Bay City, Texas

Autonomous Gold Star Fathers Buried at Cedarvale Cemetery
 

Alice Marie (Orchard) {Gray} Bradford
September 27, 1904 – August 24, 1943

Marie is buried in Cedarvale Cemetery, Section 6, Row 16. Her son Sergeant Glenn Ledale Gray (August 22, 1927 – August 1, 1950) United States Army is also buried in Section 6 on Row 8. Glenn served first in World War II and remained in service after the war. He was killed in action in South Korea. He was a member of the 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. The burial location for his father, Leslie W. Gray is unknown. At the time of Glenn’s death, his family was living in Bay City.

Ada Della (Anderson) {Kilpatrick} Johnson
August 23, 1893 - December 2, 1972

Ada is buried at Cedarvale Cemetery, in Bay City, Texas in Section 5, Row 12. Her son Captain Donald A. Kilpatrick (February 16, 1916 - September 8, 1944), United States Army was mortally wounded in Belgium on September 7, 1944 and died in a hospital in France on the 8^th of September.  He is buried at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Henri-Chapelle, Belgium. Donald's father, James Franklin "Frank" Kilpatrick (August 24, 1895 - October 17, 1950) is buried at Hawley Cemetery near Blessing, Texas. At the time of Donald's death, Ada was living in Clemville and Frank was living in Dallas.

Lucy (Vandiver) Jones
August 29, 1901 - July 20, 1985

Lucy and her husband, Thad Carter Jones (June 22, 1901 - February 18, 1980) requested that their bodies be donated to science upon their deaths. Their son Technician Fifth Grade E. Carter Jones (October 7, 1926 - November 18, 1946), United States Army is buried in Section 5, Row 13 in Cedarvale Cemetery. He was killed when his parachute failed to open during a training jump in Alaska. At the time of his death his family was living in Bay City, Texas. A memorial marker for Lucy has been placed at the foot of the son's grave.

Ethel is buried in Cedarvale Cemetery, Section 6, Row 7 next to her husband, Richard Hubert Legg (October 8, 1898 - December 19, 1958).  Their son Technician Fifth Grade Richard Byron Legg (January 23, 1924 - April 14, 1945), United States Army was killed in action in Germany.  His remains are buried in the Lorraine American Cemetery, St. Avold, France.  At the time of his death his family was living in Bay City, Texas. A memorial marker for Richard has been placed at the foot of the graves of his parents.

Carrie Jane is buried in Cedarvale Cemetery, Section 4, Row 6 with her husband Lawrence P. McGinnes (March 13, 1883 - August 13, 1933) near their son First Lieutenant  Lawrence Howell McGinnes (April 15, 1924 - April 10, 1945), United States Army Air Forces who was killed in action on his 15th bombing run over Germany.  His remains were brought home for burial on July 24, 1949.  At the time of his death his remaining family lived in Markham, Texas.

Letha is buried in Cedarvale Cemetery, Section 3, Row 24 with her husband William McKinley McKelvy (March 4, 1897 - May 30, 1953).  Their son Radioman Third Class James Wesley McKelvy (August 14, 1924 - May 4, 1945), United States Navy was killed in action aboard the USS Morrison DD 560 when a kamikaze plane struck the ship’s bridge and radio room during the hard battle to take the island of Okinawa.  The ship sank after being hit by four kamikaze planes with a loss of 152 men.  His remains were not recovered.  He is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. At the time of his death his family was living in Bay City. A memorial marker for James has been placed at the foot of the graves of his parents.

Edna is buried beside her first husband Jacob Hayward Long (September 6, 1896 – March 1, 1962) at Cedarvale Cemetery. Their son Gunners Mate Third Class William Frank "Billy" Long (July 8, 1925 – February 11, 1944) United States Navy was stationed aboard the USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) and was in the Marshall Islands at the time of his death. He died when a powder tank exploded while being loaded into Turret #1 on the ship during battle. He was first buried on the Island of Bikini. In 1945, in preparation to secretly test the atomic bomb on the islands of Bikini and Enewetak, he was moved to Mausoleum #1, Scofield Barracks, Hawaii. He was reinterred at Cedarvale Cemetery in Section 6, Row 19 on November 6, 1947 near his maternal grandfather William Henry Mangum who died in 1944. At the time of Billy’s death his family was living in Dickinson, Texas.

Allie is buried in Cedarvale Cemetery, Section 6, Row 14 with her husband Herbert Hackley Parker (February 2, 1891 - September 24, 1981) near their son Captain Philip Hackley Parker (March 25, 1920 - March 23, 1945), United States Army Air Forces who was killed in action over Hsincheng , China .  His remains were brought home for burial on May 5, 1949.  He was also survived by his wife Nina Josephine (Orchard) Parker; they had no children. At the time of his death his family lived in Bay City, Texas.  

