THE FELBER FAMILY

Felber is one of those names that is synonymous with St. Louis Park prewar history.  Patriarch Jack Felber was the station agent at the Milwaukee Road Depot from 1925 to his death in 1966, and everyone knew Jack and his family.  Here is an outline of the family tree:

 

John Alfred “Jack” Felber

    • Born June 6, 1883, Faribault
    • Mother: Anna Underbiglie
    • 1885: West St. Paul
    • 1910: Telegraph Operator for Railroad, Kidder, SD. Single, boarder
    • 1918: Glenham, SD – Station Agent, CM&St. Paul Railroad
    • 1920: Olivia, Minnesota.
    • February 25, 1925: Became Station Agent, Milwaukee Road, St. Louis Park
    • 1933 – 1941: 5924 Oxford
    • 1942 – 1947: 5920 Oxford
    • 1949 – 1966: 5916 Oxford
    • 1966: Retired
    • Died April 15, 1966
    • Buried in All Saints Cemetery, Lakeville, Minnesota
Jack Felber and his clerk Edith Rue. Photo published in the Minneapolis Star on February 1, 1955

Jack’s wife Flora M. Rue Felber

  • Mother born in Norway, Father in US
  • 1942 – 1944: Seamstress, Powers Department Store
  • 1967: Listed alone at 5916 Oxford

Edith Rue

  • Florence’s sister
  • 1920: lived with Jack and Flora in Olivia, Minn. Worked as a servant for a private family
  • 1955: Clerk at Milwaukee Road Depot, St. Louis Park

 

Bruce M. Felber

  • Lived with Jack and Flora, 1960-1962
  • 1962: Warehouse worker at Gambles

 

Jack and Flora’s Children:

 

  1. Delores/Deloris Felber

 

  • Born @ 1912
  • 1935-1937: 5924 Oxford St.
  • 1938 – 1941: 5924 Oxford St – Waitress
  • Not mentioned as a survivor in Wesley’s 2000 obituary

 

  1. Wesley John Felber

 

  • Born January 27, 1915, Lakeville, Minnesota
  • 1939: 5924 Oxford
  • August 5, 1939: Married Marion in St. Louis Park
  • 1935 – 1941: Stockman, Butler Bros. a/k/a Ben Franklin   (1938: Jewelry Dept.)
  • 1942: Clerk, Butler Bros
  • 1946 – 1953: Department Manager, Butler Bros. (1951- 1952: Toy buyer)
  • 1940 – 1953: 5809 Cambridge
  • Did not serve in WWII because the Government didn’t want to take all four brothers.
  • 1954: Assistant Mdse. Manager, Butler Bros.
  • 1957: Worshipful Master, Paul Revere Lodge of St. Louis Park Masons
  • 1980: Retired from Ben Franklin after 45 years – Executive Vice President. Moved to Crosslake, Minnesota
  • Died December 28, 2000, Whispering Pines Good Samaritan Village, Pine River, Minnesota

 

 

Wesley’s wife Marion Baker Felber

  • Drug Store Clerk
  • Died before Wesley

 

 

Wesley and Marion’s Children:

 

Sandra Lee

  • Born July 22, 1945
  • Married Gary Davis
  • Lived in Grand Junction, CO, in 1980
  • Son Roger Davis
  • Son Christopher Davis
  • Grandson Harrison Davis

 

Wesley John Felber, Jr.,

  • 1980: Crosslake
  • Divorced Patricia
  • Son Wesley Felber III
  • Daughter Carrie Lee Felber, born November 11, 1972
  • Daughter Wendy Felber, born May 17, 1974
  • Granddaughter Paige Nicole Felber

 


 

  1. Theodore J. Felber

 

