DR. J.A. FURST, 61, Was Former Resident

Dr. Joseph Andrew Furst, 61, died Saturday evening in his home in Selma, Ala., following a five-year illness.

He was born in Franklin April 8, 1923, a son of Gordon and Lelia Furst. He was graduated from Franklin High School in 1941 and the entered the Air Force, serving throughout World War II.

Following his discharge he attended the Pennsylvania School of Optometry, and after completing his studies he entered optometry practice in Corry in 1949.

He was active in public life in Corry and served as mayor of that community for two years. He was active in the Corry Area Industrial Development Authority, the Airport Authority and was on the board of directors of the YMCA. A member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, he served on the church council.

He was past president of the Corry Chamber of Commerce and served as chairman of the Corry Area United Fund.

He was married to the former Reba Liles on Dec. 22, 1947 in Florence, Ala.

Ill health forced Dr. Furst to retire in 1980 and later he moved to Florence, Alabama.

Surviving are his wife, four sons, Mark A. of New Orleans; Daniel of Florence, Ala; Dr. J. Andrew and Jeffrey of Chapel Hill, N.C.; his mother, Lelia Furst Kennedy of Franklin; one sister, Mrs. Robert (Barbara) Stumpf of New Castle; two brothers, David of Erie, and Gordon of Franklin.

His father is deceased.

Funeral services were held in Florence, Ala., today.

---From the Franklin (PA) News-Herald (June 1984)
RECOLLECTIONS - Reba Liles Furst

Furst Publishing Company, North Carolina
Copyright (or wrong) © 1998 by Reba L. Furst

Most rights reserved (the others are quite outgoing.) Copies of this publication can be made without the consent of Furst Publishing Company. In other words, don't bother us with petty requests.Text set in Comic Sans MS
Designed by Jeff & Saja Furst
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing
First Edition

Questions regarding future editions, expanded story lines, etc. should be directed to the author. If the author is willing, this publisher is able.


I was born on October 6, 1925 in the Florence, Alabama hospital, the first child of Josie Robbins Liles and Clayborn Lee Liles. My mother was 20 years old whe I was born and my dad was 18.

Dad was from a large family. His mother was Roberta Dial Liles and she was from a large family of three sisters and two brothers. Grandad Liles' name was Lindsey Newton Liles and he had four brothers and one sister. His parents were Zebedee Liles and Sara Hamm. Zebedee had children by each of his three wives. The first one died, then the second one died a few years later and my grandfather was from the third wife. There is a beautiful carved chair in the bank in Tennessee done by Zebedee, my Great Grandfather. My dad's mother's parents were William Dial and Rebecca Carter.

When I was very small, my grandparents lived right on the Tennessee-Alabama state line. Half of the house is in Tennessee and half in Alabama - still is. It has been beautifully restored and I see it every time I go to our family cemetery which is in Collinswood, Tennessee. There's a small Methodist Church there, Pleasant Valley Methodist, and most all of my relations are buried there, including my beloved husband.

My mother's parents were Billy Nelson and Emeline Robbins and they had 3 children: my mom, Josie, her sister Annie and her brother Barney. Billy and Emeline divorced and she took her maiden name back so they were Robbins. My mother went to live with Grandad Bill when she was l0 years old. He remarried and I spent a week with them in Russelville, Alabama, when I was in Junior High School. Grandma Robbins later lived with us after my mom married and her other children married.

Grandma Robbins and I had the job of washing the dishes each meal and she took me everywhere with her - mostly to evening church services. She had a great twinkle in her eye and a sense of humor, but she could also be a stern disciplinarian. She kept us while my mother worked. My mother worked in a restaurant as a waitress before she was married and that's how she met my dad. He would come in to eat and Mr. Lambert, who owned the restaurant, told my mother what a fine person he was. They were married in August 1924 and celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary before he died in 1985.