Martha is buried at Cedarvale Cemetery, Section 9, Block 274 beside her husband George Ernest Ratliff, Sr. (July 12, 1923 – January 24, 1989) who was a veteran of WWII. Their son, Captain George Ernest Ratliff, Jr. (October 15, 1949 – October 21, 1983) United States Air Force, and his wife Elizabeth Ann (McKee) Ratliff, are buried near them. George died at Gorgas US Army Hospital in Panama City, Panama as a result of an undetermined (non-battle) cause, during the preparations for the invasion of Grenada on October 25, 1983.

Fannie is buried in Cedarvale Cemetery, Section 5, Row 15. Her husband Robert Isaac Reed (February 18, 1882 – August 21, 1950) is buried Section 5 on Row 5.  They are the parents of Seaman Second Class Holeis Roy Reed (January 19, 1926 - November 25, 1943), United States Navy who was killed in action when his ship the USS Liscombe Bay was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, exploded and sank off the Gilbert Islands. His remains were never recovered and and he is listed on the Tablets of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time of his death his family lived at Markham, Texas. A memorial marker for Holeis has been placed at the foot of his mother’s grave.

Natalia and her husband Matias H. Robles (February 24, 1885 - April 14, 1972) are buried in Cedarvale Cemetery, Section 8.  She is buried on Row 11 and he is buried on Row 6.  Their son Private Frank Robles (October 10, 1923 - May 23, 1944), United States Army was killed in action in Italy.  He is buried in Section 3, Row 2.  At the time of his death his family lived in Bay City. 

Enriqueta is buried in Cedarvale Cemetery, Section 8, Row 10 beside her husband Guadalupe Cantu Rodriguez (September 14, 1893 – May 5, 1963). Their son, Private First Class Rafael Rodriguez (November 1, 1924 – January 29, 1945) United States Army 103^rd Infantry Division, was killed in action in the Philippines during the invasion of Luzon. He was first interred in the United States Air Force Cemetery, Santa Barbara #1 in the Philippine Islands. On August 5, 1948, his remains were reinterred at Cedarvale Cemetery in Section 3, Row 2. At the time of his death is family was living in New Gulf, Texas.

Elizabeth is buried in Cedarvale Cemetery, Section 4, Row 12. Her son Messman Ruffus Edgar Alston (December 7, 1903 - February 4, 1942), was a Merchant Marine whose boat, the SS India Arrow, was sunk by a German U boat off the New Jersey coast on February 4, 1942.  Ruffus was killed in the attack and went down with the ship.  His remains were never recovered. His father, Elmer Boyd Alston (January 5, 1880- April 2, 1918) is buried at Nockenut Cemetery, Wilson County, Texas. At the time of his death his remaining family lived in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Mabel Estelle is buried in Cedarvale Cemetery, Section 4A, Row 18 (marker is at present fallen over face down) next to her son Lieutenant Merlin C. Vogelsang (January 29, 1920 - November 26, 1942), United States Army Air Forces  who was killed in a training accident involving a bomber which crashed in Florida.  His obituary indicates he was buried in Bay City on or about June 6, 1944.  Merlin's father, Merlin A. Vogelsang (October 30, 1895 - November 8, 1967) was a veteran of World War I and is buried at Cedarvale in Section 1, Row 18. Lt. Vogelsang's family was living in Houston, Texas at the time of his death.

Blanche is buried in Cedarvale Cemetery, Section 6, Row 20 with her husband, William Walker, Jr. (November 27, 1887 - January 24, 1966) near their son Sergeant Robert William Walker (November 16, 1918 - February 26, 1942), United States Army who was killed when a freight train hit the bus on which he was riding near Enid , Oklahoma during a blinding snowstorm.  He was also survived by his wife Gertrude (Ryman) and baby daughter Carol Ann.  At the time of his death his family lived in Bay City, Texas.

Elizabeth is buried in Section 6, Row 18, Cedarvale Cemetery, Bay City, Matagorda County, Texas.  Her husband Frank Weaver, Sr. (March 18, 1863 – October 13, 1918) is buried in Section 2, Row 3, at Cedarvale Cemetery next to their son Frank Weaver, Jr. (May 29, 1896 – October 23, 1918) who was in the military and stationed at the Panama Canal, Panama at the time of his death.  The family had just moved to Markham from Lavaca County when he died.

Copyright 2005 - Present by Carol Sue Gibbs
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