My Bobbish Family

The Bobbish surname was transliterated from Бабіч, or “Babich”.  Over time it became Bobbish.

John and Anna were married July 30, 1903 in Homestead, Pennsylvania.

The Bobbish’s lived in Fayette City, Pennsylvania and moved to Illinois before 1913.  As of 2023, we have only the following written sources placing them in Pennsylvania:

• Likely arrival records for John and Anna
• John and Anna’s marriage certificate and an announcement for their marriage license
• The baptism certificate for their nephew George, son of John’s brother George (Jura)
• Death certificate for their daughter Anna, which stated she was born in Pennsylvania
• Death certificate for their daughter Helen, which stated she was born in Pennsylvania
• Death certificate for their first daughter named Mary, which stated she was born in 1906 and died in Pennsylvania in 1910

John and Anna were known to have had thirteen children.  The first three died prior to the birth of their daughter Anna. According to John’s son Charles (named after the Charles who died in the fire), a Christmas tree fell over, with its candles lit, and this caused the fire.  After that, John never again allowed a Christmas tree in the house.  However the death certificate for 1st Mary states that this fire occurred in the month of February.  Our search for additional documentation of these children continues.  Some have mentioned that these children died in Illinois however we know that for at least Mary this is not correct.

• 1st John (b. Unknown; d. 25 Feb 1910- Roscoe, PA)
• 1st Mary (b. 2 Sep 1906; d. 25 Feb 1910- Roscoe, PA)
• 1st Charles (b. Unknown; d. 25 Feb 1910- Roscoe, PA)
• Anna (b. 9 Sep 1907- PA; d.3 Jun 1963- Munhall, PA)
• Helen (b. 15 Feb 1909-Roscoe, PA; d.14 Sep 1973-Dearborn,MI)
• Mary (b. 27 Jan 1913- Williamson, IL; d. 9 Dec 1945- St. Louis, MO).  Mary was likely named for one of the children who was killed in the file mentioned above.  She was also named Marie.
• Nicholas (b. 25 Nov 1913- Williamson, IL; d. 1 Mar 1987-Livonia,MI)
• John (b. 26 Mar 1915– Williamson, IL; d. 30 Oct 1989-Livonia,Wayne,Michigan)  John was likely named for one of the children who was killed in the file mentioned above.
• Peter (b.11 May 1917– Williamson, IL; d. Mar 1986-Homestead, Allegheny, Pennsylvania)
• Vera (b.27 Oct 1919- Williamson, IL-Colp, Illinois; d. 8 October 1985)
• George (b. 9 Apr 1921- Williamson, IL; d. 3 Aug 1979-Detroit,Wayne, Michigan)
• Susan (b. 7 Apr 1923- Williamson, IL; d. 22 Jul 1998-Du Quoin, Perry, Illinois)
• Charles (b.18 Mar 1925-Dowell, IL; d. 30 Nov 2003-San Antonio, TX).  Charles was named for one of the children who was killed in the file mentioned above.

At some point after 1910 but before 1913, the family moved from Fayette City, PA to southern Illinois.  They settled first in Williamson County near Dewmaine and Colp and then sometime between 1923 and 1925, moved to and settled in the village of Dowell, IL.  John’s 1953 death certificate indicates he lived in Dowell for 29 years.

Though we don’t know for sure why John and Anna moved to Illinois, there are some clues.  There was a Russian-Orthodox and Ukrainian community in the area at the time, and the mining conditions were supposedly safer than those in Pennsylvania. According to John’s son Charles, the family moved because PA had “five foot coal” however Illinois had “7-foot coal” which meant the miners could stand up while working.  The coal was also “soft” coal, which made the working conditions easier.  A research thesis titled “Russians of Buckner” was published in 1980 about Slavic miners in nearby Buckner, IL.  In this publication, the author describes miners who sought better mining conditions where they could stand up.  So this supports the idea of “7-foot coal”.

