Kenneth Alvin Dellinger (1920 - 1976)

Born 19 Sep 1920 in Vancouver, Clark, Washington

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 26 Apr 1976 at age 55 in Mission Viejo, Orange, California

Problems/Questions Profile managers: April Dauenhauer [send private message] and Leo Dauenhauer [send private message]

Ken Dellinger is a Military Veteran.
Served in the United States Navy 1942-1945
Served in WWII as a Radioman

Biography

Kenneth Alvin Dellinger was born at St Joseph's Hospital in Vancouver, Washington, the son Charles Dellinger (of southern Scots/German ancestry), and Clara Barchus, (of northern Irish/Welsh ancestry). Both of his grandfathers were farmers with small acreage, and Barchus was also a blacksmith. Born into this humble beginning on Sept. 19, 1920, Ken grew up helping in any way he could.

Charles was owner and cook in a small eatery in Milwaukie, a suburb of Portland Oregon. Clara, his wife, was waitress. Charles bought a hotel and golf course on Devil's Lake in Oregon, and the family moved there. Ken found golf balls gone astray into the lake, and resold them. He hunted ducks on the lake for the family dinner. Ken worked in the hotel kitchen, washing dishes, peeling potatoes, and sweeping floors. The depression of the 1930's caused the failure of the hotel, and Ken and his mother, who was ill with diabetes, went to live with his older brother, while his father went to cook for a lumber camp.

Ken's parents both died while he was a young man, and he lived with his brother Leonard, fifteen years older than Ken. After graduating from high school, Ken found a job with Del Monte, driving a delivery truck. Japan attacked Navy ships at Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941, and America declared war on Japan the next day. Germany declared war on America three days later, and America returned the compliment. Ken enlisted in the Navy 31 Aug. 1942, leaving behind his sweetheart, Helga Heikkila. He was 21 years old. The Navy discovered Ken's aptitude for learning and for electronics and sent him to Texas A&M where he learned how to be a radioman in a spotter plane. Ken married Helga at Bryan, Texas while he was at Texas A&M, on Christmas Eve, 1942.

After the war Ken received an honorable discharge from the Navy, and he went back to work at Del Monte driving a meat delivery truck, and doing sales for the company. Ken and some friends, all recently discharged from the Navy, needed housing for their young families, but there was a severe housing shortage after the war. Using the skills they had - a plumber, an electrician, and carpenters, the men bought lots and helped each other build small houses in east Portland for their growing families. Ken Dellinger's house was a single story home with two bedrooms, one bath, a fireplace, and, as funds permitted, a single-car garage added on later. It was originally about 960 square feet, average for the times. They put in a Victory garden in the large back yard, and later added a swing set for the children.

The address was 12340 SE Tibbetts, and the location was described on the 1950 census as: "Enumeration District: 26-68; Description: Election Precinct 406 - That part Bounded by S.E. Division; S.E. 131st Ave.; State Hwy. 50; S.E. 112th Ave." The road was gravel, not paved, and it was a dead end after one long block.^[1] Ken had a 4 year old daughter, April, on the census, and a son, David, was just born, in July. Life was calm and predictable.- BUT! One day Helga uttered fateful words: "We're in a Rut!" Well. Ken brushed up on the electronics he learned in the Navy, and went to work for Philips, a big name in television at that time. They sent him to their headquarters back east for training, for months. Suddenly Ken was gone from the home, and he left a big void.

Ken moved up in Philips, and moved on to Tektronix, another electronics firm, this time based in Oregon. But every time they promoted him, it meant moving. They lived in New York, Chicago, and San Diego. Eventually they were living in Orinda, in Contra Costa County, while Ken worked in Oakland, California. Later, Ken and Helga moved to Orange County, in Southern California, with a lovely home in Costa Mesa. Ken Dellinger had a reputation for honesty and working hard. There was stress in all this moving and he had a massive heart attack in 1964. He recovered, and went back to a less stressful job, but he had another heart attack in 1976, which was fatal.

Ken and Helga Dellinger had four children, nineteen grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.

Kenneth Dellinger died 26 April 1976, in Mission Viejo, Orange, California ^[2] Ken was a godly man, and when he prayed, it was evident that God was there and was listening.

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Sources

1. ↑ United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950;
2. ↑ Entered by April Dauenhauer, Saturday, October 12, 2013.

• Record No. 36, Registered No. 216, Vancouver, Clark County, Washington, Record No. 86, 19 Sept. 1920, Birth certificate for Kenneth Alvin Dellinger.

• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRZN-DJP?cc=1810731&wc=QZFW-DYY%3A648804701%2C649861101%2C649861102%2C1589282470 : 8 December 2015), Oregon > Multnomah > Portland (Districts 1-219) > ED 111 > image 5 of 10; citing NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002).

• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9MR-873M?cc=2000219&wc=QZXG-26V%3A790103001%2C794878601%2C797526901%2C797526902 : accessed 31 October 2022), Oregon > Multnomah > Portland City Election Precinct 337, Portland, Tract 36 > 37-446 Portland City, Election Precinct 337 (Tract 36 - part) > image 10 of 28; citing Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012.

• United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Multnomah, Oregon; Roll: 4772; Sheet Number: 32; Enumeration District: 26-68

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/155482625/kenneth-alvin-dellinger: accessed 31 October 2022), memorial page for Kenneth Alvin Dellinger (19 Sep 1920–26 Apr 1976), Find a Grave Memorial ID 155482625, citing Ocean View Cemetery, Warrenton, Clatsop County, Oregon, USA; Maintained by Judy Bearman (contributor 46620487) .

Acknowledgments

Thank you to April Dauenhauer for creating Dellinger-333 on 12 Oct 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by April and others.