My Mother, Vera Marie Marx’s Early Years
Patricia Landon now Patricia Landon Lesher
This is the only picture mom had of little Patricia. She is my mother’s
first born child, born in 1929 when she was only 15 years old. Mom
was violated by her step-father, George Kuchman, Sr., when she was
14 years old. She explained that he committed the crime against her in
the cellar at knife point with threats of harm to other family members
if she didn’t cooperate. Her sister, Alice, also suffered abuse from this
step-father. Her mother didn’t want her to go to the police or report
the crime. I suspect she had been threatened also.
With the help of her friends Patrick Landon and his mother, Josie, Vera
had the courage to report this horrible crime to the police. George was
arrested and a trial was set. Vera’s mother refused to testify in her
daughter’s behalf and even forbade Alice to testify. Alice, only nine years old, was afraid to testify and
obeyed her mother’s demands.
Mom’s testimony proved sufficient. George was convicted of raping a minor and sent to prison in Walla
Walla, Washington for fifteen years. He is listed in the prison in the 1930 census. He served 8 years in
prison before he came up for parole.
An influential family member from George’s family came to Walla Walla from Minnesota to plea for him
when the possibility of parole came up. They agreed to be responsible for taking care their brother and
help him find work. George was released to his family and went back to Minnesota.
From correspondence with George’s family, I truly feel they tried to help George. They seemed to be
very nice people. George appears to have been the “black sheep” of the family. By 1939 George was
back in prison in Minnesota. He had befriended a family and violated their 15 year old daughter while
doing repair work on their home. He died in prison years later in 1955 of a heart attack. I have his
Minnesota prison record. Much of it is blacked out, but enough remains to know what happened.
Mom was blessed with the two good friends during her trial and pregnancy.
Josie and her son Patrick Landon were neighborhood friends who understood
that mom needed support and help desperately. Patrick was a couple years
older than mom. He would visit her and take her on walks to get her out of
the house. His mother, Josie, understood her need during this traumatic and
lonely time in her life. Mom never forgot the kindness given her by Pat and
Josie.
This is a photo of Vera at age 14 wearing “Josie’s fur coat”. Patrick brought
the fur coat over to keep mom warm during their evening walks. It was
Patrick who took mom to the hospital when it came time to deliver Patricia. He and his mother bought
some baby clothes and a blanket for little Patty to come home with from the hospital. Patrick told the
hospital that Patricia was his child so mom wouldn’t suffer further shame from the rape and her
daughter wouldn’t carry the Kuchman name.
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My Mother, Vera Marie Marx’s Early Years
Patty’s name is listed as Patricia Landon on her birth certificate.
My grandmother felt that it was “improper” for mom to be a
single mother, so she arranged a marriage for Vera to one of
her own card playing friends, John Kerr. Mom was only 15
years old. John was fifteen years older than she was. Mom was
a timid spirit and rarely stood up for herself. It broke her heart
to be married to someone she didn’t love. She begged not to
have to marry John, but grandmother prevailed. John and Vera were married on March 9, 1929. She
would be 16 years old in 1 month 20 days. Grandma wrote on the certificate that she was 16 years old
already, but was still required to sign for her because she was a minor.
The 1930 Census taken on April 17th, 1930, Patricia is listed as age 1 and 6/12th. It listed mom being
married at age 15 but the 5 was marked over with a six. She does not list her married name as Kerr but
lists herself as Vera Marks on the census living with her mother. She would not be 16 until nine days
after the census was taken. Notice Grandpa Marx lives next door to their home and is trying to help his
children.
John Kerr still lives with his parents and siblings in Renton, Washington in the 1930 census. He came
from a large family that came to Washington from Canada. John Sr. originated in Scotland.
Mom was only able to attend school through the 8th grade. Her circumstances required her to drop out
of school to care for her daughter Patty, her brother George, and her little sister Alice. She told me that
she always studied a dictionary they had in their home so she could keep learning. She loved doing
crossword puzzles all of her life.
Mom loved Patty, Alice and George dearly. She treasured her siblings and her little daughter. Mom
recalled doing the housework – cooking, cleaning and doing the wash while her mother continued her
immoral lifestyle. Her mother often drank and played cards into the wee hours of the morning sleeping
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My Mother, Vera Marie Marx’s Early Years
late into the day. Grandma would often wake Vera up in the middle of the night to take the place of
someone who had left before the card games were over.
