LaVerne "VERN"  Bouwman's Life
BEFORE THE NAVY
...
In reviewing all the facts in our family tree and history, we are like most families in the world. Actually we are more fortunate that many, many others. In our family tree I know where my relatives come from and can prove I am a "Son the American Revolution". My Bouwman grand parents come from the Netherlands and Sheckler grand parents come from Germany.
In the last few years of my mothers life, she told me a lot about herself, some in a letter to me. She became upset when I started to research the families. She had troubling thoughts all through her life just as I have had. This I know because when I had trouble finding a record of her marriage to my father, she screamed, "you are going to find out anyway, I wasn't married when you were conceived". We kind of laughed under out breath, we had figured that out years before. She was married in 1934 but I never did find the record or date. She divorced my father in 1939 after my 2nd sister was born. I couldn't find that record either. She remarried in 1946 to Irwin F. Hutchins, a WWII Veteran and recipient of the Silver Star. Yes my mother had many worries on her mind. She passed away at the age of 90 in 2007, Lois Marie Sheckler Bouwman Hutchins. Mom was a WWII "Can Do Mom".
I was born in 1935 in Allegan, Michigan. My memories are displayed on my web pages relating to the railroad in the area, Hutchins Lake, and through my book "Family Fusing in Fennville".  There are a few bad items in our family history, one is that my father was in prison most of his life and died on the street. I really think it was because he was kind of ignored in the family being his twin sister had gotten most of the attention. That's just a thought, it all started during hard times of the depression. There has also been some cases of fathers abusing daughters. Every body else has been a joy to me, having fun at family dinners, sunday visits and fishing. I know of no homosexuals in the family.

My school years were fun also, playing baseball, boy scouting, and working at the local super market. In the last few years I found that four of my teachers served in WWII.
It was after I was discharged from the Navy, that thoughts have haunted me right up to the days of this writing.