Thelma Tight was the oldest daughter, and the fourth of five children born to Fred and Louise Yeager Tight. She was born on June 19, 1910. The Fred Tight family lived in Perkins Township, Erie County, Ohio. Thelma was my first cousin twice removed, and she was a first cousin to my paternal grandmother Emma Yeager Orshoski.
Thelma's mother, Louise Yeager Tight, emigrated from Germany to the United States with her family in 1881. In 1928, when Thelma was 18 years old, her parents had another baby girl, named Mary Louise Yeager. Sadly, on September 7, 1928, when Mary Louise was just an infant, Louise Yeager Tight took her own life, after becoming despondent over ill health. With Mrs. Tight having died at a young age, Thelma must have played a vital role in helping to raise her baby sister Mary Louise Yeager. An article in the July 12, 1933 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that Thelma Tight hosted a birthday party for Mary Louise's fifth birthday.
By 1944, Thelma had become Mrs. Kenneth J. Pelton. Her husband, formerly a Sandusky mail carrier, was stationed in England, serving as a Corporal in the U.S. Army during World War Two. In 1946, Thelma and Kenneth had their only child, a daughter named Majorie Pelton. When Thelma's baby sister Mary Louise Tight married Eugene A. Wasserman, in 1948, the news article about the Wasserman marriage reported that Mary Louise had made her home with her sister Thelma and brother in law Kenneth prior to her marriage. (The article appeared in the November 24, 1948 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News.) In the late 1970's, I had the pleasure of working with Thelma's daughter Marjorie, at Margaretta Junior High School. Later, Marge was my son's elementary Art teacher. Marge was a "no-nonsense" kind of teacher, and she was a pleasure to work with.
Mrs. Thelma Tight Pelton passed away on December 3, 1987. I never got a chance to get to know her, as I didn't realize we were connected until after her death. Thelma was buried at Sandusky's Calvary Cemetery, beside her beloved husband Kenneth J. Pelton.
Thank you to “Dorene from Ohio” for posting Thelma Tight Pelton’s obituary information.
ReplyDeleteI have been looking for my father’s two sisters and wondered how Their lives evolved.
This blog gave me a good understanding of how they adjusted after my grandma took her life.
Our father Norbert Tight was 20 when his mom passed and pretty much on his own. If it wasn’t
For My Aunt Thelma, Mary would have had a harder life as a child. Norbert was the third son of
Fred & Louise Tight. Norbert had two daughters, Barbara & Carol. My name is Carol Tight Wollnik
Thank you again
I'd also like to thank Dorene for the effort involved in these postings. I am one of three sons (James, Robert and Paul) of Frederick Tight, the second son of Fred and Louise. I can fill in a little detail on the two daughters of Fred and Louise. Ant Mary moved to California with her husband and three children in the late 60's. I was fortunate to have been able to visit with Mary and her family in May of 1973. Mary passed away from cancer two years later in July of 1975. My father and I were hunting in Pennsylvania in 1987 when we received word of Aunt Thelma's passing. We cut short our trip and returned to attend her funeral. Once more, accept my appreciation for all your efforts. /Paul Tight
ReplyDeleteThank you Carol and Paul for shedding light on the Tight family!!
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