Joseph DeVenny Brubaker, Sr.

Joseph DeVenny Brubaker, Sr.
born: 12 July 1897 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania
died: 6 Sept. 1978 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania
buried:  Beaver Cemetery and Mausoleum, Beaver, PA
father: Edwin Schall Brubaker (1864-1939)
mother: Carrie Josephine DeVenny (1871-1925) 
wife: Helen Marquis McDanel (1897-1958), married 24 August 1921; Gertrude Wagoner (1916-2003), married about 1960.
children: Joanne (born 1931, died at birth), Joseph DeVenny Brubaker, Jr. (b. 1933), and John Robert “ Bob” Brubaker (b. 1935)
siblings: Sarah Elizabeth Brubaker (1896-1971) and a half-brother by Edwin's first wife, Henry Sampson Brubaker (1890-1969)

Joseph DeVenny Brubaker, Sr. is my paternal grandfather. He was the second child of Edwin Schall Brubaker and his second wife, Carrie Josephine DeVenny, and was reared in New Brighton, Pennsylvania. 

Joe and his sister Sarah Elizabeth

As a teenager, Joe worked in his father’s pharmacy as a soda jerk.  In this photo, he is shown with his father (on the left), in front of the store:

He graduated from New Brighton High School in 1916. This photo from my grandmother Helen’s photo album shows her with Joe (second from left), her sister Marion, Shad (Marion’s husband), and John (the driver). This photo was probably taken about 1916.

He served in the Marine Corps in Haiti during World War I, where he contracted malaria. My father says he never could drink gin after that, as it reminded him of the quinine treatment he received. Some of the history of the U.S. involvement in Haiti during this time is covered on Wikipedia.

Upon returning to Beaver County, Joe worked as a bank teller and married his high school sweetheart, Helen Marquis McDanel, on 24 August 1921. He worked his way up into bank management, and they had three children (the first, JoAnne, died at birth in 1931).  

Joe was an avid golfer, and was very artistic.  

Helen owned these two houses, and Helen and Joe raised their two boys in one of them.

Joe Brubaker in the 1940s.

Helen and Joe with Joe Jr. (top) and Bob, about 1947

Joe with Helen, possibly at a favorite vacation place, Lake Chataqua

Joe (left) at Lake Chataqua in the 1940s.

With Helen, possibly at Bob and Ellie’s wedding in 1957

4 N. Old Oak Drive, Patterson Heights

Joe with me, probably Christmas 1964

After Helen’s death in 1958, Joe met Gaby Wagoner while on a cruise to Hawaii, and married her.  I believe it was her second marriage, but have had no success in finding details of it. 

Gertrude “Gaby” Brubaker, Joe’s second wife

Joe died in 1978.

Transcription:

Joseph Brubaker, Ex-Banker, Dies

Beaver Falls –  Joseph D. Brubaker Sr., former director and vice chairman of the board of Century National Bank and Trust Co., of Rochester, Pa., died yesterday at his home. 

Mr. Brubaker, 81, of North Old Oak Drive, Patterson Heights, also was former director and treasurer of Tower Federal Savings and Loan Association abdn past president of the Beaver County Bankers Association. Mr. Brubaker was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, New Brighton, Beaver Valley Country Club, Pittsburgh Athletic Association, and several community organizations. 

Surviving are his wife, Gertrude; two sons, Joseph D. Jr. of Glenrock, NJ, and Robert of Mt. Lebanon, and seven grandchildren. 

Friends will be received from 7 to 9 tonight and from 2 to 4 and 7-9 p.m. tomorrow at Donald D. Druschel Funeral Home, 1612 Third Ave., New Brighton. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the First Presbyterian Church, Third Avenue, New Brighton.

Burial will be in Beaver Cemetery, Beaver.

Helen Marquis McDanel Brubaker (1898-1958)

Helen Marquis McDanel Brubaker, about 1916.
Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Helen Marquis McDanel

Born: April 10, 1898
Father: Frederick McDanel (1868-1926)
Mother: Effie Frances Braden (1860-1939) 

Sibling: Marion Etta McDanel (1894-?)
Children: JoAnne (1931-1931), Joseph “Joe” DeVenny Brubaker, Jr. (b. 1933) and John Robert “Bob” Brubaker (b. 1935)
Spouse: Joseph DeVenny Brubaker (1897-1978)
Occupation: teacher (before she had children)
Died: Dec. 24, 1958

Helen, about 1899.
Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Helen was my paternal grandmother. I never met her, as she died about five years before I was born. She was born in New Brighton, Beaver County, Pa., to Fred and Effie McDanel, and lived there all her life. Fred owned a lumberyard and was a contractor. 

Helen about 1916.
Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Helen about 1916.Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Helen in her high school basketball uniform, about 1916.Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Helen, about 1916. This may have been a high school graduation photo.Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Helen graduated from New Brighton High School in 1916, and from Indiana Normal School (now Indiana University of Pennsylvania) in 1918. At this time, Indiana was a state teachers’ college. After she graduated, Helen was a school teacher.

Helen (right) with a friend.Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Helen, about 1918.
Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Helen is at far right, and her future husband is second from left. Her sister Marion and her future husband, Shad, are in between them. This is Helen's handwriting; the photo is from her photo album.
Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Helen (probably coach) with the New Brighton High School girls’ basketball team, in 1921.Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp. 

 

Helen (seated fourth from left, just to the left of the crook),
at a May Day celebration at Allegheny College, Meadville, PA, 1918.
Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

In 1921, at age 23, Helen married Joesph DeVenny Brubaker, her high school sweetheart. They had three children together. Joanne died at birth in 1931 (due to complications from either an Rh factor issue or pre-eclampsia; I’ve heard conflicting information). Two sons followed. 

Helen with Joe, probably at Lake Chataqua, NY, their favorite vacation spot.
Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Helen Marquis McDanel Brubaker, probably 1936, with Bob.
Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp. 

Helen is at far right, with Bob. The other women may be her mother and aunts.
Probably taken in 1936.
Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp. 

Helen and Joe with Joe, Jr. and Bob, about 1947.
Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Helen with sons Bob and Joe, about 1947.
Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Helen, about 1945.
Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Bob took this photo of Helen in 1947.Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Helen at Lake Chataqua, NY.
Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Helen, about 1958.
Photo in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Helen died at age 61, on Christmas Eve, 1958, of a heart attack. She was buried at Beaver Cemetery and Mausoleum, Section V, Lot Number 104, tier Number 2. She was interred in the same grave as her baby daughter, JoAnne. 

Photo from www.findagrave.comFind A Grave Memorial# 83292951

I only have a few things that my grandmother owned. The sewing basket belonging to Helen was given to me by my cousin Carole:

And the opal ring and opal chip pendant were given to me by Joseph D. Brubaker, Sr.’s second wife, Gertrude “Gaby” Wagoner Brubaker in the 1970s:

Sadly, most of Helen’s belongings – jewelry, silver, and other family heirlooms — became her property, and were lost to our family.