Laurel Ernest Sterndahl (1905-1940)

b.   13 February 1905   Ong, Clay county, Nebraska
m.  24 June 1929     Los Angeles, California
d.   25 September 1940   Los Angeles, California
Buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California

Father:  Ernest Hjalmar Stjerndahl
Mother:   Alma Christine Rudd

Siblings:  Merrill Frithiof Sterndahl
              Lillian Genevieve Sterndahl
              Doris Sterndahl (half-sister)

Wife:  Mary Alta Wilkins

Children:  Kenneth Laurel Sterndahl

               Dennis Merrill Sterndahl

Merrill, Aunt Lillie, and Laurel

Laurel

Merrill and Laurel

Alta and Laurel - Bell Gardens, California

Kenneth, Alta, Dennis, and Laurel, 1940

I have very little information about my grandfather, except that he died suddenly from Infantile Paralysis - Polio. Two years later, Alta married Laurel's brother, Merrill, and he became a father to my father and the only grandfather that my brother, sister, and I knew. Because of this, I have decided to give Merrill a post of his own, even though he is not a direct ancestor. He earned it.

Below is a letter that Laurel (also known as Lou) wrote to Merrill (also known as Mel) in 1939. Alta and Laurel were living in Los Angeles and Merrill was living in Denver, Colorado. Since I have so little, I decided that photos of the letter were better than a transcription.