Her father, Nicholas Marx, and her mother’s parents George and Emma Siemiller were bright spots in
mom’s early years. She fondly recalled meals at her grandparents and nights much
like family night where her Grandfather Siemiller would read the Bible. Then the
family would all gather around Grandpa Siemiller while he played the Jews Harp as
they sang a variety of songs. She recalled the blue willow dishes they used on
Sundays. She loved to set the table for her
grandmother. She mentioned how she had to be
very careful with the dishes so they wouldn’t be
broken.
Grandma and Grandpa Siemiller were candy makers
and owned a small candy shop attached to their
home. Mom spent as much time there as she could.
It is not surprising that she grew up loving candy and
making very tasty candies herself! We saw a large
copper pot that had been used in their shop when
Edwin and I and our children went to visit Great Uncle Lloyd and Great Aunt Charlotte in Everett. Lloyd
gave me some photos that I treasure like the one above. He is the littlest boy in the photo.
The precious memories from mom’s earlier childhood helped her through her days of trial. She had
been a happy child until the time that Grandma cheated on Grandpa Marx and began living with George
Kuchman. I have not been able to find a marriage record showing she married George Kuchman or a
record of divorce from Nicholas Marx.
Vera’s father, Nicholas Marx, always tried to live near his children and kept touch even after the children
married. He gave them food and clothing and took them shopping when he could. His generosity
continued until the day he died. Each month he gave Dennis and me one dollar from his small monthly
pension. He was so excited to share with us. He picked blackberries and canned them for us even
though he was across the state. He picked hazel nuts and sent them to us also. I knew and loved
Grandpa Marx. He worked so hard and always had wonderful stories of his younger years to share with
my brother Dennis and I. Grandpa lived with us the last 8 years of his life. I will always love and
treasure that wonderful experience.
When Patty was almost four years old, she was playing in the front yard of their
home. She accidently fell from the lawn to the sidewalk below which was about
three feet down. (This is a photo of a similar type of retaining walls in Seattle
where she had her accident) She fell flat on the sidewalk on her little tummy. It
seemed to knock the air out of her lungs, but when she cried that her tummy
hurt, mom rushed her to the doctor. The doctor couldn’t find anything wrong.
She hadn’t broken any bones and could talk just fine. The doctor found out
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My Mother, Vera Marie Marx’s Early Years
after she died that she had ruptured her spleen. Patty died seven days before her fourth birthday on
the 1st of November 1932. Mom would have been about 19 years old at this time. Patty’s death
devastated mom. She suffered thinking that she should have been able to prevent Patty’s accident. She
treasured and kept the photo of Patty until her death in January of 2002.
Once when mom and I went to Louisiana to visit Aunt Alice and her children, Aunt Alice and mom
counted the names of May’s “husbands” that they could remember. They counted seven men. The only
two marriage records I’ve found is one to Nicholas Marx and one to “Pontie” Willis L. Moore.
Life was very difficult for May’s children after she left Nicholas Marx. Uncle George was born as a result
of grandma May’s affair with George Kuchman, Sr. His life as a child was the hardest of any of May’s
children. Mom told of one Christmas when George was just a little boy. He wanted a doll for Christmas
so mom bought him one. When the current male companion of May saw it, he threw the doll down in a
drunken rage shouting “boys do not play with dolls” and stomped on it until it was smashed and broken.
He destroyed his Christmas candy as well. He never once had a reliable father figure, or even had the
same one for long. He joined the navy at a young age. I remember mom worrying about him being
killed and how happy she was to see him when he returned home. “Red Sails in the Sunset” was a
common song around our home. Uncle George spent time in the isles of the Pacific Ocean.
In the 1940 census, grandma May Siemiller is listed with the last name of Predmore. She is living with
Lawrence Dunn and listed as a housekeeper. May’s son, George Kuchman, age 14, is living with her. She
may or may not have married Lawrence Dunn after 1940. I met him once around 1946 when I was
about 8 years old. I remember not feeling comfortable around grandma and being scared of Lawrence.
He drank heavily and swore a lot in anger. They lived near Silver Lake, Washington.