I was born then on October 5, 1925. My Grandmother Liles had a little girl in October 1925 also - 2 weeks after I was born, so I'm 2 weeks older than my aunt. We were and are very close to this day. Her name is Euphie, which she hates, so her friends call her Sue. She is the only one still living from that large family. And, oh, what fun it was to go to Grandma Liles' house with all those brothers and sisters my dad had. There were seven brothers and three sisters! I loved to spend the night with Euphie. We would listen to the radio, get the hymnal and sing and harmonize - no TV then. My great grandfather & great grandmother on my mother's side were John Robbins and Emmy Robbins. I don't remember them as they died when I was about 4 years old.

Something else happened in 1925 besides my birth. The Wilson Dam was built (named for President Woodrow Wilson) and what a great thing that has been for our area. I started kindergarten when I was 5, as my birthday took place in October and if you weren't 6 by September when school started, you had to wait another whole year. That probably accounts for my good grades.

I loved school and still do! Florence had the best kindergarten because Maud Lindsey. She was an author of children's books and poems. Her father had come from Scotland and he was the only foreign-born governor of Alabama. "Miss Minnie" came down our street and walked all of us children to kindergarten about 2 miles away. The year was 1931 and the Depression was still going on. My dad worked at a lumber mill and they also raised beef cattle. So we had plenty of meat and vegetables to eat. Some people weren't as fortunate. I remember "hobos" coming to our door and my mother would fix them a plate and they sat on the steps and ate.

I started first grade the next year, 1932, but in March of 1931, I got a new baby brother, Grady. The year before on the same date, my mom lost a little boy at birth so there were almost six years between Grady and me. An older student walked her sister and me to school that first day, as my mom was tied down with the baby, and Dad was working.

My Grandmother Liles had ten children - seven boys and three girls. It was so much fun with that large family. My dad was third oldest and he had six brothers and three sisters. All lived nearby, so we saw them often.

Sometime in 1933 or 1934, my dad built us a new house on the same street but about two miles north and in the woods. The water line had to be run there and also, we got electricity when President Roosevelt was elected. Before that, we had oil lamps.

My cousins, who lived next door, lost their father. He drowned out at Wilson Dam while fishing and a sudden storm came up. Their mother had four small children and she had to go to work at the cotton mill. Jessie was the oldest - one year younger than me, and she cooked and sewed and babysat the others. She was 12 years old, but my mother was right next door, so she was a great help to her. When we built our new house, and after Jessie's Dad died, all my dad's brothers helped him and they built them a new house up near us. So we were again close neighbors. Eventually, the next oldest bachelor brother, Ed, married Edna so he could help her raise the four children. He married his brother's widow. She is now buried between them.

After six years at Brandon school I entered Junior High School in 1937. I loved Junior High and Coffee High School so much. I enjoyed changing classes and having many teachers, gym, etc. I was active in Glee Club, Drama Club and the National Honor Society. I still have my Honor Society pin. I graduated in June 1944. While I was in Junior High, my mom and dad had two more children, Ruth, born two years after Grady and Quinton, born at home in 1939.

A great change was about to happen. My neighbor friends and I had alway played monopoly on Sunday afternoons and then went for a ride as the boys were driving then. Suddenly on the car radio on December 7,1941, we heard President Franklin Roosevelt saying "Pearl Harbor was attacked and a state of war exists." Some of the guys in my class enlisted, including my boyfriend at that time. Some of them came back and finished school later, but some never came back. There were lots of soldiers at our Courtland Air Base and plenty of boys to date. I particularly liked one pilot, Gordon Smith, who came on to Nashville to see me after I went to nursing school. He eventually was discharged after the war ended and went back to Purdue University for his engineering degree. His father was a professor there.

Upon graduation, I was torn between going to the local college (University of Northern Alabama, or UNA) or going away to nursing school. Nursing school won out and after graduation in 1944 June, I enrolled at Saint Thomas Hospital School of Nursing in Nashville.

