I have had five months of chemotherapy concurrent with hormone blockade which will continue another four months.  A third therapy will continue until January, 2014.  This three-pronged approach to prostate cancer treatment is unique but the patients I have contacted all express praise for the LA doctors and their outcomes.

I write about this only to clarify that my cancer is both a motivation to do Staeheli family research and occasionally a hindrance.  It was following my diagnosis that my wife, Kathy, and I started annual trips to Europe where we vacation and I have access to Staeheli family records and information in Switzerland. My treatment will not permit a Europe trip this summer but we will return in summer 2014. 

This past year I have been focused on my treatments with emphasis on establishing myself with the LA clinic.   Now that my chemotherapy is done my energy will transition to more work on this blog and the Staeheli family website.

Grave Marker Ordered

Today I ordered this grave marker to be placed in the Addy Cemetery.  Delivery will be within three weeks.  Jerry Staeheli has offered to help install the marker so he, dad and I will schedule a date for traveling to Addy with the necessary supplies to get the job done. 

Placing this marker will be the subject of a future blog article.

 

Grave Marker for Caspar Albert Staeheli

After several trips to the Addy Cemetery my father and I were able to locate the gravesite of Caspar Albert Staeheli.  This is a pioneer cemetery which has little maintenance and Caspar's grave is unmarked. 

It is my intention to have a grave marker made which I will place on the gravesite.  The caretaker has granted permission to place the marker myself. 

This will be a simple flat stone with his name Caspar Albert Staeheli, date of birth August 26, 1850, date of death June 8, 1912, and an epitaph.

For the epitaph I am considering several options and ask for suggestions from family.  One possibility is "Husband of Maria - Immigrants from Switzerland".  Another is "Emigrated from Switzerland March 1899".

Once an epitaph is chosen I will purchase the grave marker and place it in the cemetery the first week of July.     

Ann Staeheli's Memorial

I was notified by Pat Staeheli and Therese Staeheli about the passing of their mother, Ann, on July 9, 2012.   Below is the obituary published in the Tacoma News Tribune on July 15, 2012.

Ann Bernadette (Kneeshaw) Staeheli Nov. 4, 1921 - July 9, 2012 Ann Bernadette (Kneeshaw) Staeheli passed away peacefully with family members present on Monday July 9th, 2012. Ann lived a long life of devotion to her Catholic faith and dedication to her large extended family. Ann was born in Tacoma on Nov. 4, 1921, the second of four children, to Francis and Josephine Kneeshaw. She was a Tacoma girl through and through and told stories of "many a time and place".

In her youth Ann developed under the kind guidance of the Tacoma Dominicans as she attended St. Patrick's grade school and graduated Aquinas Academy as "Miss Aquinas" in 1940. At the end of high school she was introduced to a young National Guardsman, George Staeheli from Spokane while he was training near Tacoma. They began a friendship. She then enrolled at Seattle University nursing school but her education was cut short in March 1941 by the forever deep loss when her father, was struck down while walking by a speeding delivery truck. Ann then went to work at her father's friend's jewelry store- Grimstead's, helping her mother and younger brothers.

Romance blossomed as World War II began and Ann worked and corresponded with George while he entered and completed Naval Aviator training in Florida. Ann married Ensign George W. Staeheli at St. Patrick's Church in Tacoma on June 26, 1943 and began her life of travels and living in other parts of the country with Tacoma as home base. She stayed in Tacoma as a young Navy wife with child while George, went off to war as a Navy fighter pilot in the Pacific aboard the aircraft carrier Yorktown. When George returned from combat in August 1944, Ann and George continued their marriage journey and US Navy life together through post-war deployments and duty relocations from New York to Norfolk VA to Monterey CA.

In 1952 LCDR George W. Staeheli, USN was again called to war in Korea aboard the aircraft Carrier USS Oriskany flying combat missions over North Korea. Ann again put her trust in God, now with 5 children praying for their father's safe return. Next stop after Korea and Monterey, CA was McChord AFB in 1954 returning to her family and friends in Tacoma. LCDR George Staeheli was Naval Liaison to the USAF fighter interceptor squadrons and became a qualified F-86 fighter pilot. Meanwhile Ann continued the role of active mother of eight children in St. Pat's parish.

In January 1958 CDR George Staeheli was reassigned to command a Navy fighter squadron in Moffat Field, CA. Misfortune struck again in Ann's life in June 1958 when her husband was killed due to a flameout in his FJ4B Fury jet at high altitude in icing conditions on a pre-deployment training mission over Oregon.

With trust in God and firm in her faith, Ann continued life's journey as a widow with eight children and another on the way. As her children grew and tested her, Ann used her deep brown eyes and ready wink as quiet behavior modification and remained the pillar of strength, hope, trust and faith in God. She continued to use her Irish eyes and wit through her care and dedication towards her grandchildren. She kept a strong family focus on faith, education and world events always encouraging travel.

Ann extended her love by opening her home and heart to her nieces and nephews, second and third cousins and many neighbors and friends. She nurtured four CCS foster infants sending them out with love and tears to their adoptive families. Throughout her life she was always ready to quietly assist those in need; she was a mother to many. In 1961, the Tacoma News Tribune honored her as "Mother of the Year". She was a member of Catholic Daughters, The Legion of Mary, Tacoma Seaman Center and Pregnancy Aid. She maintained lifelong friendships and organized her yearly class reunions. This legacy of family, friendship, outreach, charity and love will extend forever in those she touched by example.

In addition to her parents, her late husband CDR George W. Staeheli USN and her infant daughter MaryAnn Kathleen (d. 1958), Ann was also predeceased by her sister Rita Degon, and brother David Kneeshaw. Ann spent her last weeks with her brother John Kneeshaw at her side as they went together on a well deserved path to a peaceful eternity.

She is survived by her eight children (and spouses), Therese, Patrick (Estrellita), Joseph (Patricia), Mary Ann, George, John (Marilyn), Peg (John Troup), Christopher (Anita) and her twenty-one grandchildren, Divina, Carmen, Guadalupe, Nicole-Marie, Dominic, Fernando, Celine, Joline, Paul, Robert, Korine, Christine, John, Jimmie, Greg, Joe, Anne, Rita, J.T., Ian and Laura, and fourteen great grandchildren and her always special nieces and nephews.

The Staeheli family extends its appreciation to the emergency room staff at St. Joseph's and the caring staff of Tacoma Lutheran Home for their kindness and smiles during Mom's time in their care. A combined Funeral Mass to celebrate Ann's and her brother John's lives will take place Friday, July 20, 2012, 10:00 am at St. Patrick Church 1001 N. J St. Tacoma, with evening Rosaries Thursday, July 19, 2012, 7:00 pm at St Patrick Church. Memorials to St. Patrick School, St. Patrick Seniors, Pregnancy Aid, Sisters of St. Dominic are welcomed. Please leave online condolences at www.gaffneycares.com. Arrangements by Gaffney Funeral Home, 253-572-6003.

Read more here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/tribnet/obituary.aspx?pid=158573832#storylink=cpy