Descendants of Captain Arthur Fenner

Homer Collins Fenner

 

[b 14 Apr. 1905 at Batavia Twp., Branch Co., MI; d 8 Sept. 1981 at Punta Gorda, FL] When Homer was nine, his mother died of tuberculosis, and when he was twelve, his father died of pneumonia. He then went to live with Mr. & Mrs. Ed F. Abel in Coldwater, MI. Incidentally, Homer’s grandmother Irene Olmstead had raised Mrs. Abel’s father, Charles Pierce, from the age of nine years.

Homer Collins Fenner m Eva May French [b 10 Jan. 1907 at Union Twp, Branch Co., MI; d 15 Sept. 1999 at Sturgis, St. Joseph Co., MI] on 25 June 1927 at the home of her grandparents, Elbert & Eva French, in Matteson Twp., Branch Co., MI. She was the oldest of four children of Perry Lee French [1888–1960] and Ina Viola Sellwood [1889–1950]. 

Both Homer and Eva were employed by the Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Company in Parchment, MI, and they resided nearby. Together they lived in Parchment from 1926 to 1928; in Union City, MI, from 1928 to 1932; in Bronson, MI, from 1932 to 1946, where Homer worked for L.A. Darling Co. as a chrome plater; in Colon, MI, from Sept. 1946 to Oct. 1972, keeping a farm. They retired to Punta Gorda, FL, until Homer died in 1981. Eva then moved back to Colon, MI. Eva was an avid genealogist who spent over thirty years gathering data and communicating with Fenners across the country. At her death, Eva was a member of the Colon United Methodist Church.

  1. Richard Corydon [b 26 Dec. 1928; d 25 Oct. 2005] m Lottie Gruszczynski. 

  2. Glea Joyce [b 18 July 1930] m Melvin Seitler. 

  3. Carol Blythe [b 31 Dec. 1932] m Jack German. 

  4. Marilyn Jean [b 19 Mar. 1935] m Alvin Shaw. 

  5. Duane Collins [b 19 June 1937; d 24 Nov. 2012] m Bessie Pesti. 

  6. Shirley Ann [b 10 June 1940] m Charles Draime. 

  7. Homer Darwin [b 6 May 1944; d 20 May 2020] married four times. 

  8. Roger Allan [b 6 Nov. 1951] m Patty Seafert. 

Homer & Eva Fenner, 1970s.

Homer Fenner (left), son Richard C. Fenner (right), and grandson Richard G. Fenner (center), 1966.

Homer (left), son Richard (right), and grandson Richard (center), 1966.


Lineage:
Arthur | Thomas | Thomas | Daniel | Thomas | William | Nathaniel Collins | Corydon | Nelson | Homer

Sources:
a. Homer’s memorial at FindaGrave.com, no. 73867208


Eva May French, ca. 1923.

Eva, Merton, Perry, Donald, Lucile, Ina, ca. 1921.

Homer Collins Fenner, ca. 1920.


Back: Richard, Glea. Front: Marilyn, Duane, Carol, Shirley, ca. 1942.


Duane, Eva, Roger, Richard, Marilyn, Carol, Shirley, in Port Charlotte, FL, 1980s.


The siblings, in order of birth (right to left), 21 Sept. 1999.

The siblings, in order of birth (right to left), 21 Sept. 1999.