Herman Wellman was born on December 8, 1914 to Gerhard and Mary Reuter Wellman in West Point, Iowa. Herman is Walt’s 2nd cousin twice removed.

There are a number of Herman Wellmans in Walt’s family tree. This cousin is the grandson of the first Herman Wellman to come to this country. Grandpa Herman is the eldest brother of Gerhard Wellman, Walt’s great grandfather. I wrote about Henry Wellman, this Herman’s uncle here.

This Herman Wellman was the oldest of 7 children born to Gerhard and Mary Wellman. One child died at birth. Gerhard, like many of his family, farmed near West Point, Iowa.

By 1940, Herman had moved to Iowa City, Iowa and we working as a chef at the Jefferson Hotel. The Jefferson Hotel had been built in 1913 and was considered very modern for the time. You can read some more about it here and here.

Herman met his future wife, Marjorie Ann Huffman in Iowa City. They were married there on June 21, 1941 at St. Patrick’s Church.

I also found Herman’s World War II draft card.

By 1950, Herman and Marjorie were living in Burlington, Iowa, running the Big Dipper Ice Cream Shop. They operated it for 19 years. He also worked for General Electric in the Fabricating shop.

Herman and Marjorie had 6 children and many grand and great-grand children. One of their son-in-laws, Fred Wilson, has done a painting of the Big Dipper. You can see more about that here.

Herman died November 12, 2012 in Burlington, Iowa.