The exact date of their move is unknown, however they are not present in the 1910 federal census which leads to a possible conclusion that they were in transit during that time.   Their son Nicholas was born in Williamson, IL in 1913, obviously placing them there by 1913.  Susan was born in 1923 in Williamson County, and Charles was born in 1925 Dowell in Jackson county, so they likely relocated between these years.  The family was listed in the 1930 census as living in Dowell.  John’s WWI draft registration card states that he worked for the Madison Coal Company in Dewmaine, IL.  This company closed its mine in Dewmaine in 1923- perhaps this is why they left Williamson County?  John’s brother George was already living in Dowell so it isn’t difficult to imagine why they would choose Dowell.

We believe we have found John’s birth record in the records of the Greek Catholic church in Zolotarevo.  Additionally, John and Anna were listed as Godparents to their nephew George in 1906 when he was baptized in a Catholic church in Homestead, PA.  However their funerals and burials were conducted by the Russian Orthodox church in Dowell, IL. Why the change to Russian Orthodox from Greek Catholic?  This is an item for further research.

It is very likely that John worked in the Kathleen Coal Mine in Dowell, where he may have worked until approximately 1932. According to his son Charles, John worked side by side with John L Lewis in a mine. This was possibly the mine in Benton, or Panama, IL, where all 5 Lewis brothers worked as early as 1909-1910.  John stopped working as a coal miner after a major strike – either in 1919, or 1932, He never worked in a coal mine after that.  John later told John L Lewis, that if he (Yankee John) had known what Lewis was going to do – be a union organizer, he “would have strangled him in the mines.”  However, according to Dan Bobbish, another of John’s grandsons, Mildred Bobbish (wife of John’s son Peter) wrote to Lewis in 1949 in an attempt to get John a pension from the United Mine Workers, and was successful.  A search of records from UMW has not been able to confirm this story.

We also know that John traveled to Walsenburg, Colorado and lived with his daughter Helen and her family for a short time.  We don’t know the timeframe for this.  Walsenburg is known for the so-called “Coalfield Wars” in 1913.  The timeline of this event would make it seem unlikely that John was there during this time, as Helen was too young in 1913.  However the unrest was related to miners union issues, so it seems to be more than a coincidence as to why John went there.  There were additional coal strikes in 1927, so it would seem to reason that he was there during this time.

In the 1950 U.S. census, John is listed as living at “Washington S. Side Madison St. S. Side of Madison St.”.  This matches the location as told by their son Charles.  There is no house there as of 2014.

Anna passed away on December 29, 1938.  John passed away on September 4, 1953.  According to their death certificates and the records of the Searby Funeral Home in DuQuoin, IL, they are buried in the Russian Orthodox Cemetery in Royalton IL.

 

Family Stories about John and Anna

From their grandson Charles:

“According to my dad [Charles], Yankee John didn’t allow his kids to do anything unless it directly supported the family. This meant sports were not allowed.  Fishing and hunting were.  The kids found ways around this. For example, dad made ice skates he could attach to his shoes.  During the winter, he would skate to school.  Uncle Pete made hockey sticks from ash tree limbs.  Uncle Peter was a good basketball player, so the school principal would drop Pete off at home after a game, and tell Yankee John that Pete had stayed after school to study.

 Yankee John made blood soup.  All the family had to eat it, Dad [John and Anna’s son Charles]  hated it.  He said that being forced to eat blood soup made him determined to never eat anything he didn’t want to eat.

Dad understood electricity as a kid.  He wired a car battery to 2 nails in Yankee John’s foot stool.  When Yankee John sat in his easy chair, his bare feet completed the circuit between two nails, shocking him. He didn’t find it amusing, so he wailed-on Dad with a razor strap.

Dad got tired of chasing piglets that escaped under the fence, so he ran a circuit to the lowest strand of wire.  He told Yankee John about it. Yankee John was concerned about the electric bill increasing.  Dad told Yankee John he had wired it such that no current flowed except when a pig touched the wire.  Yankee John didn’t believe him, so they went to look at the electric meter. It was moving very slowly but all of a sudden, the indicator wheel started spinning like crazy.  Dad and Yankee John went to the pig pen.  A piglet had gotten stuck when it tried to crawl under the wire, and was electrocuted. Razor strap time again.

