Descendants of Captain Arthur Fenner
Howard William Fenner
[b 28 July 1898 at Batavia, Branch Co., MI; d 3 Apr. 1974 at Sturgis, MI] In WWI, Howard served in the U.S. Navy aboard the U.S.S. Utah. On 15 Sept. 1920 in Sturgis, MI, Howard William Fenner m Marjorie Lavinia Straehly [b 8 Jan. 1898 at Bronson, MI; d 9 Feb. 1994 at Kalamazoo, MI], daughter of Methuselah Straehly and Mary Williams. They first lived in Sturgis, MI, where Howard worked for Newport Business Forms, then in Kalamazoo, MI, where he worked for National Carbon Coated Paper Co., before moving back to Sturgis, where they operated Fenner’s Drive-In at Sturgis (600 W. Chicago Road) until retiring in 1961. They managed an apartment complex called Crusader Arms for three years. Howard was an avid bowler, participating in several American Bowling Congress tournaments. They were members of the First Presbyterian Church in Sturgis.
Barbara June [b 1 June 1921] m Roland E. Palmquist on 22 Jan. 1944 at First Presbyterian Church, Sturgis, MI.
Beverly Joyce [b 30 Dec. 1923 at Sturgis, MI; d 29 July 1927] died of burns at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, MI.
Vivian Joanne [b 27 Aug. 1924] m James Smiley.
Howard William Jr. [b/d 1926] died at birth at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Fenner’s Drive-In, Sturgis, MI (from a Sturgis High School yearbook), ca. 1960.