Grandpa Marx was working at a logging mill where he lost half of his thumb. For some reason that I do
not understand, about 1932 Vera moved in with John Kerr, the man her mother had made her marry in
1929. On September 26, 1933 Delores was born. Gerald “Jerry” was born on the 15th of October 1935.
This union was never a happy one. John drank constantly. By 1936 Mom wanted a divorce. The
marriage had been hard with the difficulties because of his drinking problems. She wanted to take her
children where they could have a life free of the trials that come with alcoholism.
Hannah, John’s mother knew mom was very unhappy. She offered to help her while she got a job and
earned money for an apartment so she could take her children. She accepted an offer from Hannah, to
tend the children while she found a job and earned enough money for the apartment. Grandpa Marx
couldn’t tend the children and work and Grandma May was certainly not an option. Hannah had twelve
children and seemed to be sincere in wanting to help her. However, when mom returned two weeks
later, the children were nowhere to be found. Mom had friends help her, but she couldn’t find the
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My Mother, Vera Marie Marx’s Early Years
children anywhere. Hannah had hidden them from Vera and was not giving them back. Their family
was a large family and she was not going to lose her grandchildren.
I can’t even imagine my mother’s dismay and feeling of helplessness. It brings tears to my eyes to
contemplate how she must have grieved. First she lost Pattie and then her little brother, George. Now
Delores and Jerry were gone. She lived with her father while she worked and searched for the children.
I remember her telling me how she spruced up her father’s cabin. She bleached cloth sacks and hung
them up for curtains.
Searching for her children wasn’t easy especially since she had so little money. Few homes had phones
or automobiles. You had to know someone with a car to be able to effectively search for the children.
During this time of her life she met someone whom she sincerely fell in love with. “Red” had wavy red
hair and hated to be called by his real first name, Bernice Lesher. He felt it was a girl’s name. Mom
always said it was love at first site. She chose well! My father was kind, considerate, fair, hardworking
and loving. Red was recovering from a logging accident when mom first met him. If a girl ever had a
hero, my father was mine. He was such a fair and kind father and had a wonderful sense of humor.
A couple of weeks after she met him one of his friends came to mom and told her how ill “Red” was and
he was very worried about him. He asked if mom could help. With his friend’s help, Vera took “Red”
home to grandpa. He had pneumonia complicated by asthma. Once he was well and on his feet again
he went to work. He continued to stay at grandpa’s cabin. Mom and dad knew they wanted to be
married but had to figure out how to get a divorce since John was against it because he was Catholic.
Finally someone told them about advertising for three weeks in a newspaper that John would not see in
another town. They had a lawyer advertise and when the advertisement was not contested, the divorce
was completed.
The divorce was finalized in March of 1938 whereupon they immediately got married. It seems I
couldn’t wait for the correct timing and was born on May 20th, 1938. Now that is what some folks would
call a seriously premature baby! As a young girl, I used to sneak into the green metal document box and
look at my birth certificate. For some reason it seemed strange to me. In the 1940 census, Dad’s
youngest brother Verdene is living with them as well as my Grandfather Marx.
The 1940 census on the following page shows John, age 41, living with his two children, Delores age 7
and Gerald age 5 living in Seattle, Washington. He has a housekeeper who lives with him named Isabell
Hicks, age 42, and her son Ronald age 7, the same age as Delores. John worked at a saw mill. I am not
sure how long Isabell lived at John’s home helping with the children and house.
5
My Mother, Vera Marie Marx’s Early Years
So many things can happen between census records and sometimes it is hard to pinpoint each year’s
history.
After getting married, Dad got a job with a poultry farm and soon had a two bedroom house built.
Dennis was born the 26th of September 1940 after the home
was completed. Dad had grown up on a Kansas farm and now
had chickens, a cow, a pig and a garden – plus their new little
house to take care of his family. They went to the seaside for
seafood that they canned. Things were going well for them,
even though it was the depression.
Dad’s asthma however was becoming severe. It got so bad
that dad had to crawl from the barn to the house after milking the cow in the evening. They knew they
had to leave the coast. Dad’s aunt, Aunt Sarah Troyer who lived in the Spokane Valley had suggested
dad give Spokane a try because it had a much drier climate.
