MELBOURNE M. SCHULTE, SR.-A LOVING GODFATHER
I have been blessed with four goddaughters; the first born in 1980 and the other three born in January, February and March, 1983. I have tried to take this responsibility seriously and am close to all four of my goddaughters even at their ages of 38 x 3 and 40! I like to think that I developed my godmother responsibilities from my own, very special godfather.
Today I am going to honor his memory with a photo post of how he changed over his lifetime from 1920-2013.
My godfather, Melbourne M. Schulte, was born September 27, 1920 in Detroit, Michigan to Elmer M. Schulte and Ella Wellhausen. He was their first child; their second child was my father.
The earliest photo I have of my godfather/uncle Mel was this one taken in early 1921 with his parents; my how they dressed little boys in those days:
In later years I was able to receive his baby book which my grandparents studiously recorded his early years in; I also have my father's baby book and both are interesting and humorous to read. In my uncle's baby book was a bulletin from his confirmation on March 25, 1934:
My uncle attended Marcy Elementary School in Detroit and on May 23, 1935 he was awarded a Certificate of Honor for being on the School Safety Patrol (this baby book is a treasure trove of information):
My grandparents evidently liked taking photographs and I am fortunate to have a large supply of my uncle/godfather. These are some photos of him with his younger brother, Mylen-my father, and his younger sister, Marilyn:
From 1935:
From 1938:
Also in 1938, Mel's grandfather, George Wellhausen, died and Mel sweet-talked his grandmother, Amelia Schluessler Wellhausen, into letting him have his grandfather's car. His grandmother only agreed when Mel was able to show her that he had saved $300 which was the price she was going to sell the car for. In his later years, Mel submitted this story and photo to Reminisce Magazine and it was published in one of their issues. He was very proud of this car and the article:
From 1939:
In 1939 Mel graduated from Eastern High School in Detroit. Here he is at graduation with his grandmother, Amelia Schluessler Wellhausen:
Here he is in 1941 with my father when they were both ushers at the Rialto Theatre in Detroit:
It was while serving as an usher at the Rialto Theatre that he met his future wife, Virginia Reske. As the story goes he was shining his flashlight up and down the aisles and the flashlight stayed on the beautiful legs of Virginia! They were married on November 15, 1941 and were blessed to have a loving and long marriage of just two months shy of 70 years.
Their marriage was unique in that it was a double wedding at Mt. Zion Lutheran Church in Detroit with another bride and groom who were Mel and Virginia's good friends. Here are the 4 of them a few months prior to their double wedding; left to right are Russell Stickney, Dorothy Voelker, Virginia Reske and Melbourne Schulte:
Wedding Day:
WWII came and Mel enlisted in the US Navy and was sent to the Pacific leaving his pregnant wife at home in Detroit:
Later that year Mel became a father when he and his wife welcomed a son, Melbourne M. Schulte, Jr. Mel was in the Pacific at the time and the Red Cross notified him of the birth of his son. However, in a mix-up the notification was sent to my father who was serving in Central America at the time with the US Army Air Corps. It was a humorous story told many times over the years.
Mel, Virginia and baby Mel, Jr. in 1944:
Here is a photo of myself with my godfather/uncle Mel in 1948:
Mel in his own barber shop in 1950:
Here are some photos of Mel and Virginia over the years of their marriage:
From 1950:
From 1957:
From 1960:
From 1961:
From 1970:
From 1975:
From 2005:
From 2006:
Over the years I was extremely close to my aunt and uncle and my uncle was a wonderful and loving godfather. He took this responsibility seriously, sending me cards on various occasions which he selected and signed himself as my aunt was wheelchair bound for much of her later years. He called me frequently and always began the call with the words "this is your godfather calling".
On September 5, 2011 my aunt passed away and my uncle was lost without her. He later moved from their retirement home in Arizona back to Michigan to live with his son and daughter-in-law. In 2013 I was able to visit with him one last time as his health was failing.
Here is a photo of my mother with my uncle at that visit:
On April 9, 2013 my special uncle and godfather passed away. I was glad that I had been able to visit with him one more time and I will never forget him or the part he played in my life.
His obituary, although containing some errors that only a genealogist would know, truly represented the life that he had been blessed with. I also was blessed to have had him as my godfather!
1 comment:
Lovely story!
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