One time, dad wanted to hunt on the way home from school, so he took a pistol (not a rifle) to school.  The principal caught him with it, whipped him, and sent him home.  When Yankee John asked why he was home early, Dad told him why. Yankee John went to the school and beat the crap out of the principal for whipping Dad, then came home, and razor strap time.

According to Dad, Yankee John was friends with John Dillinger. Yankee John had a cabin on one of the Muddy rivers, Big or Little (I don’t remember which).  Dillinger liked Yankee John’s moonshine, so the two of them would spend time at the cabin drinking it.

Every spring, the river (Big or Little Muddy?) would flood.  Yankee John and his friends knew where all the stumps were on the shore. The flood waters would overflow the banks and the stumps would be submerged.  Yankee John and his friends would then noodle for catfish hiding in the stumps.  Yankee John would stick his fist in a hollow at the bottom of a stump, a catfish would bite his hand, and Yankee John would pull the catfish out of the stump and water, throw it in a burlap sack and go back to noodling.

One time, and I don’t know when, a snake bit Yankee John in the leg while he was noodling for catfish.  He came out of the water, with his leg in great pain and beginning to swell.  He began drinking moonshine to dull the pain.  His leg continued to swell and hurt like the dickens, but in spite of the moonshine, he didn’t get tipsy. The men discussed what to do. One said “remember old lady so and so” (I don’t remember her name). Back in the old country, she used to cure things like this. So someone went to get her and brought her back. She walked in a circle around Yankee John, looking at his leg.  She began saying something in a language none of them understood.  The pain immediately went away and the leg began to shrink back to normal size, and Yankee John became drunk as a skunk.  One of the old timers asked the old lady what she did.  She replied – simple case, I just put a curse on the snake.

Dad never worked sitting down, because Yankee John instilled in him that one must not sit down when working

Yankee John made his kids go to Carpatho-Rusyn classes after school every day.  (Uncle Pete hated it according to his son Danny).  Dad could at one time read and write the language.  Yankee John would have Dad read a Rusyn newspaper to him at night.”

Yankee John threw all his sons out of the house when they turned 14. Sounds cruel, but children born in (then) Ukraine at the time were not allowed to go to school, with the exception of boys who were going to into priesthood.  Thus, Yankee John was more generous than custom allowed. Dad’s first job was working a coal mine. He later moved to St Louis to work in his sister’s store.

Once Dad decided to take the family Model T out for a spin while Grandpa Bobbish was not home.  Shortly after driving off the property, the rear axle broke. Dad got a couple of horses, and used them to pull the Model T home.  The broken axle left a rut in the dirt road, which Dad smoothed over so Grandpa wouldnt notice it. Then Dad took one of his guns to the junkyard and traded it for a used Model T rear axle. He brought the axle home and replaced the broken axle with it.  When Grandpa got home, Dad told he had noticed the axle was nearly broken, so he traded the gun for an axle and replaced it. Grandpa was none the wiser. Dad was still living at home when he did this, so he was less than 14 years old.  He was always gifted with his hands, and could repair anything.  He loved working with metal.  When he made something from wood, it was well done, but just functional.  His metal creations, like the candleholders he made for my sister’s wedding, were works of art.  According to Dad, Uncle Pete was just the opposite – he could make things out of metal, but working with wood was his passion and his wooden creations, like Dad’s metal creations, were amazing.

 

 

Children of John and Anna

 

The First Three Children

John and Anna had three children who died as infants.  They were named John, Mary and Charles.  As of the date of this document, the only documentation that has been located has been a death certificate for a child named Mary.  It was not uncommon for names to be reused within Slavic families if a child passes away, and this was the case for our family.

