Search for content in message boards

John M. Hyre Sr. - Upshur County, WV to Ohio 1923-2014

Replies: 3

John M. Hyre Sr. - Upshur County, WV to Ohio 1923-2014

Posted: 9 Mar 2014 3:16PM GMT
Classification: Query
WARREN, Ohio – On Wednesday, March 5, 2014 John M. Hyre Sr. went to be with his wife of 64 years, Elouise.

John was born in French Creek, W.Va., in 1923 to Hugh and Clara Hyre and grew up as the only boy of six siblings.

After graduating from Buckhannon Upshur County High School in 1941 at 18, he went to Alliance, Ohio to work in a war plant until he was drafted in 1942. It was on an Alliance downtown sidewalk that he met Elouise Martin.

During World War II, John was a member of the 202nd Battalion of Combat Engineers, Company C. The company was involved in all five major campaigns in the Northern Europe Theatre and supported the 1st, 2nd, Patton’s revered 3rd, 9th and 15th armies. In March of 1945, Company C built a pontoon bridge across the Rhine River roughly 1/4 of a mile long in less than nine hours, far short of the anticipated three days; it is a world record that stands to this day.

The infantry was then able to push the Germans further back into Germany and win the war within months. The bridge is pictured under “pontoon bridge” on Wikipedia.
After declining two Purple Hearts, John was honorably discharged in 1945 as a Sergeant.

After the war, John returned to Alliance to wed Elouise in 1946 and graduate from Mount Union College with an engineering degree in 1955.

John and Elouise moved to the area in 1955 when John joined the engineering department at the Warren American Welding facility, from which he retired in 1987.

He and Elouise had three children, John (Silvia), Hugh (June), and Mary (Dan Scafidi); three grandchildren, John M. Hyre III, Lisa (Hyre) Timms, and Sarah Scafidi; and five great-grandchildren, Alexandra Hyre, John M. Hyre IV, Isabella Hyre, and Grant and Annaleese Timms, whom he thoroughly enjoyed and loved with his very large heart.

John was a lifetime member of the VFW and the Battle of the Bulge Veterans Group.
In the 1960s and 1970s, he was lauded for his donations of blood to the American Red Cross and became the Drive Chairman for Trumbull County.
He was a Boy Scout troop leader, helped form the first Boy Scout troop at Fairhaven, and was a helper to Elouise in all of her volunteer endeavors.
He was also a member of the Pioneers of Upshur County, WV and Wingrove School reunion group; part of him never left West Virginia.

Know John and you know that he loved to travel with Elouise, loved the outdoors and gardening, and loved to figure out all things mechanical.
Until the very end of his life, John had a keen engineer’s mind, a wry sense of humor, and an easy and uplifting demeanor. He was gracious, kind, and had tremendous integrity.
But most of all, he had the will and the heart of a tiger.
To borrow from Winston Churchill, “he never, never, never, never gave up on anything important to him, including life.”

John was preceded in death by his wife, Elouise; parents, Hugh and Clara Hyre; sisters, Gladys, Mabel, Zola and Dorothy; and just as much loved in-laws, Imogene, Lawson (Bud), and Dorothy Pearl (Parky).

He is survived by his sister, Ernestine; children; grandchildren; great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews, both his and Elouise’s, who were as dear to him as his own; and his snowshoe Siamese, “Darn Cat.”

Calling hours will be at the Lane Family Funeral Homes, Roberts-Clark Chapel, 180 Garfield Drive N.E. in Warren, Ohio from 6 to 8:30 p.m., Friday, March 14, and 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 15.

The funeral service will begin immediately after the calling hour on Saturday and will end with a graveside military service at Howland Community Cemetery.
(Trumbull County)

Mahoning
SubjectAuthorDate Posted
Contribution 9 Mar 2014 9:16PM GMT 
ncastro12 1 May 2014 6:29PM GMT 
Contribution 1 May 2014 6:59PM GMT 
Lisa Timms 20 Mar 2015 6:43PM GMT 
per page

Find a board about a specific topic