Person Page 807

Obituary -- (Findagrave.com):

ARTHUR IRA HULL

Arthur Ira Hull passed away Wednesday, November 10, 1971 at the Masonic Home in Wichita at the age of 90 years, 6 months and 24 days.

He was born, April 16, 1881 near Downs, Kansas. Mr. Hull was the son of Franklin and Ellen Burns Hull.

On March 21, 1906, Arthur and Meda Munsinger were united in marriage, and spent 65 happy years together.

Mr. Hull was a traveling salesman for 31 years and also worked

13 years at the Sanitarium in Norton, Kansas.

He became a member of the Masonic Lodge in Gaylord, Kansas in 1907. This membership was then transferred to the Downs Lodge, where he retained his membership.

Surviving are his widow, Meda, of the home, twelve nieces and nephews, several grandnieces and nephews, also several great-grandnieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by three brothers and sisters.

The funeral service was held Friday, November 12, at 2:00 p.m. at the Domoney Funeral Home, Downs. Rev. Lee Wiersma of Wathena, a great-nephew of Mr. Hull, officiated at the service.

Janice Wiersma a great niece, was soloist, accompanied by Mary Remus at the piano.…

Burial was in the Downs Cemetery with graveside services by the Downs Masonic Lodge.

OBITUARY

Mrs. Cecile DeVault

Mrs. Cecile DeVault, 72, of 1455 Ninth Street, Gering, died at her home Monday. She was born Jan. 16, 1894 at Linden, Iowa. She attended school at Linden and was graduated from Kirkman High School in Kirkman, Iowa. She then came with her parents to Bayard.

She married Henry DeVault in Bayard in 1916.

She lived in the Bayard community many years and later became associated with the L. B. Murphy Co. in Bridgeport. She retired in 1959 when she moved to Reseda, Calif., to be with her son and family. She returned to Gering in 1963 where she made her home with S. N. Howell of Gering.

She is survived by one son, William DeVault of Reseda; one brother, Samuel Howell of Gering, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild. One brother preceded her in death.

Funeral services will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. at the Boley-Dennis Funeral Home in Gering with the Rev. Merton D. Wyatt officiating. Burial will be in Reseda. A memorial has been established to the Heart Fund.

Cecile told this story to her daughter-in-law, Marvel (Hillman) DeVault.

When Cecile's son Bill got a new car he picked her up and took her for a drive. Shortly after they started out he turned a corner sharply and Cecile's door came open. Cecile almost fell out, but she was a short lady and her feet hooked under the dash. I can almost imagine the scene as the car rounds the corner with the top half of Cecile suspended in space and her only connection to the car being her feet hooked under the dash.

Bayard Transcript - January 6, 1938

Mrs. Cecil DeVault has accepted a position as bookkeeper for the Cox Lunber company. Mrs. DeVault was formerly employed as a clerk in the L. B. Murphy store which recently closed out.

Bill and Marvel were married in Alliance, Nebraska. They drove to Alliance with her parents, her sister Erma and his mom. They were married in the vestibule of the First Presbyterian Church. Marvel wore a wine-colored dress that she bought in Scottsbluff. They had saved some money and bought a console radio in Alliance. After the ceremony they all went to see a movie and then went back to her parents' farm for dinner. Marvel says that they still had the radio when they moved to Reseda, California in 1950.

After Bill and Marvel were married, they lived at the Anderson House apartments in Bridgeport, Nebraska. Marvel was working at the Farm Bureau in Bridgeport. She quit her job at the Farm Bureau and followed her sister, Erma, to Washington DC for a higher paying job at the Census Bureau. The depression was over, but jobs in rural Nebraska were still hard to come by. At one point, Cecile, Sam and Bill were all out of work, all living on Marvel's salary. Bill and Sam even drove to Denver looking for work.

Bill moved to Garden Grove, California to go to Vultee Aircraft Assembly School. He went with a friend and they stayed with the friend's relatives. Bill got a job at Lockheed. Marvel (reluctantly, because she was having such a good time in Washington) quit her job in Washington DC and moved to California. Bill and Marvel moved to a small guest house located at 418 1/2 Harvard Road, Burbank, California. Tracy was born there. Bill's mom, Cecile, came to California to stay a few weeks and ended up staying ten months. The small house that was crowded for two, now with four, was impossible to live in. The family moved up the street to 714 Harvard Road. (Cecile returned to Nebraska when Tracy was about 10 months old.) Bill's uncle Sam came out to California when Tracy was about 18 months old. Sam, Marvel and Tracy returned to Nebraska for a visit. Tracy got stuck under the train seat before the train left the station.

The family was living on Pass Ave., Burbank, California (a house they owned) when Bill was drafted. (Tracy was about two years old.) Marvel and Tracy moved to Mountain View, California (living in an apartment). Bill was stationed at Fort Ord. Marvel's sister Doris and her family also lived in Mountain View, California. World War II was over, but Bill was sent to Japan to serve with the Army of Occupation. In December of 1945, Marvel was pregnant with their second child and moved back to her folks farm in Bayard, Nebraska. Tracy had his tonsils taken out. Robin was born in Alliance, Nebraska.

In 1946 Bill returned from Japan and was discharged from the service. Marvel traveled to California to meet him and they went back to Nebraska to join her family for Christmas, '46. The family moved back to California and stayed with Carl and Gerry Cutshaw and their family for a few weeks while Marvel looked for a place to live. The family moved to converted army barracks on Amherst Drive, Burbank, California. (The barracks were located on grounds of McCambridge Park.) In 1950 the family purchased the house at 7338 Garden Grove Ave., Reseda, California. Their third child, Bradford, was born here. Marvel was still living in this house in July, 2002. Bill worked for Bendix Corporation for many years. He also worked for Sun Electric and Brock Engineering for awhile. All three companies were involved in making hydraulic components or test equipment for hydraulic systems used in the aircraft industry. Between these jobs he tried his hand at selling new cars (Pontiacs) and selling real estate. In 1956 Marvel went to work for the Los Angeles City School System and worked as an Office Manager for many years. She worked at a number of schools including Cantara Street School, and Wonderland School. She retired in 1992.

One of the stories that Marvel told her children was about the time she broke both of her arms. She was climbing in a tree and fell. She said she was about twelve years old at the time. Initially she tried to hide the situation from her parents. By the time the swelling went down it was easy to see that her arms were terribly crooked. Her parents took her to the doctor who rebroke and set her arms without benefit of any pain killer. She spent the next several months with both arms in casts.