My Grandfather’s Story, Part VI

August 27, 2013 by Luanne

Part VI

Today’s passage is about a sad and difficult time in Grandpa’s life. Connie wrote, Adrian was

Grandpa, an only child, grew up living with his parents and his widowed grandfather. Yet, by the time he was 23 years old, he was alone in the world, except for his new wife, my grandmother.

He had lost both parents and his grandfather. Yet, at the interview, he told Connie that it “didn’t bother” him that much. He said his father prepared him ahead of time for his death and for taking care of the household affairs.

Grandpa’s mother Cora DeKorn Zuidweg’s obituary

Since Grandpa’s father died in 1929, of kidney failure, and his mother died three years later in 1932, of leukemia, I suspect that his father prepared him to take over the family affairs so that his ailing mother didn’t have to do so. It was probably taken to be a man’s work, and since Grandpa was an adult, he would be expected to take care of his mother. He did take care of her, and towards the end had the help of Grandma. Grandpa and Grandma were married in May of 1932, and Grandpa’s mother died in December of that year. So for seven months, newlywed Grandma helped Grandpa to take care for her ailing mother-in-law.

Grandma and Grandpa formed a strong bond, which lasted their entire lives. It’s no surprise that Grandma interrupted the interview to explain why Grandpa would say he wasn’t “bothered” by losing his family at such a young age. She knew that he was raised not to show emotion and that he was very good at showing a “stiff upper lip.” But being married to him all those years, she knew that it was very difficult for him to experience such loss.

Grandpa saying “I guess that’s why there’s Valium” sounds just like his sense of humor, another way of deflecting from deep emotion.

Grandma and Grandpa in later years

I hope you’ll stay tuned for Part VII of Grandpa’s story . . . .

Here are the first parts of the story:

Click this link for Part I

Click this link for Part II

Click this link for Part III

Click this link for Part IV

Click this link for Part V

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, Cora DeKorn Zuidweg, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Lucille Edna Mulder Zuidweg, Photography early 20th century, Richard DeKorn, Zuidweg | Tagged Adrian Zuidweg, DeKorn, DeKorn family, DeKorn genealogy, early 1900s, family history, genealogy, history of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo history, Michigan history, Richard DeKorn, Zuidweg surname | 17 Comments

17 Responses

on August 27, 2013 at 7:32 am | Reply Sheila Morris

Your grandfather had such a tough life – he really was a remarkable man. And he looks so sweet in that picture. They both do! Great photo!
- on August 27, 2013 at 10:02 am | Reply currentdescendent
  
  Thanks, Sheila. Both Grandpa and Grandma were really really neat people. I miss them a lot!
on August 27, 2013 at 10:46 pm | Reply vanbraman

Thanks, I have enjoyed the series. He definitely had a story to tell.
- on August 28, 2013 at 8:57 pm | Reply currentdescendent
  
  Thanks so much for reading the series! There are more to come ;).
on August 31, 2013 at 12:05 pm | Reply jeannieunbottled

Life was tough back then. That’s a great photo of your grandparents. I’m ready to read on….
- on September 1, 2013 at 4:15 pm | Reply currentdescendent
  
  Thanks, Wilma! More coming on Tuesday . . . .
on September 3, 2013 at 5:25 am | Reply My Grandfather’s Story, Part VII | The Family Kalamazoo

[…] « My Grandfather’s Story, Part VI […]
on September 4, 2013 at 2:40 am | Reply gpcox

It is so wonderful to have all this history about the man to put together. Very sad for Adrian at 23 years old, I can relate to that feeling.
- on September 7, 2013 at 3:25 pm | Reply currentdescendent
  
  Oh, I’m sorry that you can relate!
on September 10, 2013 at 5:31 am | Reply My Grandfather’s Story, Part VIII | The Family Kalamazoo

[…] Click this link for Part VI […]
on September 12, 2013 at 10:27 am | Reply My Grandfather Died Today | marissabergen602

[…] My Grandfather’s Story, Part VI (thefamilykalamazoo.wordpress.com) […]
on September 17, 2013 at 5:23 am | Reply My Grandfather’s Story, Part IX | The Family Kalamazoo

[…] Click this link for Part VI […]
on September 24, 2013 at 5:53 am | Reply My Grandfather’s Story, Part X | The Family Kalamazoo

[…] Click this link for Part VI […]
on September 24, 2013 at 9:04 am | Reply Catherine

Oh…so sad to be orphaned so young. What a wonderful relationship your grandparents had, eh? 🙂 …
- on September 24, 2013 at 1:09 pm | Reply currentdescendent
  
  They were a wonderful couple! They couldn’t be separated.
on October 1, 2013 at 5:26 am | Reply My Grandfather’s Story, Part XI | The Family Kalamazoo

[…] Click this link for Part VI […]
on October 8, 2013 at 5:42 am | Reply My Grandfather’s Story, Part XII (Final “Episode”) | The Family Kalamazoo

[…] Click this link for Part VI […]

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Cover photo shows flooding at the Water Works Bridge in Kalamazoo, March 26, 1904. That spring, the water got 6″ higher than the photo shows.
ORDER ERIC HOFFER AWARD FINALIST KIN TYPES: FAMILY HISTORY MEETS LITERATURE
KALAMAZOO AND SW MICHIGAN: This blog shares the photographs and stories of my mother's family--the DeKorn, Zuidweg, and Mulder families which settled in southwestern Michigan. It also occasionally shares the photographs and stories of my father's family from Chicago and Elmhurst, Illinois. Many of the posts are centered around the locations of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands. *The PAGES listed BELOW tell about this blog and summarize the main family branches appearing on this blog. *The TABS at the TOP of the page are a quick way to find posts related to particular family branches.
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A genealogical site devoted to the history of the DeKorn and Zuidweg families of Kalamazoo and the Mulder family of Caledonia