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Arthur Clarence Koenig

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Birth	:	7 May 1901 Wapakoneta, Auglaize County, Ohio, USA
Death	:	7 Jun 1978 Cuyahoga Falls, Summit County, Ohio, USA
Burial	:	Elm Grove Cemetery, Saint Marys, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate	:	40.5327988, -84.3953018
Plot	:	Section O
Description	:	Arthur Clarence Koenig was born in a Shawnee cabin that was on the property of his Craft grandfather, about 8 1/2 months after his mother, Lucy, and his father, Frank, married. He was to be named Clarence Arthur, but the minister wrote his name wrong on the birth certificate! Art Koenig's parents both died when he was quite young--his mother when he was a year-and-a-half, his father when he was four, both of TB. He went to live with his Grandpa Koenig and Grandpa Koenig's third wife, Henrietta Elise Finke Hartman (nee Behm; Memorial ID 74211636), whom Art... Read More	Arthur Clarence Koenig was born in a Shawnee cabin that was on the property of his Craft grandfather, about 8 1/2 months after his mother, Lucy, and his father, Frank, married. He was to be named Clarence Arthur, but the minister wrote his name wrong on the birth certificate! Art Koenig's parents both died when he was quite young--his mother when he was a year-and-a-half, his father when he was four, both of TB. He went to live with his Grandpa Koenig and Grandpa Koenig's third wife, Henrietta Elise Finke Hartman (nee Behm; Memorial ID 74211636), whom Art loved very much. Grandpa Koenig was a kind man. Henrietta had been married to a "very mean" Finke, and adored George Koenig, who treated her with kindness and respect. Henrietta died when Arthur was 12, and he went into a tailspin, hanging out with a crowd of "toughs" until a Dutchman named Henry Helm took him under his wing and taught him woodworking. After his step-grandmother died, he decided to live with the Finkes, who ran Elm Grove Cemetery (John Finke, Memorial ID 19186526). John Finke was Henrietta's son. The Crafts had offered to take Arthur in, as did other Koenigs, but he felt they were "too social" and preferred to live with the Finkes. I think it's also clear that he had a very close relationship with them through his step-grandmother. Clara Finke (Memorial ID 19186529), one of the Finke daughters, loved to take care of Arthur. She was about 9 years older than Art. He would tell the story of how when he was four, she would take him around in a baby carriage and when there was dirt on his face she would spit into her handkerchief and wipe it off, which disgusted him. Arthur loved Clara, and he always stayed in touch with her and the other Finkes. They essentially became his family. The one condition of his living with them was that after he became an adult, he would pay back all the expenses of raising him, which he did. Art worked at various jobs after his graduation from high school, including on a boat that went to Canada. He worked in Columbus, Ohio while he was courting Elizabeth Hoelscher, who eventually became his wife. Originally, he had dated Elizabeth's sister, Mary, who was his age. At some point, Elizabeth later told her daughter, she and Arthur realized they could no longer live apart and got married. Elizabeth's father blessed the marriage, but he had told her earlier to not marry Art because the Crafts had bad genes---so many of them died of TB, not just Art's parents. Art and Elizabeth moved to Detroit, where he worked at the Studebaker factory. He heard that Ford paid better, so one day he called in sick to Studebaker and got a job at the Ford plant. The factory line was mind-numbing, and the next day he was back at Studebaker. He eventually attended Ohio State University and got a degree in mechanical engineering, working at several jobs until he became an engineer at Firestone. He quickly moved up the ladder and became the chief engineer at Firestone Plantations in Liberia, designing bridges and various other things, and spending a lot of time in Liberia, where Elizabeth sometimes joined him. He also designed machines for Firestone, for which Firestone holds the patent. He had many interests, and his daughter, Ellen, adored him. A man of his times, he refused to teach her how to do woodworking because she was a girl. She taught herself when she became an adult. He and his wife were deeply in love their entire lives. In addition to Ellen, they had a son, Donald Frederick, who became a biophysicist, was fluent in seven different languages, was one of five people in the world who could solve a particular mathematical equation, and was working on quantum computing in the 20th century. Near the end of his career at Firestone, Art began to get Alzheimer's and dementia and terrible cataracts that severely affected his vision. His granddaughters never got to see the man their parents had grown up with. He eventually had to go to a care home. His secretaries loved him because he never made passes at them, which was unusual in those times. Every one of them who was living after he died attended his funeral. The maxims his daughter remembers were to "never toot your own horn," and to never ask a person about their religion or discuss politics. He felt these were highly individual matters and that you could never know another person's truth. Among his hobbies over the years were attending aerial shows, gardening (he was a specialist in rhododendrons), and later, after his daughter married a geologist, learning about and collecting rocks, minerals, and fossils. He was a woodworker and refinished furniture for most of his adult life. In his retirement years, he and Elizabeth traveled a bit in Europse, in part to visit their son, Donald, who was working in Sweden.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Arthur Clarence Koenig's memorial?
Arthur Clarence Koenig's memorial is located at: Elm Grove Cemetery, Saint Marys, Auglaize County, USA.
When did Arthur Clarence Koenig death?
Arthur Clarence Koenig death on 7 Jun 1978 in Cuyahoga Falls, Summit County, Ohio, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Arthur Clarence Koenig's memorial?
Latitude: 40.5327988
Longitude: -84.3953018

Family Members:

Parent

Frank Koenig

(1879 - 1904)

Lucy C. Craft Koenig

(1881 - 1902)

Spouse

Elizabeth Hoelscher Koenig

(1899 - 1990)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Elm Grove Cemetery
Saint Marys, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5327988, -84.3953018

2. Gethsemane Catholic Cemetery
Saint Marys, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5341988, -84.3946991

3. Lutheran Cemetery
Saint Marys, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5388985, -84.3852997

4. Murray Cemetery
Saint Marys, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5370100, -84.3817700

5. Benner Cemetery
Saint Marys, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5508003, -84.3964005

6. Old Catholic Cemetery
Saint Marys, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5443993, -84.3768997

7. Koop Cemetery
Saint Marys, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5111237, -84.3860703

8. Hudson Cemetery
Saint Marys, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5158710, -84.3326850

9. Resthaven Memorial Gardens
Saint Marys, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5521960, -84.3273470

10. Pilger Ruhe Cemetery
New Knoxville, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4888992, -84.3347015

11. Methodist Cemetery
New Knoxville, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4941559, -84.3182678

12. German Reformed Cemetery
New Knoxville, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4925880, -84.3186111

13. Arnett Cemetery
Moulton, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5325012, -84.2975006

14. Protestant Evangelical Cemetery
New Knoxville, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4878006, -84.3163986

15. Willow Grove Cemetery
New Bremen, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4606018, -84.3630981

16. Saint Thomas Cemetery
Glynwood, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5828018, -84.3181000

17. Fountain of Living Waters Memorial Garden
New Knoxville, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4742540, -84.3270550

18. German Protestant Cemetery
New Bremen, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4533005, -84.3735962

19. Botkins Cemetery
Montezuma, Mercer County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4780998, -84.4796982

20. Oldtown Cemetery
Celina, Mercer County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5489006, -84.5156021

21. Saint Paul Churchyard
New Bremen, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4387170, -84.3857190

22. Plank Road Cemetery
New Bremen, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4364014, -84.3925018

23. Neptune Cemetery
Neptune, Mercer County, USA
Coordinate: 40.6011009, -84.4850006

24. Zion Cemetery
Moulton, Auglaize County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5571650, -84.2697550