I really enjoyed nursing school and living in a dorm with all the girls my age. Our school was run by nuns, the "Sisters of Charity." We were all enrolled in the Cadet Nurse Corps. The government paid our tuition and board and we worked very hard in return, as there was a nurse shortage during the war. We got a stipend of $15 per month when we were seniors. None of us had much money (our schooling didn't cost our parents a penny), but we had enough to buy toothpaste, etc. and we borrowed each other's clothes.

We had much fun and lots of dates to choose from as Vanderbilt University was one block away. Peabody College was close also, and we went there for our sciences, microbiology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology. Also, there were still soldiers and our social director took us to the U.S.O. dances.

In 1945, one Sunday night, three of my classmates and I rode the city bus down to the Y.M.C.A. to a dance. I had on a black skirt and white blouse and the three of us were sitting in chairs alongside the dance floor. This handsome fellow with beautiful blue eyes came through the door and our eyes met. He was so neat, his uniform pressed, his buckle sparkling, shoes shined, etc. He was in the Air Force, an air cadet in pilot training. He sauntered over to the Ping-Pong table behind us, and played Ping-Pong. Pretty soon, he came over and asked me to dance. When time came for his bus to return to the air base, he asked me if I would like to go to a movie next week, when he would be back in town. He was stationed at Smyrna Air Base, a few miles from Nashville. I said yes, I'd love to. He was so charming and had a great sense of humor and that was the start of a wonderful romance. His name was Joe Furst.

He was discharged after the war and they didn't need to train any more pilots. He returned to Pennsylvania and started school at Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Philadelphia. I was a Junior then in Nursing School and he came down to Nashville to see me a few times and we wrote to each other regularly. We were in love.

On my vacation, Joan Watson, a classmate, and I took the train to Philadelphia to visit Joe and he went with us to Franklin, Pennsylvania to meet his parents and sister and brothers. That trip, we got engaged as he had already proposed on Peabody College Campus one night. He planned to give me my engagement ring on this trip - it was in their bank safe deposit box. We forgot it was June 14th and Flag Day and the bank was closed. I got it the next day - June 15th, 1947 and we set December 22, 1947 as our wedding day for I would be graduated in October, he would be a junior in his college, and his school Christmas vacation was then.

We were married by my Baptist minister. My cousin, Jessie, Joe's sister, Barbara, and my nursing classmate, Joan Watson were bridesmaids. Joe's parents and sister drove Joe down and lent us their car to go on to Sarasota, Florida for our honeymoon. They took the train home.

We had a wonderful honeymoon. A couple from Joe's school in Philadelphia were home in Florida for school break and they just got engaged, so the four of us went on to Miami together. It was New Year's weekend and the Orange Bowl game was going on. There was not a motel room to be had. We went dancing till the wee hours and just pulled over on a quiet secluded street and the four of us slept in the car. The sun came up and woke us and a city bus was passing. So we weren't as secluded as we thought. It was very safe in those days, we could have slept on that beautiful beach.

We went back to Philadelphia, with stops in Washington, D.C. and Savannah, Georgia sightseeing on the way. We arrived at our new apartment on North Broad Street, the night before I was to start a new job as a Registered Nurse in the operating room of Hahnemann Hospital and Medical School in downtown Philadelphia. I didn't know which suitcase my uniform was in and I got up at 5:00 am to make biscuits. Being a Southern girl, I thought that's what a new bride did. That lasted only one morning! Joe tactfully suggested he would eat at school and I at my hospital cafeteria after that - it worked out well.

I had never ridden a subway and so the first day, Joe took me to the bus stop and I rode the bus. But it took twenty minutes and the subway only five minutes. So after I got acclimated, I always took the subway.

We made a lot of friends and had functions to go to so times went fast. We played bridge with two couples, fairly regularly, but Joe had a lot of studying to do and on Christmas break, he worked at the post office. He was going to school on the G.I. Bill, which was for veterans and we lived on my salary of $180 per month. Joe had cooked at his fraternity house and he would start dinner before I got home. We were counting pennies by the end of the month and we would borrow from Dot and Dick Wagner and they from us.

