David and Lynne have very interesting connections to John & Mahala in their family tree. They are the children of the late Carl & Elizabeth (Yardas) McGraw.
Carl was a 'double' grandson of John & Mahala. Carl's father was Luther McGraw, son of H.G. 'Dad' McGraw. David says: "My GrandFather Luther Carl McGraw (SR) was killed when my Dad was very young. Fortunately, "Dad" McGraw took in my Father and Grandmother Pauline Nichols McGraw. Perry "Earl" McGraw married Pauline and raised my Father."
Earl was a son of Okey "Oak" McGraw, and THAT is how he became a 'double' grandson!
A few years ago Lynne, sent us a short article from the Wallowa Oregon newspaper about her Dad, Luther Carl McGraw. It's from 1944 or '45 when he was in the Army Air Corp. This article talks about the McGinnis' family. Not only did John & Mahala's son Lewis (Bum) settle in the Enterprise/Wallowa area, but H.G. (Dad's) wife Pearl was a McGinnis and her brother Benjamin Harrison McGinnis moved there as well.
Carl ended up moving to Pennsylvania after the war and getting married.
Earl was a teacher among other things and Lynne shared some pics of him teaching in Mullens.
Here's a shot Lynne shared of Earl and Carl at Earl's house on Church Street in Mullens. David remembers Earl as "a loving person , with whom I enjoyed fishing, doing woodwork, and visiting family and friends. Earl was my GRANDFATHER..."
David sent a few current snapshots of his family to share. "Bonnie and I are blessed to have 2 sons, 2 daughters in law and 4 grandchildren. My Sons are Perry David McGraw and Chad Earl McGraw. We did not have to travel far to pick out these names for our sons."
Perry is standing behind his Mom and Chad is standing behind me.
Left to right:
Seated = Lauren McGraw, David McGraw, Bonnie McGraw, Natalie McGraw, and Beth McGraw
Standing = Elizabeth McGraw, Rebecca McGraw, Andrew McGraw, Perry McGraw, and Chad McGraw
David says in closing: "As a child, I have many wonderful memories of time spent in McGraws. I was blessed to have close ties with family members from both clans of Luther and Earl."
Regards and stay safe,
David Earl McGraw
