I can only assume that Guy and Mona knew one another before he joined the Navy on December 15, 1942. Over the next few years of his service I found him listed on a number of muster rolls in a variety of locations including: Pearl Harbor, San Francisco, the Naval Training Station in Newport, Rhode Island and Camp Bradford Amphibious Training Base in Norfolk, Virginia.12 Since there do not appear to be muster rolls provided for every month, it is hard to say where he was during some of his service.
At the end of August in 1944, Guy is at the receiving station in San Francisco, California.13 He must have requested leave since his marriage to Mona occurred on September 19, 1944 at St. Mary of the Lake Church in White Bear Lake.14 Mona was 23 years old and Guy was 20 years old. It was a whirlwind wedding and honeymoon; Guy had reported to Norfolk, Virginia before the end of the month. Although Mona was married, she continued to live with her parents and siblings.
They are sitting outside of Mona’s parents’ home at 411 Bald Eagle Avenue in White Bear Lake.
From October 1944 until December 4, 1945, when Guy was discharged, muster rolls show him in a number of different locations aboard a few different ships.16 I know he had leave at least once during that time since his first child, Susanne Teresa was born on October 3, 1945.17
Muster rolls show Guy on this ship not long after it was launched in 1945.18 The U.S.S. Pitkin County was an LST-542-class tank landing ship named after Pitkin County, Colorado.
On December 12, 1945, just 8 days after his discharge from the Navy, Guy was back in White Bear Lake and registering for the draft.19
When he arrived back in White Bear Lake, Guy not only had a wife to support, but he also had a 3-month old baby daughter, Susanne. Although they had a place to live with Mona’s parents, Adlore and Ellen, I’m sure that he felt a lot of pressure to do something quickly in terms of work. I was confused by his registering for the draft right after being discharged, but after giving it some thought, I wonder if he was possibly thinking of making it his career? After all it was something for which he was already trained. Regardless of what he may have thought, Guy did not return to military service.
Mona gave birth to their second child, Nancy Lee, on September 14, 1947.20 I don’t have any baby pictures of Nancy.
The 1950 U.S. census enumerates Guy, Mona, Susanne and Nancy.21 They are living at 1322 3rd Street in White Bear Lake, across the street from George Vadnais (Mona’s brother) and his family. Guy is working as a bill poster for an advertising firm. Additionally, it shows that he made $3100 in wages (about $258 per month) in 1949 which is equivalent to about $76,600 in compensation today (about $6,400 per month).22
Guy’s namesake, Guy George Jr. joined the family on July 3, 1952 and their last child, Gregory (Greg) Paul arrived on July 27, 1954.23, 24 I don’t have any pictures of either of them as babies.
Left to right: Marguerite (Vadnais) Parker, Ellen (Peltier) Vadnais, Anna Mae Vadnais and Mona (Vadnais) Green
Mona is pregnant with their last child, Greg. In the summer of 1954 Marguerite was 27 years old, Ellen was 65 years old, Anna Mae was 24 years old and Mona was 33 years old.
The 1958 St. Paul directory shows Mona and Guy still residing on 3rd Street with Guy working as a sign poster for Naegle Advertising.25 By 1959 the family had moved from 3rd Street to the northeast corner of 4th Street and Wood Avenue, then 1517 4th Street (now 1903).26
I didn’t realize that by 1960 Mona was working outside the home. She is shown in the 1960 St. Paul telephone directory as being a head bookkeeper at First State Bank of White Bear Lake.27 Her youngest sister Anna Mae was a head teller at the bank, her sister Leona also worked as a bookkeeper, as did their first cousin, Margaret Riley. There may have been some nepotism going on, since Mona’s, Leona’s and Anna Mae’s father Adlore was on the board of directors for the bank, although, I am sure that all of them more than had the skill set for the job they held.
The drive-up window (seen behind the man standing on the right) is still the same one used today. I love that then it was called the “come-as-you-are” window.
By 1987 Guy at 63 years old and Mona at 66 years old had sold their home in White Bear Lake and moved to a twin home located at 4245 Thornhill Lane in Vadnais Heights.28 Like many of us as we age, they appeared to be backing away from all of the work involved with keeping their original home.