One night, we only had enough money for a movie and subway ride home and it was cold and snowing hard, so we wanted to stop and get a cup of coffee at a little diner. We ordered two cups of coffee but found we had only one dime for one cup. The waitress had brought two cups, but when we told her, she took one cup back and poured it out, while we shared the other cup. We then took the subway home. These are fun memories.

Joe graduated in June of 1949 and took the Pennsylvania state board exams. We then went to Alabama to visit my parents and await news of the state boards. We discussed where we would open our office. We both thought he would take North Carolina boards and Alabama boards also. We felt that Greensboro would be a nice compromise between Alabama and Pennsylvania. I remember one of the doctors from my operating room saying, "You and Joe will make out no matter where you go." That really pleased us.

Joe's dad was District Highway Engineer in Erie County. He had graduated from Susquehanna College after serving in World War I. He traveled in his work and he ate at the Corry Pennsylvania Hotel a lot where they had a big smorgasbord. He noticed an optometric office for sale on the same block, so he told us about it. Old Doctor Owens had died and the practice was for sale. The office was a gingerbread house.

Joe looked into it and ended up buying it. I was so mad. I had my heart set on Greensboro, North Carolina. So I didn't care if we got acquainted or not. I got a job in Erie, Pennsylvania (thirty miles from Corry) as there were no openings in our small hospital and none of the doctors needed a nurse at that time, so I commuted. We had a car pool of people going to college in Erie, some worked at General Electric.

Joe's family had four children, one sister, Barbara, and two brothers, Gordon and David. His parents were from Pennsylvania. Lelia Callahan was his mother and she was from Wellsboro. Gordon Fair Furst was his father from New Castle, Pennsylvania. His parents were Austa Elder and Martin Luther Furst, a Lutheran minister. Joe's mother had two brothers, Leonard and Bill and four sisters, Theo, Ruth, Faye and Betty. We enjoyed going to their farms in Wellsboro.

Joe's parents lived in Franklin, Pennsylvania, where Joe's father was district highway engineer in Erie County. They only lived 55 miles away, so we saw them often. My parents lived twelve hours away, but we managed vacations to Alabama every year. One year, we went down three times.

In 1951, the year we were expecting our first child, Joe's father died. He died in September of a coronary occlusion, before Mark was born in December. So he never got to see any of his grandchildren. His mother later remarried Perley Kennedy from New Hampshire. He had never had any children, though he and his first wife had been married fifty years when she died. Perley inherited a large family and we all liked him very much. Mom Furst and Perley lived to be 88 and 86 years old respectively.

I worked until Joe got established and built up his practise - about two years. I worked until I was pregnant in March of 1951. Our oldest son, Mark, was born on December 23, 1951 and that was the happiest day of my life. What a thrill to have a baby!

Some girls from a local bridge cub asked me to join and also through church we got acquainted and I loved Corry after that. We joined St. Paul's Lutheran Church. Joe's Grandfather was a Lutheran minister, Martin Luther Furst and his wife was Austa Elder. She lived to be 93, but Reverend Furst died when his only son was nine years old. That was Joe's father, Gordon Fair Furst.

We had lived in an upstairs apartment over our office on North Center Street - next door to the Elk's Club. It was convenient, as we had no car. We later bought the 1937 Plymouth from Joe's dad. Another couple in our block were just married and came to town the same time we did. He was a dentist with an office in our block - Dr. George Gould and his wife, Anne. Anne taught school, seventh grade. They had a car and the night the girls asked me to join the bridge club, when I got in the car, there was Anne. They became our dearest, closest friends all those years. We would get together and walk to the movies, make cookies, do something, almost every night - there wasn't TV then. Television had come in while we were in Philadelphia. I saw it in the store windows around 1948 or 1949, but no one in Corry had one. One time in Philadelphia, we went to the 1948 presidential rally. Taft was running, but some G.I.'s were promoting General Eisenhower. Joe was pictured in one of the newsreels and we saw it in the movie theater. We went to the Bellevue Stratford hotel, ate the food at the convention and saw many politicians.