Family stories say that the children were killed at Christmas time as a result of a fire that involved a Christmas tree.  No details have been found regarding the fire however the death certificate for their daughter Mary has been located and confirms that her death was due to a fire.  This fire occurred in February which appears to contradict the story about it occurring due to a Christmas tree.  No records have been found of their birth.  Research will continue on this topic.  We have been unable to find any records of the other two children.  Hand-written records from Helen Bobbish indicate that first John and first Charles may have been born in Illinois however that’s not likely to be correct.

Sources to confirm that there were three children:

• Death certificate for 1st Mary dated 25 February 1910, cause of death was fire
• On the 1925 birth certificate for the youngest son Charles, it is stated that his parents had 13 children, and 10 are living.

Anna Bobbish

(b.9 Sep 1907;d.3 Jun 1963)

We have not located Anna’s birth records.  Family sources and her death certificate indicate that she was born in Pennsylvania, likely Fayette City or Roscoe. A search of the Pennsylvania birth index for 1906, 1907, and 1908 did not return any results.

Anna was married twice.  Anna first married Pete Hemisinec son of John Hemisinec before 1927. Pete was born on 15 June 1893 in Lypetska Polyana.  note this is the same village in which her mother Anna Velichkanich was born, and the Godfather of Anna Velicskanics and her siblings was a Hemisinec. He died on 19 March 1936.

They had two children:

• Peter Hemisinec.  He was born on 7 July 1927. He died on 7 July 1927.
• Thomas Hemisinec. He was born on 6 February 1934. He died on 9 February 1934.

Following the death of Peter, Anna then married John Savko son of John Savko and Mary Resetar on 11 September 1937 in Allegheny, PA. John was born on 12 March 1899 in Homestead, PA. He died in October 1970.  At the time of this marriage, Anna lived at 803 Hinnerman Street in Duquesne, PA

Anna owned or worked at a restaurant in Munhall.

At the time of her death, she lived at 245 East James Street in Munhall, a house that she purchased in 1958.  Her younger brother Peter and his wife Mildred lived there until their deaths, and later Peter and Mildred’s son Danny lived there.

Helen Bobbish

(b.15 Feb 1909-Roscoe, PA; d.14 Sep 1973-Eloise, Wayne County, MI)

 

Helen Bobbish Dohanich, 1942, Southern Illinois Normal University, Carbondale, IL

We have not located Helen’s birth certificate.  A search of the Pennsylvania birth index for 1908, 1909, and 1910 did not return any results.

Helen married George Dohanich in Wayne County, MI on June 14, 1927.  The Dohanich family name appears with the Bobbish family in many records.  Dohanich is a common surname in Zolotar’evo, the village where Yankee John was born.  Helen and George were divorced on July 25, 1941. 

Helen and George had three children:

• Mary Alice, b 2 Sep 1927, d. 18 Feb 2004
• Delores
• Elizabeth,  b 5 Jul 1931,  d 30 Aug 1995 in Romulus, Wayne, Michigan,

She married Louis B. Denoff on July 13, 1943 in Napoleon, OH.  According to their marriage license, he was born in Greece.  Louis is the son of Boroloff Denoff and Vida Constantino.  

Helen passed away in Eloise, MI on September 14, 1973.  She is buried with Louis.

 

Photo of Helen Bobbish (Dohanich) and John Bobbish in 1973

 

Marriage announcement for Helen and George Dohanich

 

Helen’s marriage certificate for marriage to Louis Denoff

 

Mary (Marie) Bobbish

(b.27 Jan 1913-Williamson, IL; d.9 Dec 1945- St Louis, MO)

Mary was known at birth as Mary but at death as Marie.

Married William Frankmann, owner of Frankmann’s Grocers, a local chain in the St Louis area.   She lived at 6247 Clayton Avenue, St Louis, MO.  She also lived at 6215 Clayton Avenue, St Louis, MO and 6415 San Bonita  Mary died from stomach cancer in St Louis in 1945 and is buried at St Matthew’s Cemetery in St. Louis.  They had a son named William Jr.  We have not been able to locate William Jr.

