Gordon Small's Family & Genealogy

• Born: October 6, 1911, Belle Fourche, Butte, South Dakota, USA ⁶
• Baptized: July 20, 1912, Watauga, Corson, South Dakota, USA
• Marriage (1): Marion Charlotte DEEX on July 16, 1934 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, USA ^{1 2 3}
• Marriage (2): Lucille Catherine DEEX on February 4, 1983 in Tucson, Pima, Arizona, USA ^{4 5}
• Died: October 13, 1990, Tucson, Pima, Arizona, USA at age 79 ⁷
• Buried: October 17, 1990, Tucson, Arizona - Holy Hope Cemetery

   Another name for Herman was Herman Alva SMALL.

  General Notes:

Herman worked as an accountant at Hughes Aircraft when he retired in 1975.

Herman and Marion received a small inheritance in the late 1940s from the death of Marion's father, Charles Deex. They took some of the money, and along with another man named Rudy Graylock invested it in a print shop in Tucson Arizona. Rudy ran the printing presses and Herman was responsible for the day to day business end of things and sales, etc. Being a new business it was struggling but it was making enough money to support the families of two partners. Then one day Rudy told Herman that they should just burn the business and collect the insurance. Herman was horrified because he thought Rudy might be serious. Anyway, one day Rudy went crazy and destroyed the shop and all the equipment. Herman knew that Rudy had don it and informed the insurance company of what Rudy had done. After all was said and done Herman was given ownership of everything that was left but not much was salvageable and he lost all his original investment through the ordeal.

Some of their inheritance was invested in a finance company that was started by Marion's sister Lucille and her husband Frank Bush. The original investment was $5000.00 (A significant amount of money in the late 1940s). The business started small with one office in Silver Springs, Maryland and over a couple years quickly grew to have offices in every state on the east coast. The company seemed to be doing well and the $5000.00 investment had grown to $50,000. Herman and Marion talked about taking some of the gains and diversifying it in other investments but since the business was family owned they felt an obligation to keep the money where it was. Unfortunately, there was a scam going on in the satellite offices. The main headquarters initiated incentive programs that provided bonuses for the office managers. The more customers they attracted to borrow money, the higher their bonuses would be. This created a situation where unscrulpous managers were falsifying loans to family members and non-existent customers. After a while the SEC noticed that audits started showing anomalies and they stepped in one morning and closed the doors of the business. The company stock became worthless in an instant.

  Noted Events In his Life:

• Baptism: St. Michael's Catholic Church, July 20, 1912, Watuage, South Dakota.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Census, April 9, 1920, Orman, Butte, South Dakota - District 12.
  
  The following Schmalz family members are on this page:
  Conrad Schmalz, Head, Age 44
  Nettie, Wife, Age 34
  Herman, Son, Age 8
  Lucille, Daughter, Age 5
  Benjamin, Son, Age 2
  

• Census, April 19, 1930, Red Wing, Goodhue, Minnesota - District 25.
  
  The following Schmalz family members are on this page:
  Conrad Schmalz, Head, Age 52
  Nettie, Wife, Age 42
  Herman, Son, Age 18
  Lucille, Daughter, Age 15
  Benjamin, Son, Age 12
  Marie Daughter, Age 8

• Residence: 8322 Bancroft, 1941, Cleveland, Ohio.
  Herman & Marion purchased the home in 1941 and lived there with their children, Robert, Mary and Gordon until they moved to Tucson, Arizona in 1947. Their phone number was MI6922. As was the custom in those days, the first two digits of a phone number were alphabetical and the MI in this case stood for "Michigan".
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Residence: 2919 N. Cherry Ave, 1947, Tucson, Arizona.
  Herman & Marion purchased this home in 1947 and lived there with their children, Robert, Mary, Gordon, Carol and Richard. They sold the house in the late 1960s and purchased another house in Tucson at 7118 Princeton Place. The phone number on Cherry Avenue was 61651. When the phone company needed more numbers they went from the 5 digit number to a seven digit number and the new number was EA61651. As was the custom in those days, the first two digits of a phone number were alphabetical and the EA in this case stood for "East".
  
  
  

• Name Change, March 12, 1948, Pima County, Arizona.
  The Herman SCHMALZ family name was changed from SCHMALZ to SMALL.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Publication: City Directory, 1948, Tucson, Arizona.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Death, October 13, 1990, Tucson, Arizona.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Obituary: Tucson newspaper: Tucson, Arizona.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Cemetery: Holy Hope Cemetery, October 17, 1990, Tucson, Arizona.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Herman married Marion Charlotte DEEX, daughter of Charles Joseph DEEX and Rosana Susan "Rose" EHRBAR, on July 16, 1934 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, USA.^{1 2 3} (Marion Charlotte DEEX was born on August 17, 1913 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, USA ^{8 9}, baptized on August 31, 1913 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, USA,¹⁰ died on April 27, 1982 in Tucson, Pima, Arizona, USA ^{11 12} and was buried on April 29, 1982 in Tucson, Arizona - Holy Hope Cemetery.)

Herman next married Lucille Catherine DEEX, daughter of Charles Joseph DEEX and Rosana Susan "Rose" EHRBAR, on February 4, 1983 in Tucson, Pima, Arizona, USA.^{4 5} (Lucille Catherine DEEX was born on August 6, 1905 in Ohio ⁹, baptized on August 13, 1905 in St Mary's Catholic Church Rockport, Ohio,¹³ died on June 30, 2000 in Tucson, Pima, Arizona, USA ^{14 15} and was buried in Tucson, Arizona - Holy Hope Cemetery.)