They still had been unable to find Delores and Jerry. No one seemed to know where they were, and if
they did they kept quiet. Sadly mom and dad had to pack their belongings and head to Spokane. Dad’s
asthma improved greatly in Spokane.
Mom never gave up trying to find Delores and Jerry. About 1946, she got a letter from a friend or
relative telling her that she had finally seen Delores and Jerry. Mom was excited to see the children.
She hoped with all her heart that Delores and Jerry would come and live with us. Dad supported her
completely.
We sold our nice little home in Dishman, Washington around that time and moved to a rental unit at
Hauser Lake, Idaho. It was closer to dad’s work. Within a few months Dad quit his job as a manager at
the Navy Supply Depot. I guess we sold our home so we could afford to go Seattle area to get Delores
and Jerry and move maybe to California. When we arrived in Everett, only Delores would give living
with us a try. She was about 13 years old. Jerry couldn’t leave his dad and the aunts and uncles he had
always known. I was so excited to get a new sister!! We were going to move to California, but mom and
dad didn’t seem to like any of the towns we visited. We ended up in Codell, Kansas where dad grew up.
Delores stayed with us for a year, but it was too hard for her. She missed the family she had grown up
with. When she made this decision we packed up and took Delores back to her dad. We then moved
back to Dishman, Washington.
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My Mother, Vera Marie Marx’s Early Years
I learned that Delores had taken on the role of caretaker of her father and brother. John had never
overcome alcoholism. Years later she told me how hard it had been taking care of him. I didn’t see
Delores again for about eleven years.
I finally got to
meet Jerry
(Gerald) when he
and Delores
came to my
wedding. That
was the first time
and last time I
ever saw him. To the left is the only photo I have of
Jerry. He is playing with his little nephews Kenneth and
Randy. Delores was very handy with a needle and
helped alter my wedding dress. It was wonderful to
see my sister again and finally my brother. It was the
last time I ever saw them because I moved to Colorado
not long after getting married.
Delores married a wonderful husband, Warren Reite and
had two sons, Kenneth and Randy. Warren had a good job
and was a responsible and loving husband and father.
Mom and dad loved to visit with Delores and Warren and
their children. To the right is a photo of the Reite family,
two daughters in law and a cute grandchild.
Mom’s sister Alice married John Dull, a bush pilot from
Alaska on August 27, 1935 and went to Bethel, Alaska.
John was an Eskimo so when their son Johnny was born he
was listed as an Eskimo in the 1940 census (dated Nov 10,
1939). David Dull is reported to have been born May 30, 1940. Two years later on March 21, 1942,
there is record in Snohomish, Washington of a baby boy being born and dying on the same day. I’m not
sure when Alice divorced John Dull, but she married Robert Dow on July 2, 1942 in Orlando, Florida.
Alice, Johnny and David stayed in the Seattle,
Washington area until at least 1942 and then
transferred to Orlando, Florida.
Mom, Dad, Delores, Dennis and I visited them at
Smoky Hill Airbase in Salina, Kansas during the time
we lived in Codell, Kansas. I was eight years old or
nine years old. It was the first time I ever met
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My Mother, Vera Marie Marx’s Early Years
Johnny and David. Later they were transferred to Clyde, Texas; Massachusetts; and finally to Louisiana
where sometime in the late 60’s they were divorced. Aunt Alice married James Russell Bryson next on
October 22, 1969. He was a very pleasant person who was paraplegic. She met him at a hospital where
she worked. They were married and traveled a few years before he died. Mom and dad vacationed a
couple times with them.
Alice, mom’s sister ended up living in Bossier City, Louisiana. Her two sons, John
(on the left) and David (below to the right) lived there also. Johnny Dull was a
radio disc jockey in Texas when he grew up. Johnny died before he could find his
real father. He tried to find him several times, but it was difficult to find people
before the internet expanded our ability to do wide searches. I finally found his
dad’s brother Clarence living in Bethel, Alaska, however I
didn’t locate him until both John and his father John Sr.
had passed away. His father, John Dow, Sr. was a well-loved man in his home
town and ran a trading post. John’s Uncle Clarence was very friendly and
invited us to come and visit anytime. David became a police officer in
Shreveport, Louisiana. He was a respected member of the force and earned
several merit awards for his work. Both sons married and had families.
