Thomas Booth Rawson was born on February 28, 1921 in Palo, Iowa. He is the brother-in-law of Walt’s aunt Doris Harden Hoel.
Thomas Rawson was born to Cortland ans Abbie Booth Rawson in Palo, Iowa. He was the youngest of nine children born to the couple. The family had a farm near Palo. The 1940 census has him still living with his parents and one brother. It lists him as a “new worker,” having held a job for only 8 weeks at the time of the census.
World War II
Thomas registered for the draft on February 16, 1942. He enlisted in the Army on August 29, 1942. I found a file on his service that provided more details about his service.
This shows that Thomas was inducted in to the army at Camp Dodge, in Johnston, Iowa. Camp Dodge has a long history with the military and National Guard. You can read more about it here. Thomas was sent overseas to Europe on August 21, 1943 and returned to the States on October 21, a945. He was discharged on October 29, 1945.
The 1950 census finds Thomas in Clinton, Iowa. He is living with his brother Donald and his widowed sister Lila McCune and her children. He is working as a machinist.
On December 16, 1951, Thomas Rawson married Shirley Harden. I found a news clipping where Shirley’s mother was announcing the marriage. The marriage took place at the Methodist Church in Oxford Junction, Iowa.
They moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa shortly after the wedding. Thomas and Shirley had one child who was stillborn in 1953. A 1958 city directory had him working at Link-Belt Speeder in Palo. You can read more about that company here.
Thomas Rawson died on January 30, 1989 in Cedar Rapids. He is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in Palo, Iowa.
I wrote about Shirley’s sister Doris and her husband Clarence Hoel in this post. I wrote about her brother Kenneth in this post.
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