Mona was the maid of honor for her sister when she married Thomas (Tom) Whitrock in 1943.
In September of 1994, Mona and Guy celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Mona was the fifth of her siblings to celebrate the momentous occasion and there would be three other siblings after her that would also live to celebrate 50 years of marriage. Only her parents Adlore and Ellen and her brother Jack and his wife Bev would live to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversaries.
Mona is 73 years old and Guy is 70 years old.
By March of 1996, Guy was having heart problems. He not only had a pacemaker installed, but he also went through triple bypass surgery and a double valve replacement.29 I know the toll it must have taken on him, especially at 71 years old.
Guy passed away on Friday, October 18, 1996 at 72 years old. Mass of Christian burial was held on Monday, October 21, 1996 at St. Mary of the Lake Church after which Guy was laid to rest in Evergreen Memorial Gardens located in Mahtomedi, Minnesota.30
Mona lived almost another 4 years after Guy’s passing. Tragically, just days before her death, her eldest son Guy had been in a motorcycle accident and he passed away on August 21, 2000.31 The next morning, Tuesday August 22, 2000, Mona was to meet with family to make arrangements for Guy’s burial, but she did not show up; sadly she had passed away. Even though her death certificate says that she died from natural causes, her death makes me think that a person can die from a broken heart.
A Mass of Resurrection (Mass of Christian Burial) was held for Mona and her son Guy Jr. on Friday August 25, 2000 at St. Mary of the Lake Church in White Bear Lake.
Mona was laid to rest next to her husband Guy in Evergreen Memorial Gardens.
Except for Nancy, Guy and Mona’s other children have all passed away; both Susanne (Sue) and Gregory (Greg) died in 2018.
I have one side note to share with you. Knowing that Guy’s mother was a Parker, I figured that Guy and his brother-in-law Robert (Bob) Parker, the husband of Mona’s sister Marguerite, had to be related, but how? As it turns out, Guy and Bob had the same great-grandfather, Horatio Irvin Parker, which means that Guy and Bob were 2nd cousins. It truly is a small world!
Thanks for visiting, come back soon,
Cynthia
© 2024 Copyright by Cynthia Vadnais, All Rights Reserved
Footnotes for Mona Celestine Vadnais and Guy George Green (part 2 of 2) post
LOVE LOVE LOVE the in-depth you took this couple. Wondering what the Now address of 411 Bald Eagle Ave is? My great grandmother, and her children must have know the Vadnais family. My great aunt was married to Prosper LeVasseur who owned the grocery store at the corner of Bald Eagle and Birch Lake Ave. As well as recently found out ther my grandmother and grandfather were indeed neighbors. I could NEVER figure that out, as my grandfather was born and raised in Centerville, and my grandmother in WBL. But my grandfather Joseph J LaMotte’s father John Baptiste LaMotte,bought a lot and built a home on Division Ave with the school in the backyard. Education had become important to him, as his wife was a teacher and taught him to read and write. He wanted to make sure his kids had that. So he plunked them down as close to the school as he could during the school year. And it turns out Grandma and Grandpa were indeed nieighbors, as she too was on Division Ave, with her home about where the parking lot for the school is just prior to the RR tracks. Mike Parenteau is my 2nd cousin and he recalls the little grocery store Bald Eagle Grocery that was Martin Schuhr’s grocery, now just an empty lot. Anyway, being on that side of Hwy 61, and members of St Mary’s had to have brought them in close proximity a good number of times.
411 is now 4787 Bald Eagle Avenue. Their house was just 2 doors north of their business, White Bear Oil Company. My Grandma and Grandpa lived a few blocks down the street from Prosper, 117 (now 4695) Bald Eagle Avenue. They all knew one another quite well.
Even I as a young child going to St. Mary’s School we knew of Mr. and Mrs. LeVasseur. Everyday we would walk past their house next to the grocery store. My family did a lot of business at LeVasseur’s Grocery.
I’m glad you are enjoying the posts.
Cynthia
another wondeful adventure—thanks so much!!! oxox