Tribute to Bill Qualey

Here is a video that is a tribute to my Uncle Bill who passed away unexpectedly June 16, 2010

http://vimeo.com/14015244

Memoirs of Uncle Bill

If anyone has any pictures, videos. I would like to compile them all as a tribute and be able to give this to Aunt Dawn. Please send them all here and I will pull them down and compile them on a disc for her.

Thanks again everyone for all you are doing for her. I greatly appreciate it.

In Loving Memory of My Uncle Bill Qualey

William Eugene Qualey of Rogers, MN passed away unexpectedly Wednesday June 16, 2010. He was born Oct. 11, 1946 in Island Falls the son of George and Ella (Cunningham) Qualey. Bill was a master craftsman at his trade and specialized in dressage horses and hunter/jumpers. Bill spent his life with his fiancee Dawn Uherka. He is survived by his fiancee Dawn, six brothers, Phillip, Bernard, David, Steven, Paul and Buzzy and 4 sisters, Sue, Doris, Irene and Eloise as well as many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents and one sister Angela. A memorial service will be held at a later date in Minnesota at the request of the family.

Finally Found My Great Great Grandmother's Final Resting Place.

My Great Great Grandmother Emma Bates Cunningham born 1869 and died in 1911. She died in Bangor, Maine cause of death unknown. Her final resting place is in the Patten Cemetery in an unmarked grave. In an unmarked grave for now that is. I will see that she gets the proper recognition. So glad that I have finally found her.

How I became interested in genealogy.

I first started researching as a teenager. I had a medical condition that I was told it was hereditary. It was then that I began to ask my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and all that I could contact. Not a single one had it. Then I said I need to seek the death certificates of my loved ones for medical conditions and that was where I finally located what I was looking for as my great grandfather had the same condition. I was too intrigied to stop there and now 18 years later I'm still searching on a daily basis. It is such an adventure and so rewarding.

Family Photos

Here are some photos of my dear loved ones in the Crystal, Patten, Sherman, Benedicta area.

Family Gathering 2010

Mother's Day is a very special time and I always enjoy being with the family. I was visiting my mom and grandparents. I had been visiting with my family all morning when I went into the living room. I was looking at old military of my grandfather and his brothers as 4 of the 5 boys were serving in WWII at the same time. One of his brother he didn't know where he was and my grandfather got delayed to his next destination and he met his brother Frank on the boat on the English Chanel. Frank who I knew they met up there I didn't know that he was one of the guards for the Nuremberg Trial. Frank died a few years later.

Oral Interviews

Please all as you all gather on the weekends with your family don't forget to bring a notebook or a digital recorder. Maybe it is gathering at the dinner table after morning mass or coming together just for a family visit. Maybe they have always had a specific meal on a particular night. You might ask why that is so and who in the family started that tradition. There may be a lovely heirloom and have yet to know whose that once was. It is no time like the present to ask away and just speak of the past as the little stories can lead to big adventures that can be documented. If you are to ask a specific time or event it may be overwhelming but if you sit and listen and let them tell the stories that you can question specifics based on that particular story. Please don't ever forget your grassroots and show thanks to the community as without that background you wouldn't be where you are today. Appreciate those around you and give back to make it a better place for the generations to come.