Ada Lorraine Beecher ^{2 3 4}

   FamilySearch ID: LNZG-85N.

  Noted events in her life were:

1. Census in 1930 in New Trier Twp., Cook, IL. ² The 1930 census recorded at 1233 Maple Avenue: Samuel E. Beecher, dentist, 59, born in Pennsylvania, living with wife Ada H., 39, born in Illinois, and daughters Eleanor L., 12, born in New York; and Ada L., 8, born in Illinois. Samuel was married at age 44, Ada when 25. Ada's parents were from Sweden, and Samuel's from Pennsylvania.

2. Census in 1940 in Chicago, Cook, IL. ³ The 1940 census recorded at 1606 W. Albion Ave. in Chicago: Samuel E. Bucher, dentist, 69, widowed, living with daughters Eleanor L., 22; and Ada Lorrain, 18. They were living at the same address in 1935.

3. Evidence: Phone call between Ada Lorraine Beecher Fierce and Marcia S. Wislon, 30 Mar 1997, Park Ridge, Cook, IL. ⁴ Lorraine, 75, is recovering from open heart surgery, so has put Beecher genealogy on the back burner but is getting back in the mood again, feels better than ever now.

Comments from Lorraine Beecher Fierce: "We went to Gettysburg in Adams County. I did find a deed where John Beecher, the Revolutionary war one, had some land...our family is kind of dwindling. My son is married but has no children. My other son is retarded, and he is in a home, and my daughter is adopted. So that's the end of my family.
My husband used to work for Uarco. They had a plant in Carlstadt, N.J.
My father was Samuel Edgar Beecher, born in York PA. in 1870. He was 52 years old when I was born. He went to the University of Maryland dental school.
My mother was Ada Henrietta Olive Lindblad, born in 1889. She was 19 years younger than my father, born in Chicago. Her parents came from Sweden and they met here.
My grandmother came as a young girl, and my grandfather came to Chicago as a young man. They may have met in church; who knows. Grandfather was a Peterson but he felt there were too many Petersons so he changed it to Lindblad. They had another brother who changed his name to Westlund.
Samuel Edgar Beecher's father was George Calvin Beecher, my grandfather, he died before I was born. George's father was Samuel Christopher? Beecher. His father was David Beecher, who had the factory. I found David's grave in Arendtsville. There were some children buried there that must have been babies.
David was Samuel's father, and Samuel must have died in Altoona, Pa.
David Beecher's father was a John Beecher. John Beecher is the one I think was a Revolutionary soldier because I fouind...this is a story they told in the family, of course, you know how family stories are:
At the end of the Revolutionary War they had no money to pay the soldiers and John Beecher had been with Washington at Valley Forge and he didn't have enough money to go back home (I think Connecticut but I can't prove it) so he went down into Pennsylvania and settled in Pa., dunno where, I've been looking for where they got married and can't find it, but the woman he married was Elizabeth Keplinger. Her grave was still intact, I think it was called the Arendtsville Lutheran Church. The DAR had gone into the graveyard which had been destroyed by kids, they took all they could get off the tombstones and buried the tombstones together. This Elizabeth Keplinger was the wife of John. It (the tombstone) gave her birthdays.
We think they met in Lancaster but we're not sure. I'd like to find their marriage stuff.
We have one of those Mormon Church family libraries in Wilmette, Illinois. I used to go over there and they had copies of old newspaper on tape. I found a listing of John Beecher's death, they said he was a Revolutionary patriot, but I've never been able to find anything in the soldiers rolls when I looked into them.
That Beecher side lives long. Not my father. He died in his 70s. But my dad's youngest sister, E. Grayce Beecher, died at 95 in 1985. There were 6 kids in the family. My dad was next to the oldest. A girl first, then my dad. This Aunt Grayce was about 20 years younger than my dad.
My dad came to chic after he'd become a dentist. He practiced here for a while. After his father passed away my dad put his youngest brother through medical school, then my grandma came and my grandma and Aunt Grayce lived together. They lived in Evanston, Illinois. My Uncle Dr. George Nevin Beecher lived in Evanston, in his own place. He got married and they had their own home.
The rest of the family were girls and stayed in York.

4. Cause of Death: Lorraine died at Lutheran General Hospital due to dementia, 1 Oct 2014, Chicago, Cook, IL.

5. Obituary: Chicago Suburban Daily Herald: obituary of Lorraine Beecher Fierce on 8 Oct 2014 in Chicago, Cook, IL. ¹ Born Nov. 7, 1921, in Chicago, Illinois, Lorraine died peacefully on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014, at Lutheran General Hospital at 1:12 a.m. Lorraine had battled dementia for many years before GOD Called Her Home. Lorraine grew up in Wilmette, Illinois and graduated from New Trier High School in 1939. She also took classes in accounting at Northwestern University. Lorraine was a bookkeeper for many years at the Chapman and Cutler Law Firm, in Chicago well as at NBC, Beatrice Foods and the Northern Trust Bank. When NBC's Chicago accounting operations were transferred to New York, she spent 6 months in New York City training their new staff. She left her career in 1960 to raise a family. Lorraine was the treasurer for many organizations over the years including the Daughters of the American Revolution, Twenty-first Star Chapter, the Maine South Mothers and the Merrill School PTA. She also assisted her husband Russ in his many years of service to the developmentally disabled while she herself served as the treasurer of the Lincoln State School Parent Association. Lorraine was the wife of Russell E. Fierce Jr., whom she married on April 8, 1950; and the daughter of Samuel E. and Ada Lindblad Beecher of Wilmette, Illinois. She was the Mother of Russell B. Fierce (Alice deceased) of Hoffman Estates, IL, Christopher S. Fierce of Park Ridge, IL and Gayle L. Fierce of Des Plaines, IL. She was also the sister of Eleanor B. Meyer (Herb, deceased) of Marietta, GA, and Virginia Beecher who died as an infant. Lorraine was part of the Beecher family which included Lyman Beecher a Presbyterian minister and co-founder of the American Temperance Society; Henry Ward Beecher a Congregational minister and abolitionist and Harriet Beecher Stowe an abolitionist and author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" a depiction of life for African Americans under slavery; which energized anti-slavery forces. She was also the niece of the late E. Grace Beecher of Evanston, IL the Vice President of Insurance for Baird & Warner. The visitation for Lorraine Beecher Fierce will be from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Friday October 10, 2014 and from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m on Saturday, October 11, 2014 followed by the funeral service at 11 a.m. at Nelson Funeral Home, 820 Talcott Road (at Cumberland), Park Ridge, IL 60068, www.nelsonfunerals.com. Interment will be in Memorial Park Cemetery, Skokie, IL. In lieu of flowers, Memorials to Avenues to Independence, 515 Busse Hwy., Park Ridge, IL 60068 www.avenuestoindependence.org, the organization where Christopher lives.

Ada married Russell E. Fierce Jr. on 8 Apr 1950.¹ (Russell E. Fierce Jr. was born on 22 Mar 1926 in Normal, McLean, IL,⁵ died on 9 Oct 2002 in Park Ridge, Cook, IL ⁵ and was buried on 12 Oct 2002 in Skokie: Memorial Park Cemetery, Cook, IL ⁵.)