August 31, 2025

Introducing Charles Bertram Miller

Remembering Charles Bertram “Bert” Miller (1910–1995)

Charles Bertram “Bert” Miller was born on April 5, 1910, in Louisville, Kentucky, the youngest son of Claude H. Miller and Mattie Belle App.

Over the course of his life, Bert wore many hats: electrician, auto repairman, government instructor at Fort Knox, square dance caller, husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He was known for steady work, lively fellowship, and even the occasional spotlight in the local paper for his impressive bowling scores.

In later years, he and his wife Mildred moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he passed away in 1995 at the age of 84. He rests with Mildred at Evergreen Memorial Park.

✨ Do you have memories of Bert?
We’d love to hear them. Please share your stories, photographs, or reflections in the comments below so that his legacy can live on for generations to come.

For a more detailed look at Bert’s life—including census records, photographs, and family milestones—please visit his Family Page.

August 22, 2025

Introducing William Thurman Miller

Meet William Thurman “Don” Miller

Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1908, William Thurman “Don” Miller built a life that carried him west to California, through wartime service, and into the steady work of running his own night watch patrol. Along the way, he was a dishwasher, an actor, a soldier, a husband, and a father of four.

You can read his full story — from his early days in Louisville to his later years in Arroyo Grande — over on his Family Page ».

Have a memory of Don, or a family story that’s been passed down? Please share it in the comments below — your recollections help keep his story alive.

August 16, 2025

Introducing Raymond Edward Gunterman

Meet Raymond Edward Gunterman

June 27, 1910 – May 19, 1997

On a warm June day in 1910, Raymond Edward Gunterman entered the world in Illinois. He was the son of Lela Marie Maurer and Stephen A. Gunterman, and grew up alongside his sister, Mary Kathryn.

A Louisville Youth

By the 1920s, Ray was in Louisville, Kentucky, where he made the papers for sprinting in the Relay Race for Boys. At just 15, he was already finding ways to leave his mark in the city.

Family and Work

The 1930 census captures Ray at home with his mother and sister, both stenographers. A few years later, in 1937, he married Oleita Lightfoot Ayers. With that marriage came not only a new household but also Oleita’s young daughter, Bettie Sue, whom Raymond helped raise.

Ray worked steadily—first in auto accessories, later as a salesman in the wholesale plumbing trade. His days were filled with the responsibilities of providing for his growing family, which eventually included his own sons Peter and Raymond Jr.

The Man Behind the Records

Life was not without bumps. In 1949, a Louisville newspaper reported Raymond fined on bookmaking charges—a reminder that even our most buttoned-up ancestors had complicated stories. Yet, his obituary decades later described him as a Scoutmaster, a man of trade associations, a Knight of Columbus, and an archer with the Louisville club.

A Legacy Remembered

Raymond passed away in Louisville on 19 May 1997, at the age of 86. He was remembered as a devoted father and grandfather, survived by his children, stepchildren, 10 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. He rests today in the family plot at Cave Hill Cemetery, a life’s story carved into the Kentucky soil.

Share Your Memories

Do you remember Raymond? Did he share stories of his days as a Scoutmaster, or perhaps tales from the old plumbing trade? We’d love to hear your memories. Please share them in the comments below so his story continues to live on.

Looking for more details?
Visit Raymond’s Family Page to explore the full timeline of his life—complete with records, census images, and the story of how his path wound from a Louisville race track to the family plot at Cave Hill Cemetery.

August 9, 2025

Introducing Mary Kathryn Gunterman

Mary Kathryn Gunterman Gathof

25 May 1912 – 8 December 1958
Keeper of the Hearth | Survivor of Storms | Mother of Second Chances

Mary Kathryn Gunterman’s story begins in the heart of Louisville in 1912, in a world where horse-drawn wagons still rattled down cobblestone streets and riverboats plied the Ohio. She was the daughter of Stephen “Steve” Gunterman and Lela Maurer — though records list her mother’s name in a few variations over the years.

Raised primarily by her mother after her parents’ separation, Mary grew up learning both the discipline of work and the quiet art of keeping a home together. At just twelve years old, she found herself in the Courier-Journal — not for mischief, but because she was jolted awake by an earthquake’s tremor. She ran to her mother’s side, frightened but safe, in their Bonnycastle Avenue home.