William Sr remarried, and he passed away from lung cancer on November 4, 1961.  He is buried with Mary and his second wife Lorrayne.

Marie and William are mentioned in Jeanine Gilbert’s book “Aren’t You Glad We Aren’t Your Neighbors” regarding paranormal activity at their house.  Other Bobbish siblings from Dowell are also mentioned.

 

 

Nicholas “Nick” Bobbish

(b.25 Nov 1913- Williamson, Illinois;d.1 Mar 1987- Livonia,Michigan)

Nicholas (Nick) married Irene Kanieki in 1942.  They lived in Livonia, MI.  Nick worked for Ford for 42 years.

Nick and Irene had 4 children, 2 have passed away

• John, born in 1943.  Married Francine Schultz and had one son.  John served in the Army in the 82nd Airborne.  He passed away in 1996.
• MaryAnn, born in 1945.  She married Artur Schultz and had one daughter, Kelly Ann, who was born in 1982. She passed away in 2018.

Nick Bobbish’s birth certificate

John Bobbish

(b.26 Mar 1915-Williamson,IL;d.30 Oct 1989-Livonia,Wayne,Michigan)

 

John married Ida Jean McLeod on September 27, 1941 in Napoleon, Ohio.  They had eight children:

• Joyce Ann born in 1942. She married Gerald Swinton and had one daughter, Gerri Lynn born in 1960. They later divorced. She passed away in 2020.
• Carol Jean born in 1943. She married Donald Koebbe and had one daughter Lisa Ann born in 1963. She passed away in 1973.
• Ruth Marie born in 1945. She married Milton Bruff and had three children, Margeret (Peggy) Susan born in 1962, Debbie Ann born in 1964, and Michael Patrick born in 1966. They later divorced.
• John Charles (Sonny) born in 1946. Sonny married Gloria Jean Ernest and had three sons. John Scott born in 1972, Martin James born in 1974 and Joseph Allen born in 1977. He passed away in 2002.
• William Michael born in 1949. Michael married Janet L Myers and had two sons, Michael Patrick born in 1969 and Rex Edward born in 1970. They later divorced. He passed away in 2022.
• Patricia June born in 1952. June married Robert Venturi and had two daughters, Renee Cathleen born in 1981 and Mary Christine born in 1984.
• Donna Gail born in 1953. Donna married George Asher and later divorced.
• Jacqueline (Jacki) Kay born in 1957. Jacki married Brian Bradley and later divorced.

 

John and Ida were divorced before 1960.  Ida remarried Roy Charles Kastl on August 20, 1960.  She passed away on June 29, 2009.  Ida and Roy Kastl had 2 children, Donna and Jacki; however these children maintained the Bobbish surname until sometime after 1960. Likely, it was much later determined that William and Patricia had another birth father and John Bobbish was not in fact their birth father although they retained the Bobbish surname. 

 

John’s WWII draft registration card

John passed away on October 30, 1989 in Livonia, MI.  He is buried in Westland, MI.

 

John Bobbish’s birth certificate

 

John’s death certificate

Peter Daniel (“Pete”) Bobbish

(b.11 May 1917-Williamson,Illinois;d.Mar 1986-Homestead, Allegheny, Pennsylvania)

 

Pete married Mildred Savko (see photo below) on February 9, 1948 at St. Nicholas Church at 903 Ann Street in Homestead, PA. Mildred is the daughter of John Savko and Mary Karch.

 

Peter and Mildred’s marriage license application

Peter and Mildred’s marriage license

 

Peter served in the U.S. Army during World War 2.  He fought in the Battle of the Bulge as part of the 370th Field Artillery Battalion, 99th Infantry.  According to his brother Charlie, Pete’s artillery unity was caught behind the lines when the Germans attacked. Pete got back to American lines by walking in the snow at night, and sleeping in foxholes with dead soldiers during the day.

