History of Adult Children of Jacob's First Family Seated left to right: Ira, Grandpa, Ezra. Standing left to right: Ruth, Christina, Earl, Sue. Grandpa posed to the west of his house in Sterling with Ruth and his five children from his first marriage (June 20, 1922). |
Ira in France  Ira on the right. Ira was a chaplain in WWI in France. |
 Ira on the Cher River. Ira was a chaplain in WWI in France. |
 |
I don't know where Ira served as pastor, but I do remember seeing a picture of him at Grandma's once. She told me it was of Ira when he served as a chaplain with the Red Cross in France during World War I. He was in uniform in the picture. They also had an adopted son named Charles who lived in Ottawa, Illinois. After Ira's death, Rose supported herself and Charles as a cook in a military academy for several years. I met Rose only once at Aunt Christine's when I was very small and remember nothing else about her. Ira and Rose's adopted son Charles lived in Ottawa for years. Aunt Sue was in contact with Charle's wife, Helen, also. Helen copied information from the front of Grandpa Holtzman's Bible and sent it to Sue, but did not want to part with the Bible. Charles and Helen had a son named Chris who played baseball for Ottawa high school. Rose's sister Merle was one of Gram's best friends. We always called her "Aunt Merle." We were completely surprised to learn that she had included us in her will. Each of us received $1,000. After Sue and Ed moved here, we drove to Ottawa where Phil joined us, and we took Aunt Merle out to dinner. Most of those recollections were all from things Mother told me. I never met Ira. Of my mother's half brothers/sisters, I knew only Christine. When I met Aunt Sue, she was dying of cancer at Christine's farm home and the funeral was in the parlor. I met Earl once when I was a teen-ager, but at the time, it did not register on me how important that was. Earl and his wife Louise lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut and stopped by to see Grandma for a few hours. I never met Ezra. Ezra and Ellen had a daughter named Alice who Mother told me suffered from diabetes and died at age 20. (recollections by Janna Ruth Hey Dean) |
 Rev. & Mrs. Ira E. Holtzman 830 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois Phone: Superior 8600 (on back of photo; the address is Moody Bible Institute) (from diary of Ruth Holtzman Hey, Ira's half-sister) "April 19, 1938 "Got a call from Merle (sister of Rose, Ira's wife) this A.M. saying Ira was dying. Called Christine & they came in & we drove right down. Hot and windy—drove through dust storm. Apr. 19—"Ira was so uncomfortable yesterday. He was so glad to see us. He looked so much like Dad. We left Springfield at 7:15 & he passed away at 10 o'clock. The call came through when we got home at 11:30." |
 Left to Right: Louise & Earl, Lucile (?, Christine's daughter), Alice, Ira & Rose  Rose Holtzman Camp Butler National Cemetery, Springfield |
Ira Holtzman's Grave Camp Butler National Cemetery, Springfield  Ira's Passing (Click to Enlarge)  |
Ira's Passport, August 2, 1918 Ira was applying to do YMCA work in France and Great Britain. He was in the Philippines for 3 years with the U.S. army. Was he a chaplain in the Philippines? Or, just a soldier? (Click and zoom in. Passport is quite legible then.)  |
 Ira's Return from Philippines April-May, 1902 (Line 54) (Click and Enlarge) |
Ira's Interment Authorization Camp Butler National Cemetery, Springfield Enlistment: April 4, 1899 - Discharge: April 8, 1902  |
Ira Listed as YMCA Secretary Leaving for France, December 24 (Line 17)  |