Married, DONNA MAE WITTER, born Jan. 6, 1909 in Kingston, DeKalb County, Illinois, she died, Oct 7, 1996 in Genoa, DeKalb County, Illinois.She was the daughter of
Homer William & Maude Bell "Pansey" (Manley) Witter.
"Bill ran the Saloon in the family's Denker Hotel in Eldridge, Iowa and was an accomplished bartender in years after that. He and wife, Donna, traveled a lot and kept in touch with family members. Bill died in Pasedena, California where they lived for a while. This was in the same city where Fay's aunt Amanda "Mae"(Bill's sister)was living when she died. Donna worked at home care for others for most of her life and was extremely caring about husband, Bill. She later moved back to her home town in Illinois, near her sister. Donna was originally from Rockford, Illinois.
Bill was a big, friendly, dark haired guy. He talked loudly, probably because he was a little hard of hearing most of his life. In the pictures of him in the family saloon of the early 1900s, with its pot-bellied stoves, he looks like he sounded. He was welcoming, and friendly, in a big 'gruff' sort of way. Bill was always deferential to wife, Donna who he affectionately called "Denk".
Mom thought a lot of her older brother. Bill smoked big cigars and if they dropped in for a visit you could tell Bill was there before you saw him. He ended his declarative sentences with a question. Like, "You're gonna get good grades now, eh?" He and wife Donna both had a tendancy to structure their sentences like the German language. e.g. "Pretty soon to the store they went." vs. "Soon they went to the store." Uncle Bill was a pleasure to be around (other than the cigars). :-)"
(2011 Notes by his nephew, Fay Schlotfeldt, Arizona)
Married, DONNA MAE WITTER, born Jan. 6, 1909 in Kingston, DeKalb County, Illinois, she died, Oct 7, 1996 in Genoa, DeKalb County, Illinois.She was the daughter of
Homer William & Maude Bell "Pansey" (Manley) Witter.
"Bill ran the Saloon in the family's Denker Hotel in Eldridge, Iowa and was an accomplished bartender in years after that. He and wife, Donna, traveled a lot and kept in touch with family members. Bill died in Pasedena, California where they lived for a while. This was in the same city where Fay's aunt Amanda "Mae"(Bill's sister)was living when she died. Donna worked at home care for others for most of her life and was extremely caring about husband, Bill. She later moved back to her home town in Illinois, near her sister. Donna was originally from Rockford, Illinois.
Bill was a big, friendly, dark haired guy. He talked loudly, probably because he was a little hard of hearing most of his life. In the pictures of him in the family saloon of the early 1900s, with its pot-bellied stoves, he looks like he sounded. He was welcoming, and friendly, in a big 'gruff' sort of way. Bill was always deferential to wife, Donna who he affectionately called "Denk".
Mom thought a lot of her older brother. Bill smoked big cigars and if they dropped in for a visit you could tell Bill was there before you saw him. He ended his declarative sentences with a question. Like, "You're gonna get good grades now, eh?" He and wife Donna both had a tendancy to structure their sentences like the German language. e.g. "Pretty soon to the store they went." vs. "Soon they went to the store." Uncle Bill was a pleasure to be around (other than the cigars). :-)"
(2011 Notes by his nephew, Fay Schlotfeldt, Arizona)
Family Members
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Malinde Denker
1887–1887
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Carrie Denker Hasenmiller
1888–1975
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Rose Denker Wuestenberg
1890–1979
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Amanda "Mae" Denker
1892–1959
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Flossie Denker Peters
1893–1981
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Ardena D Denker Masterson
1894–1985
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Viola "Vi" Denker Schwegler
1896–1978
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Raymond "Ray" Denker
1899–1976
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Ella L. Denker Rohlfs
1900–1971
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Hans H Denker
1902–1903
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Selma Mabel Denker Schlotfeldt
1903–1989
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