The years covered by this chapter – 1944 to 2020 – are those in which John and his children re-connected as a family in Joliet IL. The previous 2 chapters began with discussions of the lives of John’s children, then moved to a discussion of where he was and what he was doing at the time. We begin this chapter with John – in acknowledgement of the importance of his establishing a gathering place for the family after many years of being away.

The last bit of documentary evidence of John’s being in Texas is his draft registration card from 27 Apr 1942, and the first bit of documentary evidence of his being in Joliet for good is his marriage license of 29 Jan 1944, when he married Nina (Mrs. Domenica Salbego) in Joliet.

Why did John move to Joliet rather than back to the northern Chicago suburbs where he had lived with his wife and young children in the 1920s? By mid-1943 his children had the following connections to Joliet. Mary had left ISSCS for a foster home in Joliet in 1937, graduated from Joliet Township High School in 1940, was married in May 1941 in Joliet, and had her first child (John’s first grandchild) in early 1943 while living with her husband, Dave Larson, on Lind St. in Joliet. John A. had lived in a foster home in Joliet for about a year before entering the Army in April 1943. Livia had lived with foster parents (when not away at a boarding school) in Joliet since leaving ISSCS in 1937. Gino’s only connections to Joliet before 1943 were through his older siblings, but while he was overseas (1943-1945) he sent his Navy pay to his sister Mary – who used it for the 1604 Marcella Ave. property in Joliet for her brothers to have a home after their military service. Joe was removed from ISSCS in August 1943 by his father and taken to Joliet before entering the Army in 1945. The northern Chicago suburbs had apparently less appeal for John at the time. John’s brother Romano in Highland Park IL had died, and Romano’s sons had moved from Illinois by 1943, leaving Romano’s daughter Pauline and her family as the only individuals from that side of John’s family remaining in Illinois. John’s in-laws, the Ferraro family, did remain, both in Rockford and the north Chicago suburbs. If John were to leave Texas (as he did), Joliet seems to be the logical place for him to go.

An examination of the chain of property ownership does not support the story that Gino’s money was used to purchase 1604 Marcella (although its use for renting the property is possible). That property had other owners from at least 1937 to 1951, the year that John moved from 1604 Marcella to the home of his daughter Mary.

That John and Nina, and at various times all of his children, lived at 1604 Marcella Ave. is not contested, but they must have either been renting or had an agreement similar to a contract for deed. They did not own the property. Transfer of property by warranty deed (as held by the other owners of 1604 listed above) provides an assurance that those transferring the property are the lawful owners of that property. The quit-claim deed, rather than assuring ownership, merely transfers whatever rights to the property the grantor owns – if any.

John and "Lena’s" transfer of the property by quit-claim deed to the Connollys in 1951 suggests that they may have had, or been perceived to have, some financial interest in the property. John A. and Gino have said that John created the streets in the new Ullian Subdivision, and as a landscape gardener and contractor in the past, it would not be unusual for John to have helped the Connollys develop the 5-acre plot. John was a hard worker, always gave 100%, and he expected the same from his sons when they worked for him (which was mostly after the war, when they lived with him at 1604 Marcella). He had a large stake-bed truck, which he sold after leaving Marcella Ave., that he used for moving dirt, plants, etc. He and sons Gino and John A. did a lot of digging on his landscaping and other contracted jobs. It is not difficult to believe that he would have taken on the job of developing streets and lots for houses, either to profit from this on his own or under an agreement (labor in lieu of rental payments?) with Frank Connolly.

Gino has written that when John sold the property, John’s son Joe received $1,000 and John got the rest. We don’t know how much John received for the property from the Connollys (other than the pro-forma "One dollar and other good & valuable considerations" listed on the quit-claim deed), or whether Gino’s understanding was accurate. We can envision (but not provide documentary support confirming) that John rented the 3 lots from the Blasers and Barellos, then when the Connollys purchased the 3 lots and the 5 acres in 1948, John agreed to provide labor for the development of the Ullian Subdivision in return for a lowered rent or other payment. Then when the Connollys decided to sell all of the property in 1951, they felt the need to obtain a quit-claim deed from John (and "Lena") to protect their property rights against a potential or actual claim by John that he owned some or all of the property, including the subdivision that bore his name. It must be stressed again that this is speculation on our part. The chain of warranty deeds held by other people for the 1604 Marcella property shows that John did not purchase this property through a warranty deed. The presence of John and his family on the property for around 8 years shows that they at least were renting it or had some other financial arrangement with the legal owners.

