BIRTH NAME: Flora Belle Fundaberg
[known as Florabelle]
BIRTH: 1909 06 08
Newark, Licking Co., Ohio
FATHER: Jacob Ruel Fundaberg 1864-1940
MOTHER: Rachel Levitt 1871-1931
SIBLINGS: Robert William Fundaberg 1895-1931
Charles F Fundaberg 1904-1940
MARRIAGE: 1935 06 30 Detroit, Michigan
SPOUSE: Bernard Dorrington O'Neill
[F=Albert Dorrington O'Neill]
[M=Jennie Belle McConnell]
CHILDREN:
S- Albert Michael O'Neill 1938-2003
D- Kathleen Maureen O'Neill b.1941
VOCATION: Homemaker & School Teacher
MILITARY: none
EDUCATION: Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH
RELIGION: Lutheran
DEATH: 1978 08 20 Jacksonville, Florida
INTERMENT: Flushing Cemetery, Flushing, MI
OTHER: Known to grandchildren as "Mimi"
Named for two aunts:
her grandfather Robert Levitt's sister Flora Levitt
& her father Jacob's sister Minerva Bell Funderburg.
She combined them into Florabelle.
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1928 Florabelle Fundaberg age 19 at Ohio State Univ in Columbus
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1945 Portrait: Kathy, Florabelle and Mike in Grosse Pointe
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1946 taking Kathy to kindergarten in Grosse Pointe
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1978 Last known photo of Florabelle, at home in Columbus on Harwitch
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US Census 1910 - Ohio
Licking County Newark,
April 19, 1910 sheet 3, Dist 81, Lines 67-74, 70 North Fourth St
Fundaberg, Jacob R 42 [1868] Ohio head [ age error ]
Fundaberg, Rachel M 37 [1873] Ohio wife [ Rachel Levitt ]
Fundaberg, Robert 15 [1895] Ohio son
Fundaberg, Charles 6 [1904] Ohio son
Fundaberg, Flora B 10 mo [1909] Ohio dau [ Florabelle ]
Levitt, Flora 43 [1867] Ohio
US Census 1920 - Ohio
Licking County Newark,
January 15, 1920 sheet 11A, Dist 162, Lines 7-10, 161 Fairfield Ave, Ward 5 Precinct A
Fundaberg, Jacob R 56 [1864] Ohio head Streetcar Motorman
Fundaberg, Rachel 43 [1877] Ohio wife [ age error ]
Fundaberg, Charles 16 [1904] Ohio son
Fundaberg, Flora B 10 [1909] Ohio dau [ Florabelle ]
[ brother Robert, age 24, is living on Sixth Street in Newark with wife Margaret ]
US Census 1930 - Ohio
Licking County Newark,
April 17, 1930 sheet 19B, Dist 13, Lines 65-69, 161 Jefferson Road, Ward 5
Fundaberg, Jacob R 65 [1865] Ohio head Streetcar Motorman
Fundaberg, Rachel 58 [1878] Ohio wife
Fundaberg, Flora B 21 [1909] Ohio dau [ Florabelle ]
[ brother Charles, age 26, is living in a rooming house on Burlingame St in Detroit, Michigan. ]
[ brother Robert, age 35, is living in Newark at 69 Tenth St with
wife Margaret 33, daughter Betty 11 and daughter Jean 9. Erroneously indexed as Fendaberg. ]
Author notes: the following email exchange between author and Florabelle's great-niece
Yvonne, tell a lot about part of her life in Detroit.
===== Orig MESSAGE =========================================================================
Wayne Hepburn wrote:
Yvonne,
Do you recall ever hearing anything about why Charles and his father Jacob were
BOTH in detroit when they died 10 days apart in 1940?
Kathy doesn't know.
She knows her grandmother Jennie Belle McConnel lived with her parents at the end.
Kathy was a baby of one when Jennie Belle died.
Florabelle must have gone thru hell with her father, brother, and mother-in-law all
dying in a two year span while taking care of little Mike age 2-3 and expecting Kathy.
Imagine.
Love, W
===== REPLY to Orig Message above ==========================================================
Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2006 13:52:54 -0800 (PST)
From: "Yvonne Sickles"
Subject: Re: fundabergs
To: "Wayne Hepburn"
Hi Wayne,
Both Jacob R. and Charles lived in Detroit when they each died.
The story I was told was that Charles was painting the cottage on the lake that either
he or Jacob owned and caught a bad cold which developed into pneumonia. He also had
some kind of heart ailment and evidently the combination of problems weakened him.
If I remember correctly, he was sick for several months before he died.
Jacob, however, accompanied Charles' body to Somerset for burial and died of a heart
attack (or something related to heart problems) ten days after Charles.
Grandma Fundaberg always said the stress of losing both of his sons killed him.
Each of the men's obituaries mentioned heart problems and said they (and Florabelle)
were all residents of Detroit.
Florabelle must have thought, "Why me," at least once before that too.
Remember she lost her mother and older brother a month apart too.
Say hello to Kathy and give her a squeeze for me. Love, Y:>)
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In June of 1978, Florabelle's daughter Kathy married Wayne Hepburn and they made
plans for moving to Jacksonville, Florida area ... specifically, Orange Park, a suburb
in Clay County.
Florabelle was invited and agreed to relocate with them and granddaughters Vicki &
Sheri to Florida. She was in frail health and had employed a live-in companion in
Columbus. Suitable housing for her was found in Mandarin, Florida, another suburb of
Jacksonville, just across the St Johns River from Orange Park.
Florabelle immensely enjoyed her brief life of nine weeks in her new home with its
lovely grounds, good dining room, salon, new friends, and most especially the Florida
wildlife on Julington Creek where she spent many hours watching birds.
Kathy & Wayne lived where you see the orange marker; Florabelle lived near the
green one, so frequent visits with her were easily accomplished.
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[In the years since 1978 when Florabelle lived there, Wesley Manor has become part of
the larger Westminster Retirement operations with many Florida facilities.]
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[The above obituary was published in the Flushing, Michigan newspaper.
The death certificate at right is larger than displayed here. You can right click on it
and save to your hard drive to obtain a full size copy.]
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