52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Ancestor # 2: Myrle Piper Puncochar

As announced by Amy Johnson Crow in No Story Too Small, there is a 2015 edition of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. I may not make 52 but I am going to post whenever time permits to share what I have learned with my family as suggested by Michael J. Leclerc in his blog. In this blog entry, I am sharing information about my grandmother.

Myrle Eva PIPER  was born on Jan 25, 1901 at Bertha, Todd, MN. She had an older sister, Althia, and an older brother, Leon. In 1903, when Myrle was less than three years old, her mother, Julia Alice Riggs Piper, passed away.

Myrle appeared on the census of Jun 5, 1905 in the household of her father, George Edwin PIPER at Bertha, Todd, MN. Her father met and married Florence Draper, born in Rhode Island, in 1906 in Todd County, MN. George filed on a land claim in Scranton, Bowman County, ND. He had attempted a land claim earlier, in 1901, but failed when he and his family had to return to Minnesota due to his wife's health.

Myrle appeared on the census of May 6, 1910 in the household of George Edwin PIPER at Scranton, Bowman, ND. By this time her stepmother, Florence Draper Piper, was no longer with the family. Florence Piper was found in the Lamm household, in Deuel County, SD, in the 1910 census. She was the housekeeper for the family and had twins, Constance and George E. Piper, born in 1909. Family lore indicates Florence couldn’t handle the isolation of the land claim in North Dakota.

Myrle appeared on the state census of 1915 in the household of George Edwin PIPER at Scranton, Bowman, ND. By that time, Myrle’s father married again, this time to Estelle, last name unknown.

In 1915 and 1916, Myrle’s father sent her to a Sacred Heart Academy, a Catholic boarding school in Fargo, ND. The family wasn’t Catholic so it’s bit of a puzzle as to why she was sent there. She returned to Scranton to continue her high school career there. By this time, Myrle's father had married a fourth time, to Saxie Piatt Eisinger.

But Myrle didn’t graduate high school. In those days, a student could enter nursing school after her junior high school year.

Myrle attended St. Luke’s Nursing School in Aberdeen, Brown Co., SD and graduated in 1922. She remembered going to Pierre, SD, to take the nursing exam for her license and passing with flying colors.

Myrle married Francis Paul (Frank) PUNCOCHAR , son of John J. PUNCOCHAR and Anna PAVLIK, on Jun 16, 1925 at Aberdeen, Brown, SD. Due to Frank's job, the family moved frequently: 

• They moved circa Mar, 1926 to Watertown, Codington, SD where her first son was born.
• They lived in 1926 at Palace Apartments, 311 E. Kemp, Watertown, Codington, SD where they were listed in the directory.
• They lived at 216 9th Ave SE, Aberdeen, Brown, SD in 1929 and 1930 as listed in city directories. 
• They appeared on the census of Apr 3, 1930 at 216 9th Avenue SE, Aberdeen, Brown, SD. 
• They appeared on the census of 1935 at 715 S 4th Street, Aberdeen, Brown, SD. 
• They lived in 1936 at 816 w. 22nd Street, Sioux Falls, Minnehaha, SD, in the Sioux Falls directory.
• They lived in 1937 at 816 W. 22nd Street, Sioux Falls, Minnehaha, SD, in the Sioux Falls directory.
• Frank died Mar 22, 1940 at home at 1320 S. 1st Street, Aberdeen, Brown, SD. 
• Myrle appeared on the census of Apr 10, 1940 at the same address: 1320 S. 1st Street, Aberdeen, Brown, SD. 
• The family moved to Miller, Hand Co., SD shortly after Frank's death, probably 1940-1941.  An article in 1948 indicates Myrle had been the public health nurse for Hand County for eight years. She remained the public health nurse until her retirement.

Myrle liked to keep contact with her sister and friends via letters and saved many of them. She enjoyed playing and teaching piano to young students. 

Myrle Eva Piper Puncochar passed away Oct 19, 1990 in Hennepin Co., MN and is buried at St. Timothy's Cemetery, Maple Lake, Wright, MN, next to her husband, Frank.