Twelfth Generation

125. Lois Eileen JAMES¹ was born on 2 July 1938 in Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^2,5,27,59,60

Lois grew up on the James family farm 2 1/2 miles east of Tomah, Wisconsin and attended the same one room country school, Hill School, that her father attended. The Bartels family also attended that same school. Garlie (her eventual husband) was an "older" boy, so neither he nor Lois ever thought the families would some day be connected. Garlie's father, John, and Lois' father, Phil, attended the same school together as boys.

Lois loved music, as did her father and she grew up singing with him in church and they were invited to sing duets at many of the churches in Tomah. The first wedding she sang at was her sister Marieta's, when she was 7 years old, but starting at the age of 14, she sang at many weddings and funerals for family and friends. In high school she was in choir and was the choir soloist in her senior year.

After her first son was born the singing stopped, because he would cry everytime she sang. Now, in 2002, she is enjoying her family still and does sing occasionally at church, but the range and the volume in her voice is no longer there. The love for music has never left and if she could, she would be a Gaither Southern Gospel "Groupie".
She appeared in the census in 1940 in Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.³⁸ She graduated in 1956 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI. from Tomah High School.

Lois Eileen JAMES and Garland John "Garlie" BARTELS were married on 24 August 1959 in Dubuque, Dubuque County, IA.^60,103 Garland John "Garlie" BARTELS¹, son of John Francis Gustav BARTELS and Ella Anna GEBHARDT, was born on 2 September 1932 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^59,60

Garland grew up on the Bartels family farm 6 miles SE of Tomah. He married Lois James in 1959 and they moved to the St. Louis area in 1963 where he worked for 30 years for General Motors--first assembling Corvettes, then Chevy trucks and finally Buicks and Oldsmobiles. He retired in 1993, and since then he and Lois have been blessed with being able to travel all over the U.S. and he is always amazed with God's beautiful creation. Their favorite place in this country is the Livingston, Montana area. It is always good to come back home where all of their children and grandchildren live within 10 miles of them.

Lois Eileen JAMES and Garland John "Garlie" BARTELS had the following children: