The Chris and Elizabeth
Boilesen Family Album
Chris and Elizabeth Boilesen's
six children were Floyd,
Lester,
Lois,
Fern,
Axel,
and Garold.
All were born and raised on their farm west of Cotesfield, Nebraska.
Because of finances and the Depression the family moved in 1943 'across
the river' east of Cotesfield to a farm with Garold the only child
still in the house.
(L-R Back) Fern, Floyd;
(Front) Lester, Lois
L-R Backrow: Lester,
Axel, Floyd; Lois and Fern in front ca. 1927
Axel, Lester, Garold and Floyd ca. 1938
Lois, Fern holding
Garold, and Axel, 1937
Family portrait -
Backrow L-R Fern, Floyd, Axel, Lester, Lois; Front row Garold,
and parents Elizabeth and Chris, circa 1941
The four brothers
L-R Axel, Lester, Floyd and Garold in front
Fern and Lois
Cotesfield
News: The Phonograph, St. Paul, Nebraska October 7, 1936
Lois and Fern
Ray and Lois, Mildred
and Floyd 1939
"1940 there
about"
1949 (Cotesfield
farm across the river)
Lois, Fern and Betty
Circa 1951
January 1982
Floyd
Axel Boilesen was the eldest, born on
October 4, 1915 in Cotesfield, Nebraska.
The Cotesfield Department:
The St. Paul Phonograph, July 15, 1918
Floyd (two-years 9 months)
was the baby thrown from the wagon with his mother. Lester would
be born six weeks later.
Cotesfield News:
The Phonograph, St. Paul, Nebraska March 11, 1931
Floyd and Mildred
were married on July 15, 1938 in Ord, Nebraska
July 20, 1938, The
Phonograph, St. Paul, NE
Mildred M. Johnson was born on January
1, 1916 on the family farm in Howard County, Nebraska to Clyde
and Rosa (Hunter) Johnson.
Mildred passed on September 13,
2003.
Floyd Axel Boilesen was born on October
4, 1915 in Cotesfield, Nebraska.
Floyd passed on February 20, 1988.
Floyd and Mildred lived
in Salina, Kan., Burwell, Scotia and Loup City before settling on
a farm near Ord in 1948. They farmed until 1958 and then moved to
Ord and ran agricultural enterprises, selling the business in 1980.
Floyd and Mildred had
four children: Janice, Carol, Gaylord and Ila.
Lester
Andrew Boilesen was born on August 28,
1918 in Cotesfield, Nebraska.
Enlisted in Army June
19, 1944 Leavenworth, Kansas
Bernice and Lester were
married on May 27, 1949 in Brownhelm, Ohio.
Lester Andrew Boilesen was born on
August 28, 1918 in Cotesfield, Nebraska.
Rev. Lester passed on March 23, 1994.
Bernice Hasenpflug was born on July
1, 1924 to Arthur A. and Marian A. (Brandau) Hasenpflug in Brownhelm,
Ohio.
Bernice passed on August 15, 2016.
Bernice and Lester served many United
Methodist churches in Nebraska during a period of more than 40 years.
Lester and Bernice had
one son, Eugene, and an adopted daughter, Susan
Lois Marie Boilesen,
was born December 17, 1919 in Cotesfield, Nebraska.
Lois
was baptized as a child in the Dannevirke Danish Lutheran Church.
Cotesfield: The
St. Paul Phonograph, April 15, 1920
Lois was the baby being
referenced in this article.
Lois graduated from
Cotesfield High School in 1938.
Lois and Ray Stevens were married
in St. Paul, Nebraska, on January 21, 1939.
Cotesfield News:
The Phonograph, St. Paul, NE, January 25, 1939
Cotesfield News:
The Phonograph, St. Paul, NE, February 1, 1939
Lois and Ray first made their home
on the Stevens family farm northeast of Cotesfield where they farmed
until 1961.
The Stevens'
Family Trip to Oregon 1958
Ray and Lois visiting
Ray's sister Wilma in Oregon, 1958
Ray and Lois had three
children: Leila, Russell and Jeanne
Raymond Paul Stevens was born on April
4, 1919 to Willie and Agnes Stevens.
Ray Stevens passed on July 7, 1991.
Lois Marie Boilesen,
was born December 17, 1919 in Cotesfield, Nebraska.
Lois Stevens passed on January 27,
2007.
Fern
Johanna Boilesen was born on February 12,
1921 in Cotesfield, Nebraska.
Cotesfield News:
The Phonograph, St. Paul, Nebraska May 14, 1930
The Phonograph,
St. Paul, Nebraska Wednesday, May 5, 1937
Note: This would mean
that Fern went into Hospital on April 30, 1937.
The Phonograph,
St. Paul, Nebraska May 12, 1937
The Phonograph,
St. Paul, Nebraska June 9, 1937
The Phonograph,
St. Paul, Nebraska June 9, 1937
The Phonograph,
St. Paul, Nebraska June 16, 1937
This would mean that
Fern was released from hospital on June 9, 1937, 5 weeks after surgery.
Fern and Albert were
married on June 6, 1942 in St Paul, Nebraska
Howard County
Herald, June 10, 1942
Crysta, Gloria, and Sheryl
Stroh L-R at home, Christmas 1957
Fern visiting parents
at their farm
Fern and Albert had three
daughters: Sheryl, Gloria and Crysta
Fern and Albert 1982
Fern Johanna Boilesen was born on
February 12, 1921 in Cotesfield, Nebraska.
Fern Boilesen Stroh passed on August
26, 1990.