Quit-Claim Deed from John and "Lena" Ullian to Frank and Leora Connolly – 1951

As noted earlier, we do not know when Nina moved in with John at 1604 Marcella Ave., but we have assumed it was between John’s move to 1604 Marcella (probably in late 1943) and their wedding date of 29 Jan 1944. It was Gino’s understanding that "she was a girl friend of Dad’s for many years before they were married." The 1940 Houston City Directory listed both in an entry typically used for a married couple, but they were not yet married. She was definitely in the house prior to 1947 – the 1947 Joliet City Directory shows that they both were at 1604 Marcella, as were Gino and Joe. Gino would leave by his 22 Jun 1947 marriage, and Joe by his 7 Nov 1948 marriage. Livia lived at 210 Nicholson St. and Mary lived (with her husband and sons) at 214 Anderson Ave. at that time.

The house at The Farm was "Nina’s Place." At various times Mary (and her husband Dave and 1 son), John A. (and his wife Mildred and 2 children), Gino, Livia, and Joe lived on Marcella. John A. and Mildred, who did not live on Marcella when either Mary or Livia lived there, have said that Nina loved "her boys" – she was very nice to her step-sons. John A. and Mildred also remembered Nina as an excellent cook. John A. and his brother Joe especially remembered the pies, including the graham cracker crust pies she often baked for them. She would cook whatever "the boys" wanted. Nina always used newspapers on the table – wrapping the scraps up in them after the meal. According to Joe’s wife, Lorraine, Nina always bragged about "her boys" when she visited the local grocery store where Lorraine had worked. The store was owned by Lorraine’s first husband, Clarence Peet, and was adjacent to their trailer park ("tourist camp") at the corner of S. Chicago St. and W. Zarley Blvd. in Joliet – just about 4 blocks from 1604 Marcella. John A. and Mildred thought of Nina as an angel, very hard-working, very nice, who would do anything for her family. Unfortunately, as all agreed, Grandpa did not treat her well.

Regardless of the financial arrangement that John made to live at 1604 Marcella Ave., it served as a very welcome home for John, Nina, and the children. It was a place where the adult Ullian children could – and did at some point – live with their father, which they had not been able to do for so many years. While our knowledge of when each of the children lived on Marcella with their father sometimes requires a margin of error of a year or two, we can guarantee that in the late 1940s The Farm on Marcella was the magnet that drew the family back together after being apart all too long.

We do not know exactly when Nina left John and The Farm. It was probably in the spring or summer of 1950, or possibly but less likely in 1949, that Nina moved to California. Her mother Maddalena Velo and her daughter Ida Salbego lived in San Bernadino County, California. We know that Nina arrived in time to be registered as a voter in 1950 while living there with her mother. John A. remembered that when Nina left, he was working construction, and he didn’t work construction in the winter, so she probably left in the spring or summer. That also fits with her having largely recuperated from a broken leg resulting from a fall on the ice.

We have been unable to find any indication that Nina and Grandpa divorced. She had previously been divorced from Bortolo Salbego, and her marriage to Grandpa was in a civil, not Catholic, ceremony. Her claim to be working in a Catholic Church rectory in California is at least a little questionable, given the Catholic Church’s stance on divorce, and on divorced persons, at that time in history. Perhaps her employers did not have the whole story. Or perhaps they agreed to hire a woman in need of a job, regardless of the divorce.

In 1951, John moved from The Farm at 1604 Marcella into the home of his daughter Mary and her husband Dave and 2 of their sons at 214 Anderson Ave. in Joliet. Mary became his primary caregiver for the rest of her father’s life, almost 20 years.

