Mary Florence Diehl

Mary Florence Foster was born in Alpena, West Virginia in Tucker County on September 2, 1915 to parents Benjamin Franklin and Anna E. Foster. She was one of 10 children born to the couple, with 6 sisters and 3 brothers. Her older sister Rebecca, who was 9 years old at the time, took care of her and her mother through the pregnancy and Mary’s childhood. Her older sisters Bessie and Fannie both passed in infancy so Mary was raised as one of 8, being the second to the youngest, only older than her sister Elsie, who was the baby of the family.

Mary lived with her parents and 3 sisters in a two story farm house which set on a hill with a small river below. This particular river ran into a building holding a dam and a flood gate. It was her father’s job to run the gate to operate the mill. The mill was called Grist Mill and it ground grain that the farmers brought in from the local fields.

A short walk from her home, the river provided cool clear water that her sisters and mother gathered for the family. The water ran through a building where her mother kept the milk and butter they got from the cows they raised. They called it the Spring House and it also served as storage for dried goods in the summer.

There was a Christian Church very close by, and a state road that ran through the town. Perhaps it was Rt. 72?, but over the years the memory has faded. There was also a one room school house that combined kindergarten through 8th grade and had one teacher. This is where Mary started school at age 5 or 6. The teacher would call each grade to the front of the class to give them their work as the other students sat quietly working on their own studies. The classes then were basic math, writing and reading.

When Mary was 10 years old, her father died. Two of her older brothers, Early and John, were already off and married with their own families. The third brother, Archie, had died of scarlet fever when he was 14. Her mother tried to continue her father’s job at the mill but it was too heavy and hard for her, so she left the mill. With just her mother and the 4 girls, it was a tough struggle for a few years until her mother remarried. The man was a foreman on the railroad, and had 3 girls from his previous marriage, where his own wife had passed away.

Mary learned a lot about “putting up” food and preserving vegetables for winter during those years, wrapping tomatoes in paper and storing them in barrels, they kept them in a cool dark place while they were still green. Rebecca was always there, helping take care of her and her sisters, and making sure she got to school and such.

After the girls grew up, their stepfather wanted to move their mother off to his late wife’s property. Her mother was not thrilled with that idea and the two parted ways soon after. Although they were close as children, she and her stepsisters didn’t stay in close touch.

At the age of 16 Mary was dating a nice man, who introduced her to his brother when he was home from the service on leave. That proved to be a big mistake for him, as Mary and Perry fell in love, and the brother was out of the picture quickly! At age 17 she married (Mason Harold) “Perry” Conneway, and at 19, she had their only son, Jack Conneway in 1935. Perry was in the service and eventually “bought himself out” of his contract and the couple spent a wonderful 1.5 years together in Flushing Long Island, New York until Perry was killed in 1938, in an accident while working on the LaGuardia Airport in New York.

Understandably heartbroken, she moved to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio with Perry’s family (Aunt Myrtle). She lived on the 50.00 a month settlement from the construction company and by doing odd jobs until the war started. At that time she worked at Goodrich from 6 am until noon each day. Jack would wake up and go to his Aunt’s house, where she got him ready for school and Mary was home each day to greet him when he returned.

During the war they were given ration cards for food and basic needs. Whenever Mary saw a line she would run to see what was available. If it wasn’t something she needed, then she would trade things with family and neighbors. To this day she still has Jack’s ration cards. She and Jack had a “Victory Garden” where they grew whatever food they could, and used it, or traded with others. “We helped one another during that time.” “Things were very hard but people came together to help each other.”

She did not want to stay in Ohio, and decided to go south to be closer to her sister Rebecca, who lived in Miami, Florida. Although her Ohio family begged her to stay, she made her reservation on the Orange Blossom Express and she packed her and Jack’s clothes and boarded the train. To her surprise it was filled with soldiers, and she and Jack spent the night cramped and cold on a hard seat while riding down to Jacksonville. After the first night a nice soldier offered her a better seat in a warmer cab and she gratefully moved. The conductor came to her in Jacksonville and asked her where she was heading.

When she told him Miami he explained that the train she was on was going to a military base and she better switch trains quick! Off she went to get on the right train and head to Rebecca’s in Miami.

After her long train trip, she was very surprised that Miami, which she previously thought of as a big city, was actually just a little clunky town at that point. When she got to her sister’s home, she saw a soldier coming home next door and Rebecca pointed him out, explaining that she “saved him for Mary”. That is when she met John Ownby (Pop). Her luggage was stuck at the train station due to her switching in Jacksonville and when he found that out, he drove her down there as his luggage was also stuck so the two could meet and visit.

On their first date, he told her he was going to marry her. She thought he was nuts! Pop was 18 years older than Mary, but they fell in love and married. They had a “Mom and Pop” general store in Miami for quite some time. Jack met and married his wife and blessed them with 2 beautiful grandsons over the next 5 years. During the time between pregnancies, Mary and Pop moved to Inverness where they lived on a beautiful piece of land with large magnolia trees. The trees were full of moss and also full of red bugs or chiggers, which seemed to love Mary’s skin every time she stepped foot outside. She could only tolerate that a couple years before Pop got her out of there, and back to Miami.

She had her one son Jack, his two sons, Jack Jr and Tim, and one great grandson, Jared. Pop had his son, Tommy, who, with his wife Zalene had two granddaughters, Sue and Sandy. The couple loved and cared for the four grandchildren as the kids grew up.

They lived happily in Miami while Mary worked in a boutique and Pop puttered in the garage with his cars, often with grandson Tim under his wing teaching him everything he could. They were married 35 years, 1 month and 11 days when cancer took his life.

She and Pop had moved to Bonita Springs in the early 80’s before he passed. There they had a nice home, and helped raise their grandchildren Jack Jr and Tim. When Pop passed away she was alone for a time before meeting and marrying Luther Diehl who also died of cancer after 6.5 years. She then moved to Jamaica Bay for several years, and then to assisted living where she lived out her days. She has always been known as “Granny” to those who love her.