Albert Glenn Stroh was born on December
11, 1920.
Rev. Albert passed on September 16,
2005.
Axel
Christian Boilesen was born on April 18,
1923 in Cotesfield, Nebraska.
Here's how the Cotesfield Department
section of the Howard County Herald reported his birth in
their Thursday, April 26, 1923 edition:
Born to Mr. and
Mrs. Chris Boilsen (sic) on Wednesday morning, a bright little baby
boy, with Dr. Arnold of St. Paul and Mrs. Wm. Lint, in attendance.
All concerned are doing nicely, as well as circumstances will allow,
as the mother had been suffering with pleurisy for several days
before the arrival of the baby. She is resting very comfortably
at this writing (Monday).
Axel was named for
his late cousin Axel Chris Boilesen, eldest son of his Uncle Hans
Boilesen (brother of Chris Boilesen) who passed away on June 15,
1922 at the age of 13.
The following is the Obituary
for young Axel as it appeared in the St. Paul Phonograph newspaper
on June 21, 1922, p.8.
Cotesfield News:
The Phonograph, St. Paul, Nebraska January 9, 1929
Axel and Betty were
school classmates
Cotesfield class
picture for Grammar Room, 1936-37
Axel and Betty were
married on August 25, 1946
For details about this
wedding see Betty Ann Barr's Wedding
Axel and Betty had three
children: Douglas, Beverly and James
Betty Ann Barr
was born on August 26, 1924.
Betty Boilesen passed on October 26,
2000.
Axel Christian Boilesen was
born on April 18, 1923 in Cotesfield, Nebraska.
Axel Boilesen passed on March 21,
2013.
Garold
Eugene Boilesen was born on November 23,
1935 in Cotesfield, Nebraska.
Garold 6 Months
"Papa & Garold
behind the hen house" c.1937
Garold and Russell
"Garold in need
of new teeth"
Garold
Garold holding Russell,
Edna Mae holding Janice.
Garold with Floyd's calf
Garold, circa 1943
Garold in back row fourth
from left; Russell third from left and Leila seventh from left front
row - District 5 School House east of river.
High School Graduation
1954
After graduating from high school
Garold attended Northrop Aeronautical Institute in Inglewood Ca.
for training and certification as an Airframe and Power-plant mechanic.
Here's how Garold described that time period and his next steps:
The job market was
tight between the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. The USAF had certain
career fields with by-pass programs whereby with Test completion
a person could go directly to work from USAF basic Training. This
was relatively a time of peace so not much family worry. I was 20
years old. A USAF recruiter came to the farm and told me I would
probably be a B-47 pilot. I never saw him again.
The hope of being a pilot had some
precedence in his family. His older brother Axel had wanted to become
a pilot when he joined the Army to serve
in World War II. Garold was only seven at the time but probably
knew that his brother's military dream was to fly a P-38 which they
occasionally would see fly over their farm. Axel's failed depth
perception test, however, ended that dream. Garold's neighbor and
cousin Dwain R. Rasmussen likewise wanted to fly and was deployed
in Europe as a 'left-side waist gunner' on a B-17. On Dwain's
33rd mission, January 9, 1945, his B-17 went down in the English
Channel.
After his certification Garold would
join the Air Force in 1956. He would not become a B-47 pilot but
he continued his aircraft mechanics training while in the Air Force.
Airplanes and tools and motors would
continue to define Garold's career, his hobbies, where he would
live and what he would fix next.
Upon completing his military service
in 1960 Garold joined Braniff International Airways, Inc. and moved
to Des Moines, Iowa. While in Des Moines he met and married Andrea
Huddleston, who also worked for Braniff.
Garold with parents on
the farm, April 1956.
Garold and Andrea,
July 1, 1964, The Phonograph, St. Paul, NE
Garold and Andrea "Andy"
Boilesen were married on August 8, 1964.
Andrea "Andy" Boilesen was
born on February 14, 1939 to Robert and Lillian Huddleston and raised
in Williams, Iowa.
Andy attended Iowa State University
and went on to work for the airlines, initially as a flight attendant
based in New York City. She met her husband, Garold “Jerry” Boilesen,
in 1963, through mutual friends–Andy was a ticket agent and Jerry
was an aircraft mechanic at the Des Moines airport. They married
on August 8, 1964.
After marriage Garold and Andy moved
to Miami in 1969 and then to
Denver; next to Des Moines and back to Denver. After joining Northwest
Airlines in 1983 they lived in Minneapolis until retirement in 2005.
In 2006 their official retirement
destination was completed with their move to Webster City, Iowa.
Andy and Garold had two children,
Karen and Robert.
Karen
Robert
October 2017
Andrea "Andy" Boilesen was
born on February 14, 1939 to Robert and Lillian Huddleston and raised
in Williams, Iowa.
Andrea passed on March 24, 2018.
Garold Eugene Boilesen was
born on November 23, 1935 in Cotesfield, Nebraska.
Garold passed on February 21, 2023.
He was the last surviving sibling of the Chris and Elizabeth Boilesen
family.
Chris and Elizabeth
Boilesen Family Gatherings
The Grandchildren with
Grandpa and Grandma at their farm, 1951
Grandchildren of Chris
and Elizabeth (the cousins) at picnic Ord, NE1952
Family picnic Central
City 1953 (Elizabeth and Chris far left)
Family reunion, Lincoln,
September 2007
Family reunion, Garold,
Bernice and Axel, Lincoln 2007
Garold and Axel, Lincoln
September 2007
Cousins gather with Garold,
October 2021
Cousins gather March
4, 2023
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