About 1952, while living with the Larsons, John was a janitor at Tony’s Tavern (owned by Anthony Lucenta) at 1827 E. Washington St. (at the corner of E. Washington St. and Park Rd.), about a quarter mile from the Larson’s home on Anderson. After the Larsons moved to a new home on Maple Rd. in Joliet, John would often meet an Italian friend named Gino to walk together to the Club Rio Tavern at 1600 Maple Rd. (at N. Briggs St.). He liked to drink wine, and it tended to make him very quiet and peaceful. When he lived with the Larsons, John and Dave would drink together. Dave drank beer, and it had the opposite effect on him. The memories of Dave and Mary’s son David Ullian Larson in Appendix A provide more detail about his Grandpa’s life with the Larson family.

David U. Larson has written that John did not live with his family from 1957 to 1962. His departure from the Larson residence may have occurred because of changes in the Larsons’ living situation: Mary gave birth to her third son, Bruce, in November 1957, and Mary and Bruce stayed with her in-laws while the Larsons were building a new home on Maple Rd. that winter. Grand-daughter Linda Wysocki remembers John staying with her family for maybe about a year – and giving up her room for him to use – in about 1958. At some point during this period lived with Gino’s family, probably for a summer. He did not live with his son John A.’s family. We haven’t been able to establish where John was during the other years David mentioned.

Bruce Larson with John Ullian in 1962 at Larson Home on Maple Rd.

John Ullian with Santa Claus in December 1967 at Larson Home

Mary’s son David Ullian Larson provided most of the following information about his mother.

Not long before David’s birth in February 1943 the family moved from Briggs St. to Lind St., just off of Maple Road, on the east side of Joliet, where Mary had friends. They lived on Lind St. until about August 1944, when they moved to 1604 Marcella – The Farm – where they lived with Mary’s father, John, and her brother Joe. David’s understanding is that John and Joe had moved to The Farm in late 1943. The Larsons had a bedroom on the first floor, and John and Nina’s bedroom was on the second floor. David’s baby book shows that he spent his first Christmas (1943) on Lind, and the second (1944) on Marcella – with John, Nina, Joe, and his parents. In about August 1945, just before David’s brother Terry was born that September, the Larson family left The Farm. They had lived there about a year, then moved to Circle Dr. in the Ingalls Park neighborhood of Joliet. They lived there a short time and then bought and moved into a house at 214 Anderson Ave. in Joliet, where they would live until 1957.

In 1951 Mary and Dave Larson began sharing their Anderson Ave. home with Mary’s father. In that year, the 2 Larson sons (Terry and David) were 6 and 8 years old; in 1957 a third son (Bruce) would be born to complete the family. John lived with Mary’s family for almost 20 years. Although Mary had always wanted to be a nurse, after marrying she devoted her life to being a wife and mother.

Mary was an excellent cook. In her basement on Anderson Ave. she had a stove where she cooked and canned for many hours, making jelly and canning applesauce, mincemeat, tomatoes, pears, and plums, to name a few. She made fudge from scratch as a treat for the family. She also liked asparagus (although the boys didn’t) and the family would pick it at a farm.

Mary found time to be a den mother of Pack 32, Den 4, for the Cub Scouts. She even wrote and supervised much of a minstrel show put on by the Cub Scouts. She was also active in the PTA at the school of her sons.

The Larsons in 1953:
Dave and Mary
David and Terry

The Larsons and John Ullian:
Mary, Dave, John
Terry, David

214 Anderson Ave.
First Home Owned by Dave and Mary Larson

As a child at ISSCS Mary was selected to work in the office because she had such an eye for detail. She made posters and created displays at the school. She had beautiful Palmer Method handwriting.

She was very artistic in many areas. She made earrings from a leather lace material, which sons Terry and David would sell door-to-door. She worked with ceramics and had a kiln in her home to fire her pieces. She received training in many locations from many instructors, which allowed her to perfect each skill. In her own kiln, she experimented with various glazes and heats. Porcelain was another medium she used to expand her creative output.

Although she never went to church services, she worked tirelessly to donate beautiful handicrafts to the Ingalls Park Methodist Church in Joliet for their annual holiday craft show. She made candles, wall plaques using dried wildflowers, serving trays, plaster of Paris creations, jewelry, and many other items. She even made beautiful table lamps with used wallpaper rollers as the base.

She also loved sewing doll clothing and even made numerous complete dolls. She had a delicate touch with a single hair brush bristle to make eyelashes so that the eyes looked lifelike. To porcelain doll heads and hands, she added sewn elements. Her stitch work on every item was very uniform.