After Mark was born, we rented a big, old house on Smith Street and we bought our first new car, a 1951 Plymouth. Eventually, we bought our first home on Wright Street, near the school. In 1954, our second son was born, Daniel. The year before I had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and had surgery. We were afraid we wouldn't be able to have more children. But a year later Dan was born and in 1957, Drew was born and in 1961, Jeffrey was born. All boys and we were so proud and pleased. Joe wanted boys but each time, I had Nancy picked for a name in case it was a girl. But I was thrilled with my sons.

We saved money for a long time to buy a house. It seemed forever, but in 1955, we bought our own house on Wright Street. The total cost was $11,000. A dentist, Dr. Summerville, sold it to us and it was a beautiful street, one half block from Wright Street Elementary School. We had two banks in town. The National Bank was family-owned and independent. Citizen's National Bank was the other one. When Joe went for the loan, he, of course, wanted the G.I. loan he was entitled to from having been in service. Since the Keppels went to our church, Joe approached him and the National Bank first. Old Mr. Keppel said, "Why should I loan you money at 4% when I could get 6%." We thought he would consider a young, professional couple starting out with a lot of promise, good future customers, but he didn't. Joe then went to Chares Bracken at Citizen's National Bank and they gladly lent us the money. We were their customers from then on and Joe later was asked to be a member of the Board of Directors, which he enjoyed immensely. And he got paid $50 per meeting.

We soon outgrew the Wright Street three-bedroom house and wanted to build a brand new house, so in 1961, we bought a lot on Wayne Street and built the four-bedroom split level house, our dream house, and that was exciting. We always thought it was the prettiest house in town, with five large maple trees out front and a large backyard for the boys to play in and a big field out back of that. They enjoyed camping out in that field. We lived there til we retired to Alabama.

Our boys did well in school and sports and one coach told us Jeff was the only person to letter in three sports in the 10th grade. The boys played football in grade school and later the excelled in swimming, golf and tennis. Even though they were tall, they weren't interested in basketball. They loved camping, canoeing, etc. and enjoyed a few trips down the Allegheny River with their dad and Dr. George Gould and his sons. Dr. Gould's dental office was across the street from our office and we were best friends.

In 1970, Joe and I had a wonderful trip to Europe with our neighbors, Mary Helene and Chuck Williams. We went to seven countries: England, France, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Holland. It was a fabulous trip. Mrs. Hasbrouck stayed with our sons and made out fine.

Mark went to college and graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Dan chose Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania. Drew picked Grove City College, the later transferred to North Carolina State University for biomedical engineering, and later went to and graduated from the University of North Carolina Medical School with an M.D. Jeff chose Grove City College in Pennsylvania and majored in business administration. All the boys went to different colleges.

Drew was the first one married. He met Barbara Phillips in a sociology exchange program where the small town students went to the big city schools for an exchange program. Barbara was from Wilmington, Delaware and they became good friends right away. Barb transferred from University of Delaware to North Carolina State when Drew transferred from Grove City College. They married when he was in medical school in1982. Barb and Drew had a beautiful wedding in Wilmington, Delaware at Aldersgate Methodist Church. They worked really hard for in 1984, my first grandchild, Drew, was born and what a delight he was.

Mark married next. He had met Margaret Andrews when he went to Belfast, Ireland on the Vanderbilt rugby team. Maggie came over to the U.S. and we met her and loved her very much as we love Barb also. Mark and Maggie had a civil ceremony in Florence, since Joe, my husband, was ill and we got to attend. But in July 1984, they had a beautiful formal wedding in Ireland at the Presbyterian Church. I was unable to attend since it was only a month after my husband died.

In 1972, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy. Fortunately, we got it early and now 26 years later, I am in relatively good health. But in 1979, the darkest day of my life, Joe was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia and the doctor said five years was the life of it. The medicine controlled it that long, but in June 1984, he died. We had decided to retire to Alabama since my family was all here - my mother, father, two brothers and a sister. The climate was much better than the cold snowy winters of Pennsylvania. We sold our office building and optometric practice to Dr. Roy Skelton and moved to Alabama in 1980.

