Charles Laurel Stump (1925 - 2012)

Born 11 Oct 1925 in Bethel Township, McDonough County, Illinois

Ancestors

Son of Charles Franklin Stump and Ottie Pearl (Twaddle) Stump

Husband of Maureen Louise (Arnold) Stump — married 11 Apr 1950 in Sacred Heart Church, Dallas City, Illinois

Descendants

Died 14 Apr 2012 at age 86 in Quincy, Adams County, Illinois

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Brian Stump [send private message]

Charles Stump served in the United States Navy in World War II
Service started: Aug 31, 1943
Unit(s): USS Roper (DE-147), USS Arcturus (AKA-1), USS Alshain
Service ended: Nov 18, 1946

Biography

Charles Laurel Stump was born on the Stump farm in Bethel Township, McDonough County, Illinois, on October 11, 1925. At the time of his birth, his father, Charles Franklin, was a successful farmer in McDonough County. His paternal grandfather and step-grandmother, Isaac and Jenny Stump, lived just down the road at the old Stump place. His maternal grandmother, Philena Twaddle, lived with them on the farm. He had two older brothers at home: Cecil, 8, and Russell, 7. His mother, Ottie, was a caring homemaker whom he learned to love deeply.

Charles grew up using the name ‘Laurel’, since he carried his father’s first name. He often spoke of how he was raised by two mothers. His grandmother, Philena, lived with Ottie on the Twaddle farm since the passing of her husband, George Twaddle, in 1887. When Charles Franklin and Ottie were married in 1910, Stump bought the farm from the Twaddles, which had been in their name since 1844. This stirred some controversy between the two families, but laid the basis for Philena living out her days with Charles and Ottie. As a result, Philena was a great influence on Laurel, particularly in forming the “attitudes and values” through which he approached life. Her interest in family history also sparked his lifelong journey of discovering family history and interacting with distant relatives to hear their stories.

Laurel lived on the farm in Bethel Township until the age of 5. In late 1929, a dark era befell the family. Charles Franklin had bought hundreds of cattle from Kansas City on bonds just a few weeks prior to the market crash, and lost nearly everything when the prices plummeted. No one wanted to lose the farm and the family made an incredible effort in the coming years to hold on to what they had.

In April of 1930, in the living room of their farmhouse, Laurel witnessed his grandfather, Isaac Stump, take his last breath after suffering for months from Prostate Cancer. He was an old man, and had lived and farmed just down the street in Bethel Township all of his adult life.

In August of 1931, Charles Franklin exhausted his last efforts, and was no longer able to hold on to the farm. He sold it to Elza McDaniel, who lived a few miles to the south. They moved to Plymouth shortly after so that the children would be able to get an education. In the words of Russell:

It was a sad day. We all cried. Laurel for his cats, we had a bunch, Grandma because the place wouldn’t be in the Twaddle name anymore, Papa because he had failed, and mama because all of our possessions we had worked so long and hard for were scattered like leaves in the fall. Cecil and I because we had no friends in Plymouth.

Charles grew up in Plymouth, attending Plymouth elementary and Plymouth High School. In High School, he was a talented athlete, and held school records in Track and Field. When the war broke out in 1941, his brother Russell enlisted in the Army and was quickly sent off to fight against Germany in Europe. Laurel graduated high school in 1943 at the age of 17. He was not of age to enlist, but received special written permission from his mother, Ottie. In the summer of 1943, Charles enlisted in the United States Navy at Springfield, Illinois. He was sent to Boot Camp at NTC Great Lakes, Ill, followed by Naval Training School at Burdett College in Boston, graduating on March 6, 1944. In April, he was deployed to the Mediterranean, and later the Pacific. He was stationed on the USS Arcturus (AKA-1), from May 1944 until April 1946, taking part in the Invasion of Southern France and the Battle of Okinawa.^[1] He served on the USS Alshain in June and July of 1946. He was honorably discharged in November of 1946. He did not like talking about his war experience later in life.

When he returned to the United States, he began attending Western Illinois State Teachers College (now Western Illinois University). It was around this time, and possibly during his service time that he began going by Charlie rather than Laurel. He met Maureen Arnold, the daughter of Maurice Arnold and Alice Ruebush, at a dance while at Western. She was a student at the Nurses Training school of St. Francis Hospital in Macomb. A mutual friend by the name of Jerry Wagner introduced them during the evening. They were married on April 11, 1950, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Dallas City, Illinois. Charles converted from Methodism to Catholicism at this time.

After college, Charles began working for Bankers Life and Casualty Company, a life insurance company in Macomb. While working there, he and Maureen lived at an apartment on Carroll street. It was while living here that their first son, Stephen John, was born. In a few years’ time, he quit the job as an insurance man to take on a teaching job in Plymouth. He thought he would enjoy working in sales, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. By this time, Charles Anthony and Patrick Jerome had also been born.

Over the next ten years, the family moved between Plymouth, Mendon, and the countryside, living in rental houses. Charles taught at Plymouth and Unity High Schools. In order to make extra money, he learned to drive busses for the schools, and took on janitorial roles in the evenings. He worked dawn till dusk for six days a week. He often brought the kids to work with him, as they helped him get the job done faster and they enjoyed being around their father. He always enjoyed staying busy. While working, he began taking classes at Western Illinois University, and received his Master of Science in Education in June of 1958.