Patricia came to mom in a very challenging time of her life. Mom loved this precious child. I’m sure
Patricia was one of the saints that greeted mom as she passed beyond the veil. Someday I will meet her
also! The Lord has a way of turning bad things into blessings for those who love him.
I never understood the story about having a brother and sister until I was 20 years old and started to dig
into genealogy. Strangely enough, Delores had lived with us for a year in Codell, Kansas when I was
eight years old. I didn’t have a clue that there was more to having a sister for just one year! I missed
her when she was gone and thought of her the during next ten years. My life was full and busy so I just
never put two and two together. When mom and dad came to visit Edwin and I in Denver, they took me
aside and told me the whole story.
I hope one day Delores and Jerry will understand that they were loved dearly by their mother and that
she did everything she could to get them back. I know this. My mother never left Dennis and I with a
baby sitter no matter how nice or good friends they seemed to be. Mom and dad took us everywhere
with them. She wasn’t going to lose any more children! I’ve always wished Delores and Jerry would
have been a larger part of my life.
Alice, George and Vera about 1948 – What a hard childhood
these three people had, but each found a stable companion
in time. Alice married three times, George had married
twice, and mom married twice, but only once of her own
choice. Grandma May finally settled down with someone,
“Pontie”, Willis Moore in later life. After his death she lived
alone and never married again.
8
My Mother, Vera Marie Marx’s Early Years
My grandfather, Nicholas Marx, never remarried. He was a wonderful part of my life and was the only
grandparent Dennis and I really knew very well. I only have memory of seeing grandma May few times
for a short visit. I didn’t really get to know her. Dennis and I saw grandma May very few times and the
visits were always short.
I often wondered why Grandma May was such an unhappy person. The photo to
the left is a portion of a family picture taken at the cemetery where Ray, her
brother is buried. He was three years older than she was. Ray drowned while
swimming in a pond near their home. May was thirteen years old at the time.
Mom had forgiven her
mother, not holding on to
the past. She continued to show love to her
mother in spite of her mother’s poor choices.
She was a very forgiving and non-judgmental
kind of person. Dad supported mom
completely.
Photo of Alice, Grandma May, and Vera taken in
Coos Bay, Oregon to the right.
Mom’s birth into her particular circumstances
and to her chosen parents was the key to my
opportunity to learn of and be baptized into the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My
parents were considered the “Black Sheep” of
their families.
We received angry and upset phone calls and letters from both sides of the family. They thought we
were making a big mistake. I found we had several ministers on both sides of the family. It was
interesting to me that my grandfather Lesher was born about 40 miles East of Carthage where Joseph
Smith was martyred seventeen years before. Dad’s family felt Mormons were bad people. The Siemiller
family felt the same way.
After I joined, my brother joined also and then our parents. Our conversions were all within one years’
time. Our family was sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. The sacrifices she made in her early years were
now blessings to her children and family. Many people were blessed by my mother’s life over the years.
Mom’s patriarchal blessing says, “There has been much rejoicing in the Spirit World since your
conversion to the Gospel. Far back over the ages there are those who are overjoyed to see your
progress in learning the truth and in accepting he opportunities to receive the blessings of the Gospel….
Search back over the generations that you might find those to whom you owe the debt of parentage and
give them the opportunity to accept the Gospel.” Mom and dad spent many years doing temple work
for their parentage.
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My Mother, Vera Marie Marx’s Early Years
Patty was sealed to mom and dad vicariously in the Provo Temple a few years after dad had passed
away. We finally had right documents for her work to be done. My special moment with Patty came
when I was acting as the proxy for her. At first I was a little surprised that I didn’t seem to feel her
presence as the ordinance was taking place. Soon after the ordinance was complete I suddenly felt a
warm hug and heard a happy voice say, “I have a sister!”
The family temple work for thousands of names on both mom and dad’s family lines has been
completed. I found in Iowa microfilm 897,266 –Item 8, page 17: “It is very probable that the Mormon
doctrine was the first religion advocated in Mormontown (renamed Blockton), as they were here a few
years before I can find any account of any other denomination holding services here. In the winter of
1860 and 1861, Rev. H. (Henry) Siemiller of the old Untied Brethren in Christ, of the confession of faith
of 1815, and the constitution of 1841, organized a church here. Among the members were Robt. Judy
and wife….. A chief tenant of this church was opposition to secret organization which caused dissentions
and divisions”. Both Henry Siemiller and Robert Judy were Great Grandfathers to me through mom’s
side. My great grandparents on the Marx side settled in the area of Mormon Coulee, Wisconsin when
they came from Luxembourg. That is where wood was gathered for building up Nauvoo.