Drew and Barb gave me my first grand-daughter, Anna, born in 1986, and another precious girl, Meredith, born in 1991. I never realized before how special grandchildren are until I had mine.

In October 1994, Jeff met Saja Montague and it was love at first sight almost. Thy were married in April of 1995 at the Methodist Church in North Carolina. And in 1996, on December 7, they were blessed with a beautiful little girl, Evan Liles. Although I never got to live in North Carolina, all of my grandchildren were born there. I am thrilled with my "daughters" and all my beautiful grandchildren, three girls and a boy. They are each special to me in their own way.

Dan isn't married yet, but has a lovely girlfriend that we all like very much. Teresa has made him a happy person.

We had great families on both sides and were so fortunate. We were truly blessed. My father, Clayborn Liles, has a street named after him for his contributions to our town. Also, my brother, Grady Liles, has a street named for him also, for his contributions to the University of Northern Alabama.

I truly feel blessed to have such a wonderful family and I thank God each night for them.

[P.S. note - Reba Liles Furst died at 5 AM, September 13, 2004 at her home in Florence , Alabama.]



Joseph Elder

"Uncle Joe" was the brother of Austa Elder Furst. He was a bachelor dairy farmer running a fairly productive enterprise on land close to Fayette (ville), Lawrence Co. PA. He had a fine herd of Holstein cattle. Joe was a fun-loving "kidder" type of person who would not spit tobacco juice in your direction. One of his guide lines of living was that if you couldn't say anything positive about someone, don't say anything at all.



Dr. Joseph Elder Bryan, Jr. of Downey, Calif., died Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007, in his home.
[Note: Of Alzheimers and stroke]
He was a son of the late attorney J. Elder Bryan and Ruth (Callahan) Bryan of New Castle.
He graduated from New Castle High School in 1938 and from Grove City College in 1942. At Grove City College, he was a member of the pre-Medical Association and upon graduating was accepted into Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, where he graduated in 1945 and was immediately inducted into the Army Air Force.
Interning at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, he met Betty Jean O'Hara, registered nurse, who became his wife of 61 years.
Dr. Bryan served three years as a captain in the then-Army Air Force, stationed at Lackland Air Base in San Antonio, Texas, and at Fort Pepperol in Newfoundland, and did his residency in urology at Jefferson Medical College.
Relocating his growing family to the West Coast in 1953, Dr. Bryan opened his private practice in Downey in1955 and joined the staff of the then-Downey Community Hospital. He served as chief of staff from 1959 to 1960, and from 1976 to 1978. He was also staff physician at Children's Hospital; Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital, now Queen of Angels; USC Medical Center, where he supervised residents; and volunteered at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital.
Ever concerned about the rising costs of medical care for his patients, Dr. Bryan worked for many years with Congressman Del Clawson and Jack Kemp to introduce legislation which eventually led to the creation of medical savings accounts.
An avid hunter and member of the National Rifle Association, Dr. Bryan, along with his elder son, enjoyed hunting trips within the continental United States and Alaska. Visitors to his office were greeted with several big-game trophies, including moose, caribou, Dall ram and others. He was a close personal friend of the late Roy Weatherby of Weatherby Rifles.
His family are members of Hollywood Presbyterian Church, where he served as an elder. Dr. Bryan was also active in the Downey chapters of Rotary and the Christian Businessmen's Committee for many years.
Upon his retirement from 45 years of full-time practice in Downey, Dr. Bryan and his RN wife served short-time assignments with Franklin Graham's World Medical Mission in both Russia and Haiti.
Dr. Bryan will be remembered for his gentle spirit, his tireless and generous service to his many patients, and for his deep devotion to his Christian faith and his family.
He is survived by his wife, Betty Jean; his daughters, Beverly Starr and Judith Lee Wiepert; sons, Joseph Elder "Jeb" Bryan III and Donald Callahan Bryan; nine grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and his sister, Jane Bryan Lynch of New Castle (PA). Two of Dr. Bryan's grandchildren, Shane Starr and Eric Wiepert, have become medical doctors because of his inspiration. Eric recently graduated from Jefferson Medical College.
Preceding him in death were two sisters, Rebecca Louise Bryan and Ruth Ann Bryan; and his parents.
A memorial service was held yesterday in Wylie Chapel at Hollywood Presbyterian Church.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to World Medical Mission, Box 3000, Boone, NC, 28607, with notation on the check: Ruth Anne Bryan Fund No. 011243.