  • Born November 18, 1915
  • 1938: 5924 Oxford
  • 1939 – 1940: 5924 Oxford – Milwaukee Road Section worker
  • 1941: 5920 Oxford – Republic Creosoting Co.
  • 1942: wife Mildred M, 3426 Zarthan – Creosote Plant
  • Enlisted in Army September 28, 1943
  • 1944: listed as working at the Prestolite Plant in the directory; probably before he enlisted.
  • Died January 18, 1945 – Battle of the Bulge
  • 1947: Just Mildred – 3426 Zarthan
  • Interred at Fort Snelling November 22, 1947

 

 

Theodore’s wife Mildred Mary Langford

  • Born August 8, 1920, Independence, Iowa
  • 1930: 4301 Mackey Ave., St. Louis Park
  • 1940: Working as a live-in maid in Minneapolis
  • Remarried – Larkin
  • Moved to Hamel, Minnesota
  • Died February 29, 2008
  • Obituary in Wright County Journal-Press, Buffalo, Minn., March 10, 2008. (Link goes to wrong page)

 

Theodore and Mildred’s daughter Constance Lynn Felber

  • Born September 23, 1943
  • Married Jerry Henderson, April 4, 1964
  • Died December 28, 1975
  • Buried at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery, Loretto, Minn.

 

In 2015 the owners of Theodore and Mildred’s home found a cache of family photos in the walls of the house, mostly of young Connie.


 

  1. Robert Eugene Felber

 

  • Born January 4, 1917, Minneapolis
  • 1938: 5924 Oxford
  • 1939 – 1941: 5924 Oxford – Canfield Lumber Yard., St. Louis Park
  • Enlisted in the Army Air Corps on February 24,1942; noted that he had two years of college and that he was single.

felberbob

  • 1945: 5920 Oxford – A.C.C. (?)
  • 1947: 5920 Oxford – Canfield Lumber Yard
  • 1949 – 1951: 5916 Oxford – Canfield Lumber Yard
  • 1952: 5809 Goodrich
  • 1954: 5912 Oxford – Carpenter
  • 1956: 5912 Oxford – Swedlund & Hill
  • Died June 28, 1993
  • Buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Sioux Falls, SD
One of these guys is Bob Felber – maybe second from the right?

Robert’s Wife LaVerne Nelson

 

  • Born on October 25, 1919, in St. Louis Park.
  • Father was Ernest W. Nelson
  • Mother was Lillian C. Blade.
  • Died on November 27, 1999, in Sioux Falls
  • Buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Sioux Falls, SD

 


 

  1. Katherine M. Felber

 

  • Born 1918
  • 1939 – 1940: 5924 Oxford – worked for Mrs. Stuart Poor
  • 1941: 5920 Oxford
  • Died May 2, 1946
  • Buried with parents at All Saints Cemetery, Lakeville, Minnesota

 


 

  1. George T. “Butch” Felber

 

  • Born May 3, 1920
  • 1940: Dishwasher at a restaurant
  • 1941: 5916 Oxford – Prestolite
  • 1942: Wife Genevieve; 5916 Oxford – Prestolite
  • 1945: 5920 Oxford – Navy
  • 1947: 5920 Oxford – Prestolite
  • 2000: Lived in St. Louis Park
  • Died February 8, 2005
  • Buried at Ft. Snelling

 

 

George’s Wife Genevieve G. Felber

 

  • Born 1919, New Richmond, Wisconsin
  • 1940: 2407 Hennepin Ave.
  • 1944: Keypunch operator, Minneapolis

 

  1. Florence Edith Felber Beck

 

  • Born May 29, 1925
  • 1944 – 1945: 5920 Oxford – Factory worker, Bloom Bros.
  • 1945 – 1947: 5920 Oxford: Housekeeper
  • 1980: Lived in Terry, Montana
  • Died December 2, 2003

 

 

Florence’s husband Gordon Wayne Beck

 

  • Born 1923
  • He was a substitute station agent for Milwaukee Road and she met him at the Depot when he came to sub for his sick father.
  • Moved around a lot until he got a permanent station in Linton, ND.
  • That station closed in 1976 and they moved to Terry, Montana.
  • Died October 13, 1993, Miles City, Montana
  • Florence and Gordon had five children