In 1964, Charles was asked to become Superintendent of Bowen West Point School District. He accepted the offer, and the family moved to Bowen, Illinois where he purchased their first house. By the time of their move to Bowen, Charles and Maureen had six children. James Michael, Theresa Renee, and Mark Francis had been born. Since Charles was not well versed in the administrative side of education, he spent the next few summers away from home furthering his studies, while Maureen stayed home with the children. He attended the University of Missouri in Columbia, Iowa State University in Ames, and Eastern Illinois University in Charleston to study educational administration.

After a few years as Superintendent, Charles was unhappy in dealing with the board and overseeing decisions. He stepped down as superintendent and became the Principal of Bowen Junior High School and West Point Elementary School. By the summer of 1977, Charles had had enough of the administrative side of education entirely. He once again stepped down from his post to return to teaching and school bus driving. He accepted a lower pay offer, but said that he was relieved to be “free from the obligation of attending board meetings, sporting events, and other school functions”.

Charles retired from teaching at the end of the school year in 1985. However, not working did not slow him down. He loved learning about history, nature, and biology. He joined the American Legion, the Knights of Columbus, and was a Freemason. He became an avid collector of many things, including license plates, arrowheads, and bicycles. In a newspaper article about his collections, he is quoted as saying: “I collect just about anything. If I found out that a friend was collecting salt and pepper shakers, I could probably give them 50 of them to get them going on it.”. He even admitted at one point that his collecting habits had “almost gone out of control”.

His license plate collection eventually included plates from all 50 states, dating from 1930 to 2000. He had an impressive arrowhead collection, and at one point had about 90 bicycles, which he would refurbish and sell out of his shop in Bowen. But among all of his passions, he stated later in life that nothing brought him as much joy and inspiration as researching the past through genealogy and family history.

In 2006, Charles' health began deteriorating, leading he and Maureen to auction off the house in Bowen. They moved to live in a cottage at North Adams Home in Mendon, Illinois. After a few years, Charles was transferred to the Illinois Veteran's Home in Quincy, Illinois, where he passed away on April 14, 2012, at the age of 86.^[2]

Obituary

Charles Laurel Stump, 86, of Bowen, died at 4:55 p.m. Saturday (April 14, 2012) in the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy. Charles was born Oct. 11, 1925, a son of Charles Franklin and Ottie Pearl Twaddle Stump in rural Colchester.

He graduated from Plymouth High School in 1943. After graduation, Charles joined the U.S. Navy and served during World War II (USS Arcturus [AKA-1]) from 1943 until his honorable discharge in November of 1946. He then attended Western Illinois University and received his teaching degree. Charles furthered his education at Eastern Illinois University, Iowa State University and the University of Missouri.

On April 11, 1950, he married Maureen Louise Arnold at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Dallas City.

Charles taught in the Plymouth, Mendon, Bowen, and Southeastern high schools. He was also the principal of Bowen Junior High School and had served as superintendent of the Bowen/West Point School District. Charles enjoyed genealogy, nature, and biology and history. Charles was known for his smile and being a people person. He was a member of the American Legion and a faithful member of the Roman Catholic Church.

Charles is survived by his wife, Maureen Louise Stump of Mendon; five children,

• Stephen (Sharon) Stump of Quincy, Illinois
• Patrick Stump of Mendon, Illinois
• James (Denise) Stump of Fort Madison, Iowa,
• Theresa (Saeed) Ghafourian of Irvine, California,
• Mark (Angela) Stump of Kahoka, Missouri

15 grandchildren, Matthew (Aleeza) and Rebecca Stump, Elizabeth (Jose) Torres, and Peter, John and Brian Stump, Trenton (Meg), Jamison (Annie), Lucas and Nicole Stump, Amanda and Sean Ghafourian, and Seth, Caleb, and Noah Stump; a stepgrandson, Zachary Lorence; and three great-grandchildren, Bowen Charles Stump, Eleanor Lee Stump, and Xavier Torres.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a son, Charles Anthony "Tony" Stump; two brothers, Russell Leon Stump and Cecil Wayne Stump; and a sister in infancy, Lois Lee Stump.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland, United States; Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 01/01/1939 - 01/01/1949; Record Group: 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1798 - 2007; Series ARC ID: 594996; Series MLR Number: A1 135
2. ↑ Written by grandson, Brian A. Stump
3. ↑ Published in the Quincy Herald Whig, April 16th, 2012

• "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMDC-125 : 12 January 2021), Charles L Stump, 14 Apr 2012; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
• Paternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between Brian Stump and his 2nd cousin. Their most-recent common ancestors are their great grandparents, Charles Franklin Stump and Ottie Pearl Twaddle. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 3rd-4th Cousin, based on sharing 94 cM across 4 segments; Confidence: Extremely High.
• Maternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between Brian Stump and his third cousin-once removed. Their most-recent common ancestors are their great-great grandparents, Benjamin Stookey and Hannah Wilson. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 4th–6th Cousin, based on sharing 30 cM across 2 segments; Confidence: Extremely High.

See also:

• FamilySearch.org, Charles Laurel Stump, https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L6Q4-7FJ/charles-laurel-stump-1925-2012
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/88667210/charles-laurel-stump: accessed 01 August 2022), memorial page for Charles Laurel Stump (11 Oct 1925–14 Apr 2012), Find a Grave Memorial ID 88667210, citing Calvary Cemetery, Carthage, Hancock County, Illinois, USA; Maintained by Connie F (contributor 46846008).