 

Peter’s WWII draft card

 

Pete (left), date unknown

He was known to have sent money back home to his father during the war.

 

Following the war, he worked in Wisconsin for the Civilian Conservation Corp.  He and Mildred then lived at 206 Magnolia Street, Whitaker, PA.  Peter and Mildred were at this address in the 1950 census and were living with his sister Anna and her husband John.

 

Pete did not have a middle name at birth.  He legally added his middle name “Daniel”.

 

They moved to 245 East James Street in Munhall, PA sometime after 1958 and resided there until their deaths.  His older sister Anna bought this house in 1958.

 

Pete passed away in 1986 and Mildred in 2015.  They are buried together at St Nicholas Cemetery in Homestead, PA.  Their funerals were held at the church where they were married in 1948.

 

Pete and Mildred had two children,Stephanie and Daniel (“Danny”).  Stephanie married Len Grudowski, and they have three children.  Danny passed away on May 8, 2024.

 

Peter and Nick Bobbish.  The child is Nick’s son John.  Location unknown.

 

Peter Bobbish

 

Peter Bobbish

 

Peter Bobbish

 

Mildred’s father John Savko is the same John Savko that married Peter’s sister Anna.  Mildred is his daughter from John Savko’s first marriage to Mary Karch.  Mary Karch passed away from breast cancer in October 1937.  At the time of her death, John Savko and Mary Karch lived at 427 Cherry Way in Munhall, PA.

 

John Savko, Mary Karch Savko, Mildred Savko Bobbish, and Bernard Savko

 

Mildred Savko Bobbish

 

Mildred was the last of her generation to have a connection to John and Anna Bobbish.

 

Peter’s Army discharge papers

 

Peter’s obituary

 

Daniel Bobbish ObituaryDaniel Patrick Bobbish, of Munhall, passed away on May 8, 2024 at the age of 73. He was the son of the late Peter and Mildred (Savko) Bobbish, the brother of Stephanie Grudowski, the uncle of Michael, Christopher, and Robert (Kelly) Grudowski, and the great-uncle of Jace Grudowski. Friends and family to be received on Tuesday, May 14, at 10 AM at the SAVOLSKIS-WASIK-GLENN FUNERAL HOME, INC., 3501 Main Street Munhall, PA 15120. A funeral service will be held at the funeral home following morning visitation at 11 AM with Father R. Michael Zak of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church officiating.

Danny Bobbish’s obituary

Vera Bobbish

(b.27 Oct 1919-Williamson,Illinois; d. 8 October 1985)

Vera married Marvin “Joe” Ockenfels on 6 July 1940 in Napolean, Ohio. Marvin was born on 15 Sep 1905. He died in January 1959.  They did not have any children. Marvin was previously married to Anna Castor, however they divorced in 1938.

In October 1940, Vera and Marvin lived at 3344 Butternut Avenue in Plymouth, MI.  At the time, he was employed by the Kelvinator Corporation.

Following Joe’s death in 1959, she remarried Lee Allen.  Vera’s death certificate indicates that she was widowed, implying that Lee had passed away prior to her death on 8 October 1985.  To date we have not found any records of their marriage or of his death.

 

 

George Bobbish

(b.9 Apr 1921-Williamson, Illinois; d.3 Aug 1979-Detroit, Wayne, Michigan)

 

George married Violet Linerois on August 19, 1941.  They had two children, George and Gary.  George Jr was born on October 5, 1951 and died on February 5, 2016.  Gary was born on September 8, 1954 and died February 10, 2012.

 

George Sr died from a heart attack following a boating accident in Detroit on August 3, 1979.

 

 

Susan (“Susie”) Bobbish

(b. 7 Apr 1923-Williamson, Illinois; d. 22 Jul 1998-St. Louis, Missouri)

Susan’s birth certificate listed her name as “Susie”.  Her death certificate indicates she died as a result of complications from a fall.  Other family stories indicate that she received burns in a shower and this resulted in her death.

