Grandma Elda's First Husband. An Update.

Grandma Elda at the time of her First Marriage to William John Zderic

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello Family,
In an earlier post we discovered that Grandma Elda was married prior to her wedding to our Grandfather Charles. This came as a surprise to all. Elda didn't talk about this marriage and I don't recall it ever being spoken of in any family conversation.

The Marriage Certificate

May I suggest you read the original post before moving on to the update posted below:

UPDATE:

I received an email from William John Zderic's daughter Miriam. My blog post on this previous marriage was discovered by her brother. She was kind enough to write and supply the following information, giving us an insight into Grandma's first husband.

Hello,

I am a daughter of William John Zderic. My brother found your blog and sent it to me. Wow, we had no idea our father (who was a very, very good man) was married prior to marrying our mother.

I did notice he put down he was 21 in 1926 (only 17!) Anyway, Bill (he did not go by John to anyone we'd ever known) and Ida were happily married and had 11 children (I am the 10th) - 6 boys/5 girls. Our youngest sister, Monica, was born with Down's Syndrome in 1960 and lived our parents until their deaths. Monica died from cancer 4 years ago, she was much loved and was very special to our father especially.

Anyway, Bill's family is Croatian (not Austrian), he was born in the US, his older siblings in Croatia (Dalmatia). My parents moved to Tacoma, Washington sometime in 1948, and the last 5 of us were born there. Dad had family in Tacoma.

We lived a very nice, very average life....my dad was a devout Catholic and we all went to Catholic Schools through high school. My dad was much loved by all, he was a gently, loving, caring man. He worked hard, we always had what we needed and all felt loved.

Hope that fills in some holes. Our names are: Joseph Benedict, Roberta Ann, Patrick William, Joan Kathryn, David John, Francis Anthony, James Michael, Christine Marie, John (no middle name), Mary Josephine (Mary Jo, me), and Monica Elizabeth.

We are not related in anyway, but a little history is interesting. Take care, looks like you have a lovely family.

I now go by Miriam,

Sincerely,

Miriam Zderic

runmjz@gmail.com

Thank you Miriam for your kind email. Our best to you and your families. If you are ever in Utah please stop and say hello. We have a wonderful view of Utah Valley from a deck that enjoys company and good conversation.

Victor