She also taught her sons to be independent. If David asked for something she did not have, like string, she would say "What would you do if you were in the desert?" So from an early age he was expected to figure out another way to do everything. Mary trusted her sons: when David was 10 years old, he and his 8-year-old brother would be gone all day, including walking 4 miles to the golf course, and when they came home Mary would never ask these adventurous boys where they went.

Mary never learned to drive. Her husband was said to have had no patience in helping her. She felt the "H" pattern for stick shifts was not something she could learn when her husband was constantly giving her "H."

Mary’s connection to ISSCS would always show through. She visited The Home in Normal and organized the first reunion picnic for ISSCS alumni in Joliet. Mary had a large circle of friends. She never forgot her connection with her mother and frequently visited her grave on Decoration Day. And she maintained contact with her Aunt Mary Ferraro in Glencoe IL and visited her a few times.

Her love of nursing would show in many ways. She took 2 showers every day. (Her husband 1 per week and her father 1 every month or 2.) She loved Linco, a local bleach in Joliet, a disinfectant like Clorox is today, and used it often to clean. But most of all, it showed in the loving way she took care of everyone.

Mary Larson – 8 Aug 1971

Mary Larson – "See You Later!"

Mary Larson 75th Birthday

Back: Bruce Larson, Don French, Rita and Terry Larson
Front: Livia French, Mary, David, Dave Larson
1996

By 1996, never having had a broken bone or having a single stitch her whole life, Mary’s health took a downward turn. She had a lumpectomy and radiation in 1996. The following year she had surgery for appendicitis, followed by a stroke from a blood clot. She was moved to Emerald Nursing Home in Port St. Lucie, where she lived for 3 years until her death on 31 Dec 2000. Mary’s remains were cremated and scattered. Her husband, Dave, died on 10 Jun 2001 in Port St. Lucie. His remains were also cremated and scattered.

Mary (Ullian) Larson – April 1999

John A. Ullian Jr. provided the following information based on conversations over the years with his father and mother, John A. and Mildred Maxine (Huffington) Ullian.

After John A.’s separation from the Army in Rockford IL in February 1946, he went to Normal and stayed for 2 or 3 days with the family of his future wife, Mildred Maxine Huffington (called Max or Maxine by many in her family). With $300 from the Army in his pocket, he went to Shields jewelry store in town and bought a ring for $100. He briefly returned to Joliet and stayed again with the Ruddy family. He started school, but when his GI Bill money didn’t come immediately, he quit. Then on 20 Apr 1946, John and Mildred were married in the rectory of Holy Trinity Church in Bloomington, McLean, Illinois. John’s sister Livia and brother Gino were the witnesses.

Mildred and John A. Ullian on their Wedding Day – 20 Apr 1946

The bride and groom borrowed a car for their wedding, complete with tin cans tied to it. After the wedding, they took a train to Chicago. John A. told his son that they honeymooned at the Grand Hotel, on Michigan Ave., with a view of Lake Michigan. Mildred remembers it differently – that they honeymooned at the Palmer House.

John A. and Mildred Ullian’s Wedding Transportation

After their marriage they first lived in Gardner, Grundy, Illinois, in an apartment above Topper’s Grocery Store on Main St. near the Post Office. They lived there less than a year. Next they rented a house at 104 Daniels St. (2 blocks from U.S. Route 66) in Wilmington IL, which was available only because John A. worked at the Joliet Arsenal. His first job at the Arsenal was as a switchman and conductor taking the train from the Arsenal across the highway to Sanderson and Porter, but he lost that job when Civil Service came in and he didn’t have enough seniority. Then he worked in explosives areas – Group 7, then #A until it blew up, then Group 1, where he worked with TNT. Near the Arsenal’s North Gate (on Laraway Road) still stand the remains of what may be buildings he worked in while burning TNT and other explosives.

Former Joliet Arsenal – Sites near Laraway Rd. – 2005

Their first son, John Anthony Ullian Jr., was born in January 1947 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Joliet while they were living at 104 Daniels St. in Wilmington. Having a child entitled them to rent a larger home – and they moved a block away, to 206 Daniels St. Linda Frances Ullian was born in June 1948, also at St. Joseph’s in Joliet, while they were living at 206 Daniels.

