Wife Number One

In 1922, at the age of twenty-one, Grandpa married a woman named Marie Barbara Nutsch. They lived in the San Fernando Valley of southern California. Marie was the daughter of Frank and Josephine Nutsch, German immigrants. Josephine came to America when she was twenty-one and met Frank in the mid-west. Frank was a farmer and staked his claim in the great Oklahoma land rush. The land he claimed turned out to be poor for farming and he soon disposed of it and moved to Utah where Marie was born in 1904. Eventually Frank and Josephine migrated to Roscoe, California in a region called Sun Valley. Here Frank entered the construction business as a road grader operator. When Marie was seventeen, she worked as a housekeeper for Grandpa's brother Jack and his actress wife, Marin Sais. All of this information was taken from The Hoxie Boys, written by Edgar M. Wyatt, 1992. On September 16, 1922 Grandpa and his young wife Marie gave birth to their only daughter, Doris Mae. My Aunt Doris was born prematurely, in the seventh month of gestation and weighed only three and a half pounds at birth. It is a miracle she survived. I always enjoyed visiting Aunt Doris and my cousins in San Fernando Valley. They lived in a two story house, there weren't many two-story houses where we lived. It was different in San Fernando. I loved the yard and the stairway inside the home. I loved climbing up to my cousin's rooms and playing with their toys. I think it was 1971 when the great San Fernando earthquake hit. The bricks on the fire place fell, crumbled off the side of their home. The family survived the quake, my cousin said one of his dressers rolled over him while in bed. Aunt Doris had a daughter Doreen, I remember one of Doreen's doll closets, it was wonderful, pre-Barbie, with little tiny clothes hangers and little tiny drawers to hold the little tiny clothes. I remember hearing that Doreen had many sons and lived in Mexico City, the home of her husband's family. My Mom recently said that Doreen is traveling the United States in an RV with her husband, enjoying life.

It's getting close to Christmas, always a time to remember Grandparents. I wish my first holiday memories were of happy childhood times but the first thing that comes to mind when I think about Grandpa is the emotional support he offered after the death of my husband. My husband died December 9, 1977. Grandpa and Marie held my hand through the entire grieving process. They were the only relatives to visit on a regular basis after the funeral. We'd have coffee and they would tell me about their lives. They were so good to me and my little boy, Jack, Jr. Looking back, I don't know how I would have faired without their emotional support. What a beautiful gift, better than any wrapped package under a lighted tree.

Grandpa's handwriting on a card I found that he sent to my Mom. I don't know much about handwriting analysis, maybe someone out there does. I'll try to find more examples of his handwriting to post here.

Somebody once wrote that cowboys never die. Grandpa was a real cowboy when he was young. When he used those cowboy skills in Hollywood, his clothes and hat changed to give him a more glitzy image. Even though he was the rough 'em up stunt double for his brother, Jack, he could clean up for a photo shoot.