Grandfather Nicholas Marx
Vera Lesher & Alice Bryson
Vera Marx & Alice Marx
Vera Max and Alice Marx
This photo was taken about the time Grandma May married
George Kuchman. Alice looks like she is about four or five
and mom looks like she is about nine or ten. Mom looks
pretty sad. It makes me wonder whose coat and hat she has
on.
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My Mother, Vera Marie Marx’s Early Years
In the 1920 census, Grandma and Grandpa Marx lived in Seattle where grandpa worked at a ship yard.
Mom is 6 years old and Alice is 1 and 8/12 years old. On George’s prison records it states that he
“married” May in 1924. His prison record mentions that he was “divorced” from May in 1929. That
would have been around the time of his trial.
The 1940 census taken in Bethel, Alaska showing John Dull, Jr., Alice M, and John age 2. He was listed
As a clerk in the General Store. His father owned the store.
John Dull’s father is shown as the proprietor/owner of the store in the 1940 census. Notice, he is from
Russia. When I look up the name Dull, it shows up in Germany and Hungary. His wife, Mary W (his
second wife) and Clarence, Arthur, and Richard, his sons still living at home are listed as Eskimos. The
person I spoke with to find out about John was Clarence. He was still living in Bethel.
I found this article from Bethel that will further clarify the Dull family. “Clark's Point resident Joseph
Lance Clark, 80, died Oct. 14, 2005, at Alaska Native Medical Center with his wife, Lena Helen Clark, at
his bedside. A visitation was held Tuesday at Evergreen Memorial Chapel, 737 E St. An Orthodox service
was also held Tuesday. A celebration of life will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at Clark's Point
Elementary School with an Orthodox funeral at 2 p.m., followed by burial at the Clark's Point Cemetery.
A potluck will follow at the school. Mr. Clark was born May 15, 1925, at Old Chefornak. He was raised in
Moroya and Bethel. His birth parents were the late John Dull Sr. and Helen Kituralria, and his adoptive
parents were the late Alexander Kiayaksuk and Elena Clark. He was given as an infant to the Clarks in
exchange for Kiayaksuk's helping John Dull become a trader. He attended the territorial school. As a
teen, he herded reindeer by dogsled. Mr. Clark interpreted and translated Yupik and English. He was a
11
My Mother, Vera Marie Marx’s Early Years
Bristol Bay commercial salmon fisherman from the 1940s to 2002, the Clark's Point Cannery winter
watchman for 50 years and a subsistence hunter and fisherman for most of his life. He ran the Clark's
Point power plant. Mr. Clark earned the honorific title "peaceful warrior" for his people for his public
service, including serving on the board of Bristol Bay Native Corp. and as Clark's Point mayor. In 2004, he
received the Alaska Federation of Natives' award for Elder of the Year. His family wrote: "He never
raised his voice or treated anyone but with the utmost respect. His continued practice of subsistence
activities and promotion of those activities to others in the region was an example to us all to preserve
our culture and way of life. Joe was a resource of the Bay, far more valuable than any fish, mineral or
oil." He was preceded in death by his wife of 46 years, Clara Knutsen Clark; sons, Kay John and Samuel
Ross; brothers, Teddy Clark, John Dull Jr., Billy Dull and Arthur Dull; and sisters, Anastasia Clark, Annie
Dull and Mary Clark. Mr. Clark is survived by his wife, Lena Clark; children, Robert, Richard, Carol Ann,
Sharon, Helen, Mary Alice, Anthony, Fern and Joel; stepchildren, Gale, Cheryl and Bill Lyons Jr.;
grandchildren; great grandchildren; and brother, Clarence Dull of Sitka. Arrangements were with
Evergreen Memorial Chapel.”
I’ve added this last part on Alice and John Dull because mom spoke of John and what a nice person he
was. She said he was a handsome bush pilot from Alaska. Aunt Alice couldn’t adapt to the Alaskan way
of life and John didn’t want to live in Washington.
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