When John A. lived in Gardner, he could take a bus for employees to the Arsenal. There was no bus from Wilmington to the Arsenal, so they needed a car. They bought a used 1936 Buick Century for $100 from Don French, his sister Livia’s husband.

When John A. was laid off from the Arsenal about 1949 or 1950 as its post-war needs declined, they had to leave the house on Daniels. They had nowhere else to go, so they moved in with Grandpa, Nina, and Joe at 1604 Marcella Ave. The 1950 Joliet City Directory showed John (as an explosive operator – but without an employer listed) and Mildred living with Grandpa on Marcella. They remembered spending a Christmas there before moving away.

John A. and Mildred have shared a number of stories over the years about 1604 Marcella. John and his brother Joe fed Grandpa’s chickens in the garage. For a chicken dinner, Nina would grab one outside, twist the neck, and let it flop around on the ground – then clean and cook it.

Clara Belle Beck, whom Gino would later marry, lived across the street, a little ways down, on Breen St. She lived there with her mother, with her brother Delbert, and with her step-father, Andy Tomac.

Mildred had worked at State Farm Insurance in Normal IL beginning in high school, and later (after all of the children were in school) as a secretary at Goldblatt’s department store (Joliet), the purchasing agent at Shelby-Craftco (Joliet and Chicago), and briefly at the Joliet Arsenal. John and Mildred devoted their lives to being great parents and grandparents, as well as a favorite aunt and uncle. They enjoyed traveling to visit relatives, especially after retirement. Mildred’s love of sewing, knitting, crocheting, and other needlework has been quite useful to many family members for many years. Their 3 children have appreciated all the sacrifices their parents had made over the years, including enabling the children to go to good schools and being supportive wherever John A. Jr., Linda, and Jim’s lives have taken them.

Mildred and John Ullian – 1971

John A. Jr, John, Mildred, Jim, and Linda Ullian – 1991

Mildred and John Anthony Ullian – April 2012

John A. Ullian died on 18 January 2015, 3 months before his ninety-second birthday. He was buried at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood, Will, Illinois. In 2020, Mildred lives in Joliet.

John A. Ullian’s Tombstone
Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood IL

Chapter 9 includes information on Livia’s life from 1941 through 1946, which includes the time she spent at 1604 Marcella. At the conclusion of Livia’s story in that chapter, she was living in about 1946 in one room in the home of Gert Crowley at 210 Nicholson St. in Joliet. After living on Nicholson St., Livia roomed with a "red-headed girl" in an apartment on Third Ave. in Joliet. That roommate introduced her to Don French.

Livia Ullian and Donald L. French Sr. – Wedding Day – 26 Mar 1949

Livia and Don met in February 1949 and were married at Trinity Evangelical United Brethren Church on 26 Mar 1949. Joseph and Lorraine Ullian were their witnesses.

Since Livia’s Catholic faith meant so much to her, they were remarried on 13 Mar 1950 at St. Mary’s Carmelite Church in Joliet. Since Livia was 8 months pregnant and marrying a Protestant, the wedding was performed in the rectory office. Livia’s brothers John and Joseph were the witnesses.

Livia and Don lived on Draper Ave. in Joliet in 1 room of a house before they bought a house at 305 Margaret St. in Joliet in the early 1950s. In the early 1960’s, they added on a third bedroom, garage and a larger living room to their home. Don worked at the Texaco Oil Refinery in Lockport, Will, Illinois, as a crane operator throughout their marriage.

Livia Cooking at her Draper Ave. Home

Livia and Don French’s Home at 305 Margaret St., Joliet IL

Livia was a wife and homemaker and she and Don were blessed with two children: Linda, born in 1950, and Donald Jr., born in 1954, both born at Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet.

She was a parishioner at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Joliet. Livia loved babysitting her grandchildren. Livia enjoyed embroidering and flower arranging. Don and Livia also loved traveling, including trips to Hawaii, to California to see the Rose Bowl Parade, and to many other states. To this day (in 2018) Livia never misses watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade or the Rose Bowl Parade. Don and Livia enjoyed many weekends camping with their grandchildren, in their camping trailer.

