We can only guess, he had to be a very lonely man. As his son, I did not let him know where we lived under the advice of his sister Gertrude.  At that time I was busy starting my family, a son in 66 and a daughter in 68. Yes I to was too busy to care about other family members. I called Aunt Gertrude several years later, she told me he had died and where he was buried. She suggested that I place a head stone on his grave. She was in the nursing home at this time. In May of 1999 I tried to call her again and her telephone had been disconnected.  I checked the obituaries and there she was.

On our visit with her in 1960 she said the family called him the black sheep of the family. I do not know if he was sort of shunned or what but is obvious. something. happened  to his motivation in life. We will never know what it was. It is said that our life is molded during its very first days. The Bouwman family has been a very christian family and even in that, little things can happen. There may have been many times he needed a little more attention or love. This may have been when he started to take things he felt he needed.

I was conceived out of his and my mother's love. Herman was my mother's first love and they soon had two more children. The Sheckler family was good to him and helped him get a good job. He still felt the need to take what was not his. My mother had no choice but to divorce him to take him away from us kids so she could raise us properly. My mother worked very hard, especially during WWII in the factories working on parts for airplanes and parachutes. She loves us and we love her. We kids loved our Grandpa & Grandma Sheckler and Uncle Junior, Uncle Frank and Aunt Edie too.  We especially need to thank Irwin F. Hutchins whom Mom married, helping us through our teens. They were all there to help us when we needed it.

This man is still part of our family. We can not dis-own him. He must be forgiven for he just could not help himself. He needed help and I am not sure where he could have gotten it. My mother has said many times how she got mad at him but I have never heard her speak a bad word about him. She is always interested in hearing about what I find out about the Bouwman family.