Willis Deloria and Pauline Bonnett Deloria were my grandparents. They were married in 1918 when Pauline was just over the age of 15, and Willis was 35. It was the first and the last marriage for each of them. Willis died in 1954 when I was three years old. Pauline was to live for 21 more years. Their marriage like most was a celebration of good times and the enduring of bad times. They had five children starting in the 1920s and ending in the 1930s. Then came the Great Depression.
From all accounts, they had what we would call a good marriage in which great love was in evidence. They never had much money, and I am sure the Depression was a major factor. Willis found work in a foundry, bakery, and was a general laborer. Sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s he had to retire due to health reasons. However, newspapers stories show a family that was active and doing well. I have read about parties attended and given and winning a contest for the best doll at the local playground and family outings.
This picture shows me with my Mother at two weeks of age. She was the second child of my grandparent’s five children. Mom also married an older man. My Dad was 16 years older than my mother. Dad died in 1966, and my mother lived to 2007. She missed him everyday
The picture above shows my wife with our first born, Charles Henry Moore lll, on his first day at home. We will have two more children. Charles was to be held by his grandmother Pauline the day before she was to suffer a fatal stroke.

One of my favorite pictures. My son Charles and his wife Melissa in a happy moment after the birth of their first child.
Here is Charles with our daughter in law and his wife Melissa celebrating just hours after the birth of their son Charles the Fourth. I now have four grandchildren. Charles and Melissa have two sons, and my daughter Pamela has two daughters.
When I was younger, I went many times to visit my grandfather’s grave with my grandmother. I would often wonder about the epitaph “Great Loves Live On”. I can recall thinking that it would die when my grandmother died. I only equated the epitaph with my grandmother’s long widowhood. It would be many years before I took in it’s simple yet profound message. We all are a result of love. We owe our existence and so much more to our ancestors. The intimate feelings that formed their unions vibrate through the years. Even if we do not know who they are. Some of the truth of that epitaph is in evidence in the pictures above.
What a beautiful story. Quiet but true.
Thank you so much for reading my blog and your comment.
Love this story.
Thank you for your kind comment.
a lovely story, and I love the pictures with it
Yes it is a love story through the generations. I am very lucky to have those pictures. Thank you for reading my blog.
A truly generational story. Yes, great love does live on. 🙂
My grandparents certainly believed that. It took me a while to catch on but it is so true that love lives on.
Thanks for posting – I feel better for reading this.
I am glad that you liked my post. Thank you for your kind comment.
Wonderful post, Charles … The presence of a well-loved newborn in each of the photos proves the epitaph is correct. Enduring love is sacrifice indeed, and it seems the generations before us did more than their fair share.
Thank you once more for reading my blog and your comments. We all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. It gives me a proud feeling to see the love and sacrifice that came before me so that I could be here.
I love the way you used the photos from the multiple generations to illustrate your theme–great post!
Thank you for your comment. I also think the pictures are great and I am so lucky to have them.
My grandpa was 26 when he married my 15 and 1/2 year old grandma in 1915. It was a small family scandal but grandma wanted her man and she got him!
I guess it was just meant to be, as they say. I bet after just a few years the scandal was forgotten.
Yes, they had 9 children. Lived a happy life.
Grandma and Grandpa went on the have 9 children, all lived but one. Now 80 years after her birth as the final child, mom is gone too. Only one aunt is left alive and she’s 90 years old. Nice story. My daughter’s name is Melissa and she married a Charles (Chuck)! LOL
Melissa and Charles, a great combo of names. 🙂
This is definitely written from the heart. I found it very touching and sincere. We not only inherit DNA from our ancestors. We also embody some of their ideas, attitudes and patterns of behavior.
I could not agree with you more. I am certain that our ancestors generations ago influence us more than we know.
What a beautiful family story, and what a wonderful epitaph that lives on in your future generations.
Thank you for reading and your comment. It is a great epitaph for our family, but could be said for so many others as well.
This is a wonderful story of love and family bonds; and a great tribute to your grandparents.
Thank you so much for your comment.
This is just a beautiful post—every word and every picture is full of love. I wonder how many people thought it odd that she married a man 20 years her senior. Hard to imagine today. But they must have proved any doubters wrong. What a great love story!
From all that I have been able to learn and observe they ha a very good marriage. The age difference as far as I know made little or no difference. My parents also had a large age difference. I wonder if that was done more in that time period?
I don’t know. My in-laws were ten years apart, and I have former colleagues who were seventeen years apart. But you don’t see it very often these days.
Lovely story and sentiment. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
I am glad that you enjoyed the blog. Thank you so much for your comment.
Thank you for this story – a good thing to remember – “product of love” – you are lucky to have such great pictures from your past – I wonder if grandchildren or children of those who raised families during the Depression really understand how tough those times were –
You are so right that I am lucky to have those pictures. We will never know how hard those times were as I think you have to experience them to fully understand.
I enjoyed traveling through your family tree in pictures. Stories make the pictures come alive. What a great gift for your descendants.
Thank you so much for your comment. I like using the pictures when I can because they help bring these people to life.
So true. Family matters! Thanks. For visiting my blog.
Family should always be placed first.
Stories like this one remind us why we “do” genealogy. Great post!
Thanks for reading my blog and your comment. This is why we do genealogy and try to tell the stories.
A man that has interest in his family story! Awesome!
I am just one of many.
This touching story illustrates why family research is so meaningful to us all. Great post and photos.
Thank you so much for reading and your comment.
Thanks for sharing this. Love your blog!
Thank you for reading my blog and your nice comment.
Thank you for sharing this part of your family history. Good that we have the photos and that they can be shared in a new way
Thank you for your comment. I could not agree with you more about the photos.
Nice story of your grandparents.. Enjoyed reading it,
Thank you so much for reading it and your comment.