[From New Castle News, Feb. 14, 2007]

LOVE OF MUSIC, SPOUSE IMMORTALIZED IN BOOK

LOVE LETTER

More than 40 years after his death, New Castle native Jane Bryan Lynch pens the memories of the life she shared with her husband, Jerry

by Nancy Lowry

Jerry Lynch tap-danced everywhere he went--even in the steel-tip shoes he wore to work.

Music was the center of his life, from the songs he wrote to the arrangements he created for his barbershop quartets or his Sweet Adelines.

But the curtain came down early on this song-and-dance man. He died in 1964 at age 46, leaving his wife, New Castle native Jane Bryan Lynch, two children and a pile of unpublished songs.

"All he ever wanted to do was share his music," the 88-year-old Lynch said. "Now that is possible." It's possible because last year, Lynch completed "This is a story about love of music and a guy and a gal for each other."

Her 166-page book with Jerry Lynch's smiling face on front and back covers, was begun in1969, but kept getting bumped to a back burner.

The book tells their story and includes photos from the couple's life together, love letters and a collection of Jerry's songs.

Published at Globe Publishing in New Wilmington, the book has a spiral binding, allowing it to sit flat on a music rack while the songs are played.

Her husband returned from the South Pacific after World War II with notebooks of songs, Lynch said.

"He walked up and down Tin Pan Alley in New York City trying to sell his songs. But he never had any luck.

"I just want people to appreciate Jerry's music, as much as I have."

Her favorite song is "Can't Tell My Heart What To Do," one of his takes on their sometimes-frustrating courtship.

Usually Jerry wrote happy songs, his wife recalled.

"He was a sentimental song writer, born 20 years too late. He should have lived during the Big Band era."

The two met in 1945, while both served in the Marine Corps. Jane, who could play the piano, was talked into providing accompaniment for a quartet of singing sergeants.

It was love at first sight.

After their discharge--and despite their mutual interests in music, travel and each other--the two remained star-crossed lovers with an insurmountable difference: She was Presbyterian, he was Catholic. In the 1940s, their parents told them, those groups didn't marry.

But following break-ups, make-ups and five years of dating by mail, he sent a telegram: Sell the Chevy. Ship the ge we need. Fly out."

She did. The two tied the knot on March 10, 1951, in California, where Jerry, recalled to the Marines during the Korean War, was based.

"We had to get dispensation from the bishop because it was Lent," Jane recalled. "Weddings couldn't take place during Lent."

Although their parents--his in Midland, Beaver County, hers in New Castle--were initially cool to the pairing, the addition of two children, Michelle in 1952 and Danny [Note: Died Dec. 07 of pancreatic cancer] in 1954, healed the gap.

Music remained at the center of their life. Jane played the organ and conducted the choir at the Presbyterian church while Jerry directed the choir at the local Catholic church. The two even discovered square dancing.

Like his father, Danny Lynch has had bands since junior high. The Neshannock Township resident said he is literally following his father's footsteps by playing in some of the same locations.

He has played with RandyKat, Triad and now with Harp Attack, when working his day job with the U.S. Post Office.

Danny remembers the music, the quartets and choirs. His personal favorite songs include "I Recon as T'how" and "Every Day's Someone's Lucky Day."

"I'm so proud of my mother for writing this book," he said. "It's enjoyable and a lot of history I was never aware of."

Offered July., 2005 - Robert A. Stumpf
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