May Emilia Whealy

Notes:

Name:
100th birthday article:

May Stuck
The following text is from an article in the Lewiston Tribune about the 100th birthday celebration of May Stuk held at Hells Gate State Park, Idaho. I don’t have the exact date of the birthday celebration except that it was on a Sunday after she turned 100 in 1991. (the top of the newspaper article I had was cut off). However, since she was born July 10, 1891 the celebration was probably in July.
The article is as follows:

For May Stuck, it’s been a long and very good life.
By Joan Abrams of the Tribune
Some parts of her memory are fuzzy. After 100 years, a person might be expected to have forgotten a few things.
But there’s one thing May E. Stuk is very clear about – she’s had a good life.
When asked what is the secret of her long life, she did not pause to answer. “Being happy,” she said. “I was always contented.”
During an interview last week at Lewiston Care Center in anticipation of her 100th birthday today, she talked about her century of experience and how, even though life was often rough, she’s had few disappointments.
“I never found any time but work. If I wasn’t doing one thing, I was doing another. Work was my middle name. But I loved every bit of it. No matter where we went, I enjoyed it,” she said.
She was born May Amelia Whaley July 10, 1891, at Wrenville, Minn. She described herself as “a poor little girl” who began working at a very young age to buy herself an education. “That’s all I asked – if people would teach me,” she said.
That learning came in handy later when she had a family. “I used to do a lot of reading to my children,” she said. Every night before they were put to bed, they would get an installment from the latest book.

“Even Dad couldn’t wait for the next chapter,” said daughter Betty Stuk of Lewiston.
Leo Stuk returned from World War I seriously injured. He had been gassed and shot and was disabled the rest of his life. But he and May worked hard. He worked for the railroad in Minnesota for a while and then the family moved to Edmonds, Wash., where they were part of a chicken ranch cooperative.


Died:
Obituary for May Emelia Stuk
From Lewiston Tribune dated Monday, October 21, 1991.

NOTE: One child listed has been omitted for privacy because this child is still living.

May Emelia Stuk, a Lewiston homemaker, died Sunday at the Lewiston Care Center, three months after marking her 100th birthday.
She was born July 10, 1891, at Renville, Minn., to Thomas and Antonette Ehlert Whealy.
She married Leo J. Stuk in St. Paul, Minn., Aug. 14, 1919.
The couple lived at Edmonds, Wash., from 1923 through 1933. They then moved to the Mission Creek and Culdesac area, where they lived until 1956.
Her husband died July 5, 1956. She moved to Lewiston that same year.
She was a member of the Roman Catholic Church, the Lapwai Grange and then Lapwai Community Club.
She was preceded in death by a daughter, Dorothy Drechsler.
Survivors include a son, Leo Stuk Jr. of Peck, Idaho; four daughters, May June Tirrill and retired U.S. Army Major Betty L. Stuk, both of Lewiston, Lola May LaFay –(omitted child still living)—18 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.
Graveside services will be held at 11a.m. Tuesday at the Lewis-Clark Memorial Gardens with Pastor Timothy H. Solberg of the Trinity Lutheran Church of Lewiston officiating. Services are under the direction of Mountain View Funeral Home.
The family asks memorials be sent to the American cancer Society or Northwest Children’s Home.

May married Leo Joseph Sztuk on 14 Aug 1919 in St. Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota, USA. Leo (son of Szymon Simon Sztuk and Katarzyna Kathryn Płocińska) was born on 25 Jan 1890 in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA; died on 6 Jul 1956 in Lewiston, Nez Perce, Idaho, USA; was buried in 1956 in Lewiston, Nez Perce, Idaho, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
May June Tirrill, 77, Lewiston retiree
May June Stuk Tirrill, 77, a retired Lewiston homemaker, died Thursday of a stroke at the Lewiston Rehabilitation and Care Center.
Published January 30, 1998


May June Stuk Tirrill, 77, a retired
Lewiston homemaker, died
Thursday of a stroke at the Lewiston
Rehabilitation and Care Center.
She was born July 15, 1920 to
Leo Joseph and May Amelia
Whealy Stuk at St. Paul, Minn.
The family moved to Idaho in
1932.
She graduated from
High School in 1940 and attended
Lewiston Normal School. She
graduated from St. joseph's Hospital
nursing program as a licensed
practical nurse.
She joined the women's Army
Auxiliary in 1942 in Seattle.
She was credited as being the first
woman to enlist in the WAAG from
Lewiston. She was stationed at Ft. May June
Tirrill Oglethorpe, Ga.
She married
Leo Virgil Tirrill
at Seattle on Feb. 14, 1944
He died
July 28, 1988
She is survived
by three
sisters. Major
Betty L. Stuk of
Lewiston, and
Lola May La Fay
and Leona
Wilkins, both of
Everett. She was preceded in
death by a sister. Dorothy Stuk
Drechsler, and a brother, Leo
Junior Stuk.
Cremation has taken place.
At her request there will be no
service.

May married Leo Virgil Tirrill on 14 Feb 1944 in Seattle. Leo died on 28 Jul 1988. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
Obit

Betty Lou Stuk, 88, Lewiston



Posted: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 12:00 am



Major Betty Lou Stuk, U.S. Army, retired, died Sunday, May 17, 2009, in Monroe, Wash., from age and Alzheimer-related causes.



She was born to Leo Joseph Stuk and May Amelia Whaley Stuk on Aug. 6, 1921, in St. Paul, Minn. She moved with her family in 1923 to Edmonds, Wash., where her parents owned a chicken co-op, then the family moved to Lapwai when Betty Lou was in grade school, and she graduated from Lapwai High School.



She began her military career soon after graduating. She enlisted as an auxiliary in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in May 1943. In July 1943, she converted to the Women's Regular Army Corps. (WAC). She received a field commission in 1951 in the grade of second lieutenant. She attended the universities of Maryland and Missouri. She retired with the grade of major on Oct. 1, 1968. While in the Army she received a commendation medal and Legion of Merit award. Betty Lou loved the Army and she was proud to serve during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. She traveled the world, living in Germany, Japan and Korea.



Once retired, Betty Lou returned to Lewiston to take care of her mother and volunteered delivering for Meals on Wheels and belonged to the Lewiston Garden Club.



Betty Lou married John A. Grannis at Yokohama, Japan, on Aug. 14, 1954. They divorced in 1960.



She is survived by her sister, Leona Wilkins of Everett. Wash.; sister-in-law Dorothy Stuk of Lewiston; and numerous nieces and nephews.



She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters May Jane Tirril, Dorathy Drechsler and Lola May LaFay; and brother Leo Junior Stuk.



Services will be held at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center Family Hospice or Valley Meals on Wheels, both in Lewiston.

Elizabeth married John A Grannis [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Dorothy Rae Mattson. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]