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Hanora (Nonie) Doyle

1890-1970

 

Honora, born into the Michael Doyle family on 13 Jan 1890 at St. Thomas, Minnesota, was known throughout her adult life as Nonie.

The family picture taken in May, 1907 (shown on page 45) shows Nonie as a 17 year old and is an excellent resemblence of how she looked in adult life. Unfortunately, at 17, she appears to have already begun the battle with a weight problem that remained with her thrughout her life.

Nonie was a soft spoken person with a shy smile, though not without the strength of her convictions. In her youth she is reputed to have be en an excellent sofball player. She also loved to dance and was very good at it. She must have truly married for love as Martin dicln't dance at all.

Martin was the son of Joseph John Muckerheide and Margaret Lang. He was born at Wausau, Wisconsin on 18 May 1891. Martin was the opposite of Nonie in every way. He was slender of build with an aggresive, challenging personality. This was likely a defensive mechanism, as he was, in fact, very soft hearted with any one who had a problem.

On 17 Sep 1918, shortly after their we dding, Martin's unit went off to combat in France where he was badly gassed in one engagement. Martin never fully recovered from this and was left with defective eye coordination for the balance of his life. After the war Martin related an interesting event which took place on one Holiday at the front. The opposing infantry units laid down their guns and visited with each other, exchanging names and family histories, whenever the language barrier could be bridged. When the German troops learned Martin's surname they immediately sent for a similarly named person in their unit. The German turned out to be a Von Muckerheide from the same area of Germany Martin's ancestors had emigrated from. They could well have been cousins. The following day, all contacts were back to normal and guns were again blazing in anger

Nonie had returned to the Doyle family home at 2738 Colfax Avenue South, Minneapolis, while Martin was overseas. There she worked as a telephone operator. Martin's unit returned to the U.S. on 5 Feb 1919 and .on 20 Feb 1919 at Camp Grant, Illinois, he was mustered out of the army. Nonie joined him in Wausau, where they set up their first family residence. During the night of 5/6 Jan 1920 a severe snow storm hit Wausau and on the morning of the 6th everything had come to a standstill in town. Typically, as dawn broke Martin and Nonie's first child decided it was time to be born. Nonie and Martin lived at the bottom of a big hill while St. Mary's Hospital was at the top and no mode of transportation could make the climb. There was no alternative except to walk. Up the hill Nonie "labored", in every sense of the word, and Martin was behind her pushing. Immediately on arrival at the hospital Nonie delivered their first child, Martin Andrew. Martin's god-parents were Clarence Muckerheide and Anastasia Doyle.

The use again of the name Martin created a problem for the son as he quickly became, Junior, to the aunts, uncles, and cousins. He dislikes the "Jr." yet today, especially since he isn't a "Jr." He doesn't object to being called Marty, so lets refer to him that way.

Marty was "sickly" as an infant, or so it seemed. It was finally discovered that the doctor was the problem. This resulted in Nonie's ultimatum that they move to Minneapolis and get another doctor. They made the move in Jun 1920 and lived with the Doyle family at 21st and Lyndale until the following spring. The change of scenery and/or doctor proved beneficial and the child's health improved. However, he continued to be plagued with illnesses for about eight years more.

In Minneapolis, through the efforts of Arnie Heger, who was the husband of Nonie's first cousin, Nora Regan Heger, Martin got a job with the Great Northern Railroad as a brakeman. There he remained until his retirement.

Son, Martin, contracted polio at age 2, but made a good recovery. In the next few years he had several bouts with pneumonia. In 1924 another son, John, was born but he died as an infant. The family resided in St. Louis Park at 2633 Webster Avenue for most of heir wedded life.

It was at the Webster Avenue home where son, Marty, grew up and lived until World War II erupted and chanmged the lives of everyone.

The attack on Pearl Harbor took place 7 Dec 1941. On Martys bitirthday, 6 Jan 1942, Marty enlisted in the U.S. Army AirCorps.

After various military assignments, Marty volunteered for the Glider Pilot Program and was sent to Lubbock Air Force Base in Texas. While there he met and courted his wife to be and, following in his Dad's footsteps, he was a man of action. He proposed and on 6 Aug 1944 married Mildred Payton at Dalhart, Texas. Mildred v,as born 8 Jan 1924 at Slayton, Texas to the marriage of Jame William Payton and Ruby Estelle Bratnlett.

Nonie and Martin made the trip to Texas for the wedding and liked their new daughter-in-law from the start.

Shortly thereafter, the Glider Program was discontinued. Marty was transferred into the B-29 program as an Armorer and scheduled for duty in the South Pacific.

In short order, W.W.II ended and in Nov 1945 Marty, like his father was assigned to Camp McCoy, Wisconstn. It was from there that he was discharged.

Over the next several years, Nonie and Martin took at least two trips each yeax: to visit their son and family. These trips were to such places as Austin, Minnesota, Grand Island and Lexington, Nebraska, Chicago, Illinois and Seattle, Washington. Whenever possible they made these trips by train using their "passes" plus getting a sleeper. They both enjoyed train travel.

In 1950 they made an exception and drove. Taking Nonie's sister, Stasia, and Stasia's friend, Helen Coughlin, they took off for Mexico. Even though they were careful of what they ate and drank, they celebrated their visit to beautiful Acapulco by being sickend from that famous illness, "Montezuma1s Revenge". In any event it was a run trip for them. They stopped off in Austin, Minnesota to visit Marty, Mildred and grandchildren.

In 1957 Martin retired from the railroad. By this time son, Marty, and family were living in Seattle, Washington. This made a pleasant und comfortable train trip for Nonie and Martin and they made the trip several times. The last two of their grandchildren were born in Seattle.

Martin Joseph died on 19 Dec 1962 at the Veteran's Hospital, Fort Snelling, Minnesota and is buried in the National Cemetery, Fort Snelling.

Nonie remained in the St. Louis Park Homestead for a while, but in August of 1966 sold the house and took up residence in an apartment at 36th and Grand South, Minneapolis, where she was conveniently close to sisters, Catherine and Anastasia.

She regularly took the train to Seattle to visit son, Marty, and family. It was during one of those visits that she became seriously ill and died in Seattle on 6 Feb 1970. She is buried with her husband, Martin , in Fort Snelling National Cemetery.