Mathilda Rose Link, best known as Tillie, was born on July 28, 1915. She is the daughter of John H and Josephine Schulte Link. She was Walt’s 1st cousin once removed.
Tillie Link was born on her parents farm near West Point, Iowa. Tillie had one sister, Valeria, and one brother, John Jr. You can read a bit more about John in this post.
She lived there until her marriage to Martin Brockway on June 29, 1939. They married in West Burlington, Iowa. I found their marriage certificate. Georgina was her maid of honor.
Martin was a painter when they were married. He served in the Seabees during World War II. (See more about them in this post.) Later, he ran several businesses doing construction, specializing in heating, ventilation and cooling.
Tillie and Martin had 4 children and numerous grandchildren. Martin died on June 26, 1996. Tillie died less than a year after her husband on April 20, 1997.
Walt
Mom and Tillie were pretty close. I remember visiting Martin and Matilda many times, attending their kids’ weddings, and so forth. Really nice folks. I recall that Martin was really into duck hunting, and did a lot of conservation work with Ducks Unlimited.