Owen Davis Fulkerson (1912 - 1988)

Born 9 Nov 1912 in Ohio, Kentucky, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Kay (Lemen) Fulkerson — married 4 Jun 1967 in Marion, Indiana, United States

Descendants

Died 24 Apr 1988 at age 75 in Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Scott Fulkerson [send private message]

Biography

OD Fulkerson is a Military Veteran.
Served in the United States Marines 28 Mar 1944-04 Jan 1946
Served in World War II.

Owen Davis was born on November 9, 1912 to his parents Erskine "Erk" Fulkerson and Leila May (Hunter) Fulkerson. Owen Davis Fulkerson was the firstborn in his family and responsibility passed to him early in his life. He had one sibling, a sister Ida, who was born 3 years after him, but no other brothers or sisters. He grew up around the Point Pleasant area (1920 Census), which is located in a rural community southeast of Livermore, Kentucky and near the banks of the Green River. His family moved, first to Centertown (1930 Census) and then to Livermore (1940 Census). OD graduated from high school around 1930, and went to work with his father running the ferry at the Rough River. He married Eathel Leaman in June 1931, and started a family. In 1939, the city of Livermore commissioned a bridge to be built over the Green and Rough rivers, which meant the days of the ferry would soon come to an end. The bridge project completed on November 13, 1940 and eliminated the need for the ferry. After this, O.D. went to work at an auto parts store for a time. A plaque was eventually erected on the spot where the last ferry over the Green River finally stopped service.

By 1940, OD and Eathel had 4 children at home. Linda was 8, Jimmy was 5, HN was 3, and by the end of the year Eathel was pregnant with their last child, Denny. War was looming on the horizon, and OD was 28 and still well within the draft qualifications. In 28 Mar 1944, he was ordered to report and joined the Marine Corps. He was trained and sent overseas to fight in the Pacific, doing some of the roughest fighting as the Marines hopped from island to island fighting the Japanese troops who had dug in at each of their stops. Taking heavy fire, the vehicle the Marines were driving was damaged and the tread needed to be repaired. OD went beneath the vehicle and was attempting to repair it when it rolled on top of him, crushing his back. He spent time in a military hospital recovering from his wounds. There were some concerns that he would never walk again, and he was suffering from amnesia at the time. While he had amnesia, the military hospital held him there, as they could not determine his identity. Time passed, and he eventually learned to walk with a cane and his memory returned. He was flown back to California to rehab in Vallejo, and by late 1945, he was able to return home. He was officially released from duty on 4 January 1946 (based on Fold 3 website records).

He began working in construction some time after his return, and his work often took him out of town to Indiana. Sometime after the children had grown and left the house, OD and Eathel divorced. (After 1960) OD moved to Indianapolis and lived in a small home on Keystone Avenue. In 1967, he married Mary Lemen and as they were both over 50, the two of them did not have any children together. OD was a Heavy Equipment Operator, operating a number of different construction vehicles. One job his company performed in Indianapolis was digging the trenches and laying in the first sewer lines for the east side of Indianapolis, from 10th Street and Arlington and points east. No small task to do - they had to bring in a special large trench digging vehicle just to ensure they could get the job done.

OD had a few pleasures in life. His cigars. His pinto beans and ham (and cornbread). And a comfy chair. And I remember his old forest green Ford pickup truck always sitting in the driveway.

Near the end of his life, he had semi-retired, but still worked at a bar from time to time. Due to a debilitating cancer, he passed away on April 24, 1988 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was buried in Bedford, Indiana.

Obituary - Indianapolis Star - 26 April 1988:

OWEN DAVIS "O.D." FULKERSON. 75. Noblesviile, formerly of Indianapolis, died Sunday. Services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Ferguson-Lee Funeral Home, Bedford, with calling from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. today and before services Wednesday. He had been a construction foreman for Thompson Construction Co., Indianapolis, 30 years. He was a Marine Corps veteran of World War II. Survivors: sons, James L.. Harry N. and Dennis Fulkerson: daughter, Linda Wills; sister, Ida Hicks.

Sources

• "Kentucky, Vital Record Indexes, 1911-1999," , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QKHK-H2PX : accessed 9 August 2015), Ooven D Fulkerson, 09 Nov 1912; citing Birth, Ohio, Kentucky, United States, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort.

• "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MHP3-5ZQ : accessed 9 August 2015), Owen D Fulkerson in household of Erk Fulkerson, Point Pleasant, Ohio, Kentucky, United States; citing sheet 11B, family 52, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,820,594.

• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XMFF-2FR : accessed 9 August 2015), Owen Fulkerson in household of Erik Fulkerson, Centertown, Ohio, Kentucky, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 0007, sheet 1A, family 7, line 27, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 773; FHL microfilm 2,340,508.

• "Indiana Marriages, 1811-2019", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:DD7W-M4PZ : 30 December 2021), O D Fulkerson, 1931.

• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K7YQ-5HY : accessed 9 August 2015), Owen D Fulkerson, Livermore, Magisterial District 3, McLean, Kentucky, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 75-6, sheet 15A, family 312, NARA digital publication T627 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012), roll 1336.

• "United States Social Security Death Index," , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JY24-Z6V : accessed 9 August 2015), Owen D Fulkerson, 24 Apr 1988; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/233195144/owen-davis-fulkerson

• "Ohio, Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007," , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V29P-2NY : accessed 9 August 2015), Fulkerson in entry for Harry N Fulkerson, 24 Jul 1997; from "Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-2007," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2010); citing vol. 31173, certificate number 054114, Ohio Historical Society, Columbus; Ohio Department of Health, State Vital Statistics Unit, Columbus.

• "Ohio Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4SRW-9LN2 : 30 June 2021), Harry N Fulkerson, 1997.

• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKLL-6Q87 : accessed 23 February 2022), Owen Davis Fulkerson in entry for Mrs Linda Fulkerson Wills, Kentucky, United States, 19 Oct 2009; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, born-digital text.

• http://www.fulkerson.org/phildesc.html (Noted in chart on Fulkerson site)