Livia and Don French with Daughter Linda – about 1953

Livia and Don French with Son Don Jr. and Daughter Linda – 1954

Don Jr. and Linda French – about 1956

Don and Livia Celebrating in Florida

After Don’s retirement from Texaco, Don and Livia enjoyed spending several winters in Florida and then moved full time to Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie, Florida, in 1985. They enjoyed their retirement there until Don had a cerebral hemorrhage and died on 27 Jan 2001 at Martin Memorial Hospital in Stuart, Martin, Florida. He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Joliet. In 2018 Livia passed away in 2019 in Port St. Lucie.

Donald L. French Sr.’s and Livia A. French's Tombstone at Woodlawn Cemetery, Joliet

John A. Ullian, Gino and Clara Ullian, Clara’s sister Betty Beck, and Joseph Ullian

Gino and Clara Ullian – Wedding Day

Gino, Clara, and their Children at 50th Wedding Anniversary – June 1997

After his retirement, Gino and Clara headed for Page, Coconino, Arizona, and took their motor home to nearby Lake Powell.

Gino and Clara Ullian’s Columbarium Marker
Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood IL

 An excerpt from Gino’s obituary nicely sums up the life of this man:

    "Following retirement from the Laborer's Union in 1987, Gino and Clara retired in Arizona. Gino's greatest joy in life was spending time with his family. He was a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan, and at the end of every season he would say, ‘wait until next year.’"

After his Army service, Joe returned to Joliet to live with John and Nina on Marcella Ave. The 1947 Joliet City Directory shows Joe as working at Farrell Mfg. Joe lived on Marcella until his marriage to Eunice Lorraine (Frost) Peet – Lorraine – on 7 Nov 1948.

We don’t know exactly when Lorraine and Clarence Peet divorced, but the 1940 Federal Census shows Clarence, age 28, and Lorraine, age 21, as married with two children: Clarence and Donna. Since Joe and Lorraine married in November 1948, and Clarence and Lorraine had two more children (Thomas and Yvonne) before then, they must have divorced about 1945 or 1946.

Joe and Lorraine’s marriage on 7 Nov 1948 took place in Pocahontas, Randolph, Arkansas, about a month before Joe’s twenty-second birthday. Joe had done his Army basic training in Arkansas, but we do not know whether that was why they were married there.

In 1955, they lived at 517 Osage St., Joliet IL. At some point during the 1950s they had lived on E. Cass St., a block or so west of where his brother John A.’s family lived. Joe had worked at the Joliet Arsenal, and then applied at Caterpillar Tractor Co. in Joliet. He got the job despite not having graduated from grade school after he told them that he was in the engineer group with the Airborne in the Army and was a machinist. He retired from Caterpillar after 30 years in 1981. He and Lorraine moved to Arkansas after his retirement.

Joe Ullian – 1987

Lorraine died on 20 Jun 2003 and is buried at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery. They had been married over 54 years at the time of her death.

Lorraine and Joe Ullian

After Lorraine’s death, Joe lived in Donna, Hidalgo, Texas for several years after having moved from the retirement home that he and Lorraine built in Arkansas. He had been traveling back and forth between Arkansas and Texas (for the winter) but decided that he was too old to travel by himself between Arkansas and Texas. He sold his property in Arkansas and moved permanently to Texas. He loved it there and enjoyed traveling to Mexico and around the area. Joe enjoyed dining and traveling with a friend, Elaine.

Joseph F. Ullian died on 28 Sep 2017. He was buried in 2018 at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery with Lorraine.

Eunice Lorraine Ullian’s Tombstone.
Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood IL

Brothers Gino, John A., and Joe Ullian – about 1990

The Ullian children went through many trials in their young lives, losing their mother so early, being separated from their father for most of their childhood and adolescence, and growing up with limited contact with each other. But having persevered, they all grew up to lead happy, productive lives, lovingly raised their families and enjoyed life. And through all the years, they kept in contact with each other, either while living in Joliet or in different locations after retirement. They were truly FAMILY!

Conclusion

The Family – about 1929

Ullian Family Reunion – about 1970

Gino, John, Livia, and Joe – August 2005