Gifford Benjamin Fowle

Gifford Benjamin Fowle, son of Alice Bretelle Johnson and Gifford Mecklenberg Fowle, was born 8 November 1907 in Redlands, San Bernardino County, CA. His parents had only recently come to Redlands from Merced, the move dictated by Gifford Sr.’s job with Southern Pacific Railroad. (The photo of Gifford at left is one of those, “Oh, my gosh, he looks just like...” sort of images. At certain points in his life, Gifford strongly resembled his mother’s brother Clarence Johnson.)

The family did not linger in Redlands long. As confirmed by the U.S. Census, Gifford and his parents were living in Oakland, CA in 1910. They remained for several years, during which time Gifford’s younger siblings Esta Jane and Voyle Johnson Fowle were born. From about 1914 to 1920, they lived in Lompoc and in Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County, where Gifford Sr. was a produce broker. After Gifford Sr. took night-school classes in order to finish high school, he obtained a better job as an accountant with Southern Pacific, and this brought the family back to the East Bay, at first to Berkeley. Gifford -- both father and son -- would from then on always reside somewhere in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

The younger Gifford’s working life began with a series of common-labor jobs and various types of temporary employment -- the 1930 census for Berkeley shows his occupation as a baggage hand for the railroad. At this point, unmarried and only twenty-two years old, he was still living with his parents, as were his siblings. His circumstances soon changed. Gifford wed Evelyn Marie Tanner 16 December 1931 in Oakland, Pastor R.C. King presiding.

Evelyn was a daughter of Andrew Emil Tanner and Ida Marie Heliander. Both her parents were immigrants from Finland, her father having arrived in 1892 at the age of seven. His name had originally been Anders Emil Itanne, and was Americanized to Tanner. (He went by Emil.) Ida had come to the country in her mid-teens, arriving in 1900. Evelyn had one brother, Milton, slightly older than she. Evelyn had been born 30 July 1908 in Berkeley, Contra Costa County, CA, and had spent most of her childhood in Oakland. The family had lived long-term at 5271 Boyd Avenue while Emil worked for decades as a street car conductor. This became Gifford and Evelyn’s home upon their marriage, as Emil and Ida acquired new accommodations in San Francisco.

Gifford and Evelyn waited to have children, perhaps being cautious about taking on the financial burden while the Great Depression was still raging. Gifford’s siblings both did the same -- none of the three produced offspring until the early 1940s despite having been married for quite a number of years. Evelyn was a typist and stenographer while Gifford settled into carpentry as a trade. This in turn led to his becoming a general contractor, both as an independent entity, and as part of Robert L. Wilson Construction. While with the latter company, his major projects included the building of the cyclotron at Lawrence Labs in Berkeley. He became particularly adept at electrical work, a skill set he passed along to his brother Voyle’s eldest son.

With the economy improving and Gifford’s job prospects becoming secure, Gifford and Evelyn became the parents of a daughter. This was to be their only child.

For the majority of Gifford and Evelyn’s married life, they continued to be residents of Oakland. Upon reaching retirement age, they agreed to trade houses with their daughter, who wanted to live in the East Bay again and loved the idea of owning the house she had grown up in. This brought the elderly couple to Vacaville, Solano County, CA, where Gifford died 13 June 1988. Evelyn died 1 May 2002 in Placerville, El Dorado County, CA, having spent her final years living with her daughter, who had moved to the foothills.

Child of Gifford Benjamin Fowle and Evelyn Marie Tanner

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