Ross
Minerd
(1902-1956)
Ross
Minerd
was born in 1902 in Smithfield, Fayette County, PA, the
son of Charles B. and Ada (Tressler) Minerd.
At age 22, Ross married 17-year-old Ida Mae Keefer (1907-1996), the daughter of Charles and Josephine (Hagan) Keefer. They are seen here, with Ida holding a baby in the shadows.
Ross and Ida Mae had 14 children. Their five sons were David Ray Minerd, John Frank Minerd, Charles D. Minerd, Paul Edward Minerd and Melvin Marshal Minerd. Their nine daughters were Rosalie Shields, Ruth Lesavage, Melda Metts, Frances Lilley, Karen O'Neil, Ella Mae Minerd, Martha Shipley, Beverly Yauger and Gracie Bryner. Sadly, Ella Mae died as an infant.
Ross was a laborer and driver in local coal mines, and a member of the United Mine Workers of America, Local 6303, Bessemer, PA. Ida belonged to the United Christian Temple.
During their early married life, the Minerds lived in Masontown, Fayette County. Later, they moved to Revere, a coal mine "patch town," where they resided in House #18. Circa 1941-1942, the family made their home along Grays Landing Road near Grays Landing, Fayette County, south of Masontown.
Seen
here, Ross poses with his sister, Lizzie
(Minerd) Rankin-Rice.
During his years of work in the coal mines, Ross often received small and large injuries, including to his head. In 1942, when laboring with his son David at the Provens Mine east of Grays Landing, he was caught in a fall of slate that caused significant brain damage. The injury was not fully diagnosed at the time, but he eventually spent more than a decade receiving medical care in a hospital. During this time, Ida's mother helped raise a few of the children to take on some of the heavy burden.
Ross eventually was released from the hospital, but adding to the tragedy, he suffered a stroke soonafter. He died at age 54 just three days after Christmas in 1956. He was buried in Fairview Cemetery.
After Ross died, Ida married her widowed brother in law, John Rice and lived in Masontown.
John passed away on June 25, 1992.
Ida died on Jan. 12, 1996 at Uniontown. She was survived by 37 grandchildren, 48 great-grandchildren and nine great-great grandchildren.
2002 reunion of Ross and Ida's family -- left to right: Melda
Metts, Chuck Minerd, Ruth Lesavage, John Minerd and
Paul Minerd. Click here for more views of the
reunion.
Son
David Ray Minerd (1925-1999) is seen in the photo at left, posing with his cousin William
Minerd (at right). David was married to Helen Phillips (?) and had two children.
David lived in Mentor, lake County, OH. He died at Lake County Memorial
Hospital-West in Willoughby, OH, on Feb. 4, 1999. David's son Andrew A. Minerd
(1947-2000) lived in Elyria, Lorain County, OH, and passed away at the age of 52
on Feb. 27, 2000.
For
more information, contact son Chuck Minerd,
who served in the US Navy during the Korean War. Today, he is vice president and general manager of Quintron
Telephone Systems in San Diego, CA. Seen at right, Chuck poses with a
display of Minerd.com pages he made for his immediate family's reunion at
Flatwoods, Fayette County, PA in August 2002. The family also had a reunion at
Flatwoods in 2007.
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Chuck's son Chuck is a golf pro and PGA Class "A" member and former instructor at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, site of the annual Buick Invitational which has been won by Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods in recent years. In 2007, playing in the Southern California Section of the Professional Golf Association, Chuck qualified for the 2008 Professional National Championship to be played in Georgia.
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Chuck's son Rick is married to Lisa Minerd, who is a founder of Minerva Associates of Del Mar, CA. Her company provides automated warehouse management software solutions for Fortune 500 distribution, production and manufacturing operations.
Grandson Ross Metts is a longtime educator in Maryland. He formerly taught technology at Westmar High School and was an AutoCad instructor at Allegany College of Maryland, in addition to training other teachers for the Maryland State Board of Education. He currently works in Frederick County, MD.
Great-grandson Curt Minerd maintains a blog at his website, CurtMinerd.com.
Copyright © 2000, 2002-2008 Mark A. Miner