Susan had two daughters, Joyce and Gayla.  Gayla passed away in Kensington, MD on April 6, 2016 at age 58.

Joyce’s daughter Donna Gray-Cockrum passed away in August, 2023. (https://www.gilbertfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/Donna-Sue-Gray-Cockrum?obId=28796137)

 

 

Charles Bobbish

(b.18 Mar 1925-Dowell, Illinois; d.30 Nov 2003-San Antonio,Texas)

Charles was born during the Tri-State tornado that passed through Jackson County, IL on March 18, 1925.

In December 1943 Charles enlisted in the U.S. Army.  At the time of his enlistment, he was working at the Laister-Kauffman glider factory in St. Louis.  This factory produced troop gliders for the war effort, most notably the Laister-Kauffman LG-10 glider.  During the war he served as a radio repairman and diesel mechanic.  From December 1943 to December 1945, he served in the India-Burma and China theaters of operation.  He was honorably discharged as a Sergeant on April 3, 1947 at Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas.  He re-enlisted.  After his son was born in 1948, Charles was told he was being sent to Europe to participate in the Berlin Airlift.  He pointed out to his commanding officer, a Major Sacknoff, that it was against regulations within 30 days of the birth of a child. Sacknoff replied that he knew, and that he was being sent to Camp Kilmer NJ first until the 30 days was up, and then to Germany.  Charles told him if you do that, I will get out of the Air Force.  Sacknoff said, “you just reenlisted you can’t”. Charles said “watch me”.  He spent all his free time in Europe in the base library.  He found a loophole involving family hardship, got some documentation from his sister and brother-in-law’s store in St Louis and got out of the service with an honorable discharge.

 

At the time of his honorable discharge, he listed his address as 6247 Clayton Avenue, St Louis, MO.  This was the former home of his sister Mary (Bobbish) Frankmann.

When he enlisted, he had only completed school through the 8th grade.  He completed his GED, something that was a goal for him throughout his life.  He was proud to have been able to accomplish this.

In 1947, he began taking flying lessons.  He went on to earn his private and commercial certificates with instrument and multi-engine ratings.  He soloed in a Porterfield.  After he did all of the required skill demonstrations but spins, the instructor got out, made Charles put on a parachute and take off.  His instructions were to enter and recover from 3 spins in each direction,while the instructor watched through binoculars from the ground.  He was signed off as a private pilot.

 

Two of the airplanes that Charlie flew.  These planes were still flying as of 2021.  His son obtained his private pilot’s license and his grandson obtained his airline transport pilot’s license and is a flight instructor.

 

He rebuilt the engine of a Taylorcraft BD-12D in his garage. He had bought the plane with a partner.  When the plane was reassembled and signed off by an A&P mechanic, his partner flew the plane and crashed it.  Charles never got to fly it.

 

 

On November 1 1947 he married Alma Elizabeth Grimes at Central Baptist Church in San Antonio, TX.

 

For most of his post-war life, he worked in the auto industry in San Antonio.  He started off in 1948 as a porter (janitor) in an auto repair shop. He then became an auto mechanic, then used car salesman. Then he became a new car salesman. He taught VW mechanics from a 5 state area from 1960 to 1966. The classroom was in the VW warehouse on O’Connor Road.  To demonstrate that the warehouse stocked sufficient parts to service any VW issue, he built a VW from the ground up using only parts from the warehouse. This included building the engine from scratch. He and 2 partners started a Toyota dealership (Toyota of San Antonio).  He owned 20%.  He was made a partner because of his automobile industry expertise. He got the dealership up and running, and profitable after 3 months, then his partners (after a legal battle) found a way to force him out. He then became a salesman again, then eventually a sales manager.  Early in his sales career, he worked side by side with Red McCoombs, who remained a lifelong friend of his.  Once, when teaching a class, with some VW factory engineers in the class, he remarked “Thank God for AC, because without it, we wouldn’t have DC”. One of the engineers said, “Ja, there is a man who understands electricity”.  He and the engineers would sometimes have to come up with solutions to electrical problems. His solutions always turned out to match the Germans’ solutions, even though he had only an 8th grade education and had no clue how to use a slide rule (which the engineers used to come up with their solutions.)

