"Lawrence Routh" is a name that has occurred frequently in the Routh
family over hundreds of years. Our Lawrence (1913) is the
great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Lawrence Routh (born 1660),
the great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Lawrence Routh (born 1687),
and the great-great-great-great-great-nephew of Lawrence Routh (born 1719).
Lawrence was not given a middle name at birth. He eventually
adopted a signature of "Lawrence J. Routh," because his father's
pet nickname for him was "Joe."
Although born in Danville, Vermillion County, Illinois, Lawrence's family moved
to Frankfort, Clinton County, Indiana when Lawrence was very young. Then, soon
after that, the family moved to a small farm near Stanford, Monroe County,
Indiana.
On that family farm, there were a thousand chickens, hogs, a Jersey cow named
Ol' Rhone, orchards (pears, peaches, cherries and apples), stawberries and
vegetable gardens. Lawrence remembers himself as a small boy using his wagon
to help his father with farm chores and to carry wood that he cut in the woods
for the family. He also worked hard in the family garden.
Lawrence made excellent grades in his 2-room school at Stanford, Monroe County,
Indiana, but had to stop school prematurely to help his father on the
family farm. Lawrence acknowledged that he didn't like high school geometry,
but otherwise enjoyed school.
Lawrence remembered childhood play including baseball, snow sled ridding and
swinging on grapevines.
Lawrence was the most quiet and obedient of Simon and Nanny's children,
although his more precotious older sisters sometimes involved him in
their misbehavior. Accustomed to a life without luxeries, given the intense
practicality of their father, Lawrence and his sister, Elda, once used all of
the money they earned picking berries to buy as much candy as they could.
They carried their treasured sweets to a hilltop and ate the entire booty.
The unfortunate children became quite ill after this, but always remembered what
a treat it was, at least for a moment.
Lawrence, in the Army, grins while his buddy,
John Betz, points a gun at him.
(Click on photo
to see larger photo!)
Lawrence served in the U. S. Army from 21 March 1942
until he received an honorable medical discharge
for a disability on 18 July 1943.
During his time in the Army, Lawrence was a private in the 101st Airborn.
Lawrence was stationed at Ft. Harrison in Indiana, at a base in Louisiana,
and finally discharged from Ft. Bragg in North Carolina.
Lawrence subsequently spent his adult life living in the
home and care of his sister, Elda, until they both moved to a convalescent center
due to their serious medical problems in old age.
Lawrence was always a handsome man. In his youth he sported a moustache.
He dearly loved his Model A car, keeping it shiney clean and in good working
order himself until he gave it up in the late 1950's.
Lawrence worked at the Showers Brothers Furniture Factory in Bloomington for
twelve years. There he was a sprayer, using a spray gun to apply enamel paints,
did overcoating on doors and cabinets, sanded doors and used an air gun to dust
sanded pieces of furniture.
Lawrence was a compassionate man. While away at college, this writer received
several letters from my great-uncle Lawrence in which his focus was typically
on the welfare of family members. Lawrence loved animals. Although he frequently
took his gun to the woods to hunt during his early adult life, he later
acknowledged that he just liked being in the woods. He told this writer that he
didn't like to shoot at the animals because he felt sorry for them. Instead, he
said he often checked the ground for snakes, laid on the ground and took a nap
during his much-loved ventures into the nearby woods.
As an young adult, Lawrence enjoyed movies, circuses, carnivals and sports. He
sometimes treated his three nieces, Winifred, Janice and Elizabeth, to these events.
Lawrence remained handsome into his older years.
(Click on photo
to see larger photo!)
Although Lawrence suffered a severe disability for several decades, I
never heard him speak ill of another person. He was certainly one of the
most purely kind people that I have ever encountered.
Although Lawrence has never had children or grandchildren, he was an
additional, and very special, "extra grandparent" to the grandchildren
of his sister, Elda. Regardless of which generation,
to his nieces, great-nieces and newphews, and great-great-nieces and nephews,
he was simply our 'Uncle Lawrence.'
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