Reflections on 1939
Evelyn and Orville married in October of 1939. In fact, in Evelyn’s 1939 datebook, a single entry for Sunday, October 1 reads “marry Orville Pace.” I always thought this was testament to Evelyn’s organizational skills. After having read and typed many of hers and Orville’s letter, I now know that that entry was in his handwriting. And, according to my mother, is the wrong date anyway. Apparently they were married on October 15th. Despite the fears of her family, and the war that her father warned her about, Evelyn and Orville remained married until his death in March of 1974. I was four years old when he died. I was taken to the funeral after expressing a lot of confusion. When my mother told me that his body would be buried, but his soul would be in heaven, I asked what where his head was going. In an effort to keep me from going through life with the vision of of headless grandfather in the ground, my parents took me to the funeral. I have a vague memory of seeing him in his open casket, and of my grandmother being presented with a beautifully-folded American flag.
Enough about that! I just put the 1940 letters in chronological order. They are all from Evelyn to Orville, with the exception of a couple of letters to the both of them. I’m not sure if Orville just quit writing after they married, or what. But we don’t have any letters from him in 1940.
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