He and Alma were active in their church.

Charles and Alma had two children.  They lived in south San Antonio in the Highland Hills neighborhood at 773 Cravens until the mid 1980s and then moved to 5614 Misty Glen, where they resided in San Antonio until their deaths, his in 2003 and hers in 2012.  They are buried together at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.

 

Charles was the last of John and Anna’s 13 children to pass away.

 

Family stories about Charles

 

From his son Charles:

“Dad was smoking in the barn, and his sister Susie ratted him out to [their father] Yankee John. That resulted in a whipping with the razor strap. Dad waited a day or two, then brushed the dog’s teeth with Susie’s toothbrush.  He waited a few more days, then told Susie.  I don’t think she ratted him out for this.

When Dad was very young, he would take a long string and piece of fat, and tie the fat to the end of the string.  He’d then toss the fat in the middle of the flock of geese they were raising.  One goose would swallow the fat. You’ve heard the saying ‘like fat through a goose’.  Very soon after goose 1 swallowed the piece of fat, it would soon be on the ground, and goose one had the string going in his mouth and hanging out its butt, with fat still tied to it. Enter goose 2, who would eat the fat. Enter goose 3, 4 etc.  Soon dad would be leading a flock of geese around, all connected by the string.”

 

 

Charles Bobbish, born March 18, 1925, went to be with the Lord Sunday, November 30, 2003, at the age of 78, after a long fight against Parkinson’s. Mr. Bobbish was born in Dowell, IL and was a resident of San Antonio since 1946. He was a World War II Veteran, serving in the Army Air Corps in China, Burma and India. After his military service, Charles had a successful 40-year career in the San Antonio automotive business as a mechanic, salesman, manager and part-owner until he retired from Red McCombs Ford. He is survived by his devoted wife of 56 years, Alma Bobbish; son and daughter-in-law, Charles E. and Karen Bobbish, Burlington, MA; daughter and son-in-law, Deborah and Chris Preston, San Antonio, TX; beloved grandchildren, Charles G. Bobbish, McLean, VA, Kerri (Bobbish) and Tony Polimeno, Milton, MA, Julia Preston, San Antonio, TX and Rachel Preston, San Antonio, TX. Mr. Bobbish was a 32nd degree Knight of the Texas Lodge 8, Grand Order of Masons, an avid hunter, fisherman and pilot and since his retirement, a tireless volunteer for the shuttle service at the Audie L. Murphy Veterans Hospital, for which he was honored with national recognition by the Department of Veterans Affairs. He will be missed by all whose lives he touched, but he is now at peace with his parents and 12 brothers and sisters, including his beloved brother, Pete. Interment at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. Sunset Funeral Home.

Charles’ obituary

 

Carpatho-Rusyns

Our family is Carpatho-Rusyn.   The Carpatho-Rusyns are a distinct Eastern Slavic people who lived for more than a thousand years in remote villages scattered along the foothills and valleys of the Carpathian Mountains of East Central Europe. Their villages were located mostly among those of Western Slavs (Slovaks and Poles), Hungarians (Magyars), Jews, and Vlachs.  The name Rusyn identifies them as descendants, in part, of a people from the vast lands of ancient Rus’ who were converted to the Eastern Christian Church in the 9th century.  This nation’s legacy carries on today in the form of the Belarusian, Russian, Ukrainian, and Carpatho-Rusyn peoples.  Over the years, Rusyns have also been known by a variety of other names – Carpatho-Russians, Carpatho-Ukrainians, Rusnaks, Ruthenes, Ruthenians, Uhro-Rusyns and Podkarpats’ki Rusyny, to name a few. Rusyns typically referred to themselves as Rusnaks or Lemko for those who settled on the northern slopes of the Carpathians.  (source- Carpatho-Rusyn Society)

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