By the age of eighteen, she was already working as a stenographer, contributing to the household alongside her mother. Life moved quickly after that — she married Louis Aloysius Miller Sr., and together they had two children, Mary Ray and Louis Jr. But in the late 1930s, the family’s stability shattered when Louis Sr. abandoned them.

With limited options and the Great Depression’s shadow still lingering, Mary made the agonizing decision to place her children in Catholic orphanages — Mary Ray at St. Vincent’s for Girls, Louis Jr. likely at St. Thomas for Boys. Yet this was not a permanent goodbye. In time, she brought both children back home, giving them a far better life than the one they had endured in those years apart.

Mary remarried in the 1940s to Stephen C. Gathof, and together they presided over a bustling blended household — her children, his children, grandchildren, and his elderly mother all under one roof. Her work as “Keeper of the House” in such a home was nothing short of full-time management, diplomacy, and love.

In December 1958, Mary’s life was cut short by illness at just 46 years old. She left behind a large and intertwined family, a legacy of resilience, and the memory of a woman who had faced life’s upheavals with determination and care.

📜 Want to explore Mary Kathryn’s full story — from a girl startled by an earthquake to a mother who fought to reunite her family? Visit her Family Page for a detailed, milestone-based biography and historical records.

Share Your Memories

Do you have photographs, letters, or family stories about Mary Kathryn? Please share them in the comments below so we can preserve her history together. Every memory, no matter how small, adds to the story of her life.

August 4, 2025

Introducing Louis Aloysius Miller Sr

🕯️ Introduction to Louis Aloysius Miller Sr.

The Father Who Vanished | Born 1911, Disappeared After 1932

Some names echo loudly through the generations—others are whispered, half-remembered, tucked into the quiet places of family lore. Louis Aloysius Miller Sr. is one of the latter.

Born on July 10, 1911, in Jefferson County, Kentucky, Louis came of age in a household shaped by working-class grit and the scent of cleaning fluid from his father Claude’s dye works. His mother, Mattie App, was the daughter of German immigrants. Together with his two older brothers, Louis lived a seemingly ordinary life on the streets of Allison County.

By 1932, records show Louis living in Louisville, possibly newly married to Mary Katherine Gunterman, and soon to become a father himself. That same year, his son—Louis Aloysius Miller Jr.—was born.

And then… nothing.

No draft card. No death certificate. No obituary or funeral notice. No sign of a second act. According to adoption paperwork and family accounts, Louis walked out of his son’s life sometime in the late 1930s—and never returned. The family was left behind. And so were the records.

Whether by choice or by tragedy, he disappeared from the paper trail and, eventually, from memory. Only a few official documents and one enduring name tie him to the rest of us.

💬 Share What You Know

Have a memory or theory about Louis Aloysius Miller Sr.? His story is still unfolding. If you have family lore, fragments, or even a whisper of what became of him, please share it in the comments below. Every thread helps us stitch together the life of a man who vanished too soon from his son’s story—and from ours.

📚 Want the Full Timeline?

You’ll find census records, city directory clues, and our full investigation into Louis Aloysius Miller Sr.’s short paper trail on his Family Page. It’s all there—what we know, what’s missing, and the open questions still begging for answers.

August 2, 2025

Introducing Louis Aloysius Miller Jr.

Welcome to the Story of Louis Aloysius Miller Jr.

Born: 13 May 1931 or 1932
Died: 3 January 1996
Buried: Memorial Park Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana

He was born twice, according to the records. In two different years, and possibly in two different Kentucky towns. His childhood was marked by the kind of loss you don’t always survive—but somehow, he did. He may have spent his earliest years in the halls of St. Thomas Orphanage, separated from his sister Mary Ray, who was placed in St. Vincent’s across the city. They were reclaimed by their mother, but the shadows never quite let go.

Louis Jr. grew up to serve in the Air Force, marry, and father ten children. And then, he left.

But he didn’t vanish—not really. He kept writing. He kept sending money. He kept trying, in his own quiet, complicated way.

He was a tinkerer, an inventor, a man of codes and circuits. He helped build a computer poker game from scratch, made cabinets by hand, and left faint digital fingerprints in places no one expected to find him.

We may never untangle all the knots in his story. But that’s what this space is for.

🕯️ Have a memory of Louis? A photo? A theory?

Please share it in the comments below. Whether you knew him personally, heard whispers from family, or are following the same research trail, your voice matters here. Every comment helps us bring his story into sharper focus—and preserve it for the next generation.

You can also read the full narrative of his life on Louis’s Family Page.