Are You Related?

Ellsworth Wesley Veldboom

 Ellsworth Wesley Veldboom circa 1940’s

Born: 6 Jul 1925, Oostburg, Wisconsin

Parents: John Henry Veldboom and Josie Navis

Siblings: Mabel Janette (1908-1931), Gordon John, Eugene George (1920-1932)

Marriage: to Joyce Marthenze 04/06/1944 Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Marriage Announcement:
Miss Marthenze and E. Veldboom married April 6th
Miss Joyce Marthenze, route 3, Sheboygan, and Ellsworth Veldboom, 1035 Georgia Ave., repeated their vows April 6th before the Rev. John C. Schaap, in the parsonage of the Christian Reformed church, Oostburg, at 3:30 o’clock in the afternoon. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F.C. Marthenze was married in a tailored gabardine dress with a white lace collar and a red hat with a navy blue veil. With this she wore a corsage of red and white roses.  Miss Jean Price was the bride’s maid of honor, and the bridegroom, the son of Mrs. John Veldboom, chose Elmer Veldboom, his cousin, as best man. A wedding dinner was served to the bridal party at Everett’s Lodge before the couple took a short wedding trip. They returned on Easter sunday and are residing at 1035 Georgia Ave. The young Mrs. Veldboom was formerly a clerk at the H.C. Prange company and the bridegroom is a salesman at the Sheboygan Baking Comapany.
Children:

#1 Judith (1944)

#2 Joan Carol Veldboom (1945-1967)

#3 Debra (1955)

Death: 6 Aug 1976, Madison Wisconsin. Buried Milton Lawns Cemetary, Janesville, Wi. Died of cerebral hemorrhage age 51.

Biography:

Ellsworth was born July 6, 1925, the 4th child of John and Josie Veldboom. When Ellsworth, or Ellie as he was called, was 6 years old, his sister Mabel died of Tuberculosis (TB) at age 23. It was commonly called consumption in those days. The following year, his older brother Eugene, who was 12, died of TB. Ellie’s aunt Jemima said that when Mabel and Eugene were sick, Ellie had to go and stay with his aunt and uncle, Peter and Minnie Daane for a time. It was no doubt a very sad time in their life. Ellsworth’s father died of TB nine years later.   Ellsworth was sent to the Rocky Knoll TB sanitarium a short while after his father died and stayed for about a year.  The following articles appeared in the Sheboygan Press: Jan 14, 1942 - Mrs. John Veldboom and Gordon Veldboom called on Ellsworth Veldboom (age 16) at the Rocky Knoll Sanitorium last Wed. afternoon.
April 2nd, 1942:
Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Veldboom, Mrs. John Veldboom and Mr. and Mrs. John Luteyn called upon Ellsworth Veldboom at the Rocky Knoll Sanitorium Sunday evening. Ellsworth has been a patient there for some time and is improving satisfactorily.                                                                                                                                                                                                   April 22, 1942: Ellsworth Veldboom has returned to Rocky Knoll Sanitorium after a recent 3 day visit with his mother, Mrs. Josie Veldboom.  

He and his mother moved from Oostburg to Sheboygan in November 1943.  After he returned home, he did not return to school as he needed to work to help support his widowed mother. His brother Gordon recalled him working one summer at his cement factory in Oostburg and apparently didn’t last for more than a few days. Cement work is very physically demanding, and cement powder got down into his socks and shoes, causing chemical burns of his skin. He then started working at Siegert’s Sheboygan Baking Company by 1943; shortly thereafter, he met and married Joyce Marthenze of Sheboygan and had two daughters in 1944 and 1945.  Sometime in the early 1950’s, Ellie moved the family to Janesville, WI and became the district manager of Jaeger Baking Company. The company was based out of Milwaukee, but had an office in Janesville which served as a distribution center for their bakery products to local restaurants and grocery stores. Ellie was a jack-of-all trades at Jaeger. He was responsible for local marketing, acted as a substitute route driver and drove to Milwaukee or Green Bay to pick up and deliver extra products when orders were incorrect. Another daughter was born in 1955. His daughter Joan was diagnosed with a brain tumor around 1962 when she was about 17 years old. There were many trips back and forth to Madison and Milwaukee for surgery and treatment, but unfortunately, Joan died 3-4 years later at age 21.  Joyce was never really able to get over this and suffered problems with depression and alcoholism for a number of years. Ellie and Joyce seperated and he moved to a cottage on Lake Koshkonong in Edgerton, Wisconsin. He enjoyed his life there tremendously and lived two doors down from one of his best friends, Floyd Thorson. They jointly purchased a pontoon boat and loved taking family and friends for a ride around the lake. Ellie was a very gregarious person, loving a good laugh and in general being around people. He tended to believe in the underdog and was always willling to give someone a second chance. He was a very astute businessman and kept current on politics and finance. His dream was to open his own restaurant, which I believe he would have been tremendously successful at, but because of life’s circumstances, was not to be. He purchased several rental homes one by one over the course of about 10 years, with the goal of these being his retirement income. Ellie suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 1976 and died at a Madison Hospital 2 weeks later on August 6th, 1976, having just turned 51. His last hours before the stroke were spent in a perfect way - out on his boat at the lake and cooking out with his 2 daughters and all of his grandchildren.

Obituary:

(Janesville Gazette) Ellsworth Veldboom, 51, Edgerton, died Saturday morning at Madison General Hospital following a brief illness. He was born July 6, 1925, in Oostburg and had been a Janesville resident for 30 years prior to moving to Edgerton recently. He married Joyce Marthenze April 6, 1943 (error -was 1944), in Sheboygan. For the past 25 years he was district manager of Jaeger Baking Co., Janesville and Milwaukee. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Janesville, and Ducks Unlimited. Surving are his wife; two daughters; four grandchildren; one brother, Gordon, Oostburg. Services are at 1:30 p.m. Monday in Schneider Funeral Home with burial in Milton Lawns Memorial Park. Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association.

Census:

1930 US Census, WI, Sheboygan Co, Oostburg (indexed as “Veldboone” ), appears correctly spelled on census sheet as Veldboom:
John, head of household, owns home, value $4000, owns radio, age 52, married at age 28. Works as builder building houses. Wife Josie, age 42, married at age 18. Mabel, age 21, works as operator (telephone); Gordon, age 18, works as truck driver; Eugene, age 9 8/12; Ellsworth age 4 5/12.

                                                                                             circa 1930                         

                   circa 1950’s