By Deborah Larsen
John Claud Kemler
John Claud Kemler was born in Rochester, Michigan, on October 13, 1912, the son of John and Mary McKenzie Kemler. He attended Rochester High School and graduated in the class of 1931. After high school, John worked in the family gravel business.
In December 1941, John married Mary Elizabeth Haddrill. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 1942 and was assigned to the Corps of Engineers. He served in Alaska and the Philippines, then after the Japanese surrender, he was stationed in Nagasaki. There, the Corps of Engineers participated in the postwar reconstruction and building of facilities for occupation forces.
John received a furlough from his work at the Nagasaki base in January 1946. After his transport ship docked in Seattle, he was granted nine days’ leave, and he rushed home to his wife’s side just in time to greet his first child, a newborn son. He was released from military service soon after.
After the war, John worked as a partner in his family business, Kemler Brothers, for over 40 years.
John Claud Kemler died at the age of 97 on December 7, 2009, and was laid to rest in Mount Avon Cemetery.