Bill Becker Fichter

For the past month, each Sunday evening, my husband and I have been watching the HBO mini-series, The Pacific.  It is a very interesting and well done show.   Except for the invasion of Pearl Harbor, I did not have that much knowledge of WWII in the Pacific, but watching all the things that those brave men endured makes me respect them all the more.  It has also made me think of ancestors that served in the military, one in particular, my grandmother's first cousin, Bill Becker Fichter.

Billy, as my grandmother always called him, was born in 1923 in either Ripley or Georgetown, Ohio.  His mother was Edith Bekcer Fichter and his father was Nickolas Kramer Fichter.  Bill began his  service in the Navy in 1943 and was a Pharmacist's Mate, Second Class.  I searched the Internet to see if I could discover the details of his service, but was not successful.  I did learn that a pharmacist's mate would have administered medical aid, treatment, and service to naval personnel.  They would have served on a hospital ship, naval ground hospital, or possibly in battled if accompanying a Marine unit.  I will keep looking to see if I can find out exactly what Bill did in the war.  

Bill lived to be 75 years old having died in 1998.  He is buried in the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.  

Emma M. Koewler Zimmer

I never met Emma Koewler Zimmer. She was only a name in the database of my genealogy program, RootsMagic. I don't remember entering her there although looking back, I can see that my knowledge of her came from a found 1930 census record in which a family with the last name of Koewler was recorded as living in Union Township in Brown County, Ohio.

Any record of a Koewler in Brown County, or anywhere for that matter, arouses my interest because there are so few of them and the name seems quite scarce. I happened to find Emma again in the obituary section of August 13th edition of The Ripley Bee. She and I are second cousins twice removed, which in the grand scheme of the things, is really nothing. But all in all, she is a member of my family. We have two ancestors in common - Henricus Koewler and his wife Marie Anna Fichter. Henricus and Marie were my three greats grandparents while they were Emma's great-grandparents.

Neither of us ever met Henricus or Marie. They had been born in Schonau, Germany which is somewhere in Bavaria. He in 1806 and she is 1808. That's it; that's all I know about them. I have no idea if they even came to America although at least six of their nine known children did, one of which was my great great grandfather, Anton or Anthony, who came around 1866 and settled in Ripley.

Anyway, this morning, as I read a small town newspaper, Emma Koewler Zimmer reminded me that a family is a huge entity. Through her obituary, I learned a tiny bit about her, and she led me to think about people and how, sometimes, connections are there even though we have no idea they exist. Because we share a few of the same genes, Emma M. Koewler Zimmer is a member of my family; distant to be sure, but a member none the less. I'm glad I found her.

From The Ripley Bee, August 13, 2009, page A6, Column 1 -

Emma M. Zimmer, 95, of Dayton, formerly of Ripley, died August 9,
2009.
She was a member of the Altar Rosary Society, the Free Spirits Club,
and the Charles Latrum Senior Center.
Mrs. Zimmer was the daughter of the
late Anna and John Koewler. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert F.
Zimmer; two sons, Donald and Michael Zimmer; three sisters-in-law, Marcella Bent
and Doris Zimmer, both of Dayton, and Garnet Zimmer of Bellbrook; one
brother-in-law and spouse, Elmer and Edris Zimmer.
She is survived by
numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, and many
friends.
Visitation will be held 9 - 11 am Friday, Aug. 14 at Immaculate
Conception Church, 2300 Smithville Rd. in Dayton. Mass of the Christian burial
will be 11 am Friday, Aug. 14, at the church. Interment will be in Calvary
Cemetery. The Tobias Funeral Home - Belmont Chapel serving the family.
If
desired, memorials may be made to Immaculate Conception Church.
Online
condolences may be made at www.tobiasfuneralhome.com