The Basics

William Roy Strutts

The Family

I am the son of Milton George Strutts and Gladys Irene McBean. My parents were married on New Years Eve in 1941 just after the start of World War II. My father was an autoworker at a GM assembly plant in Flint, Michigan called "Chevy in the Hole." My father was in the Sit Down Strike of 1937 which was the pivotal event in the formation of the United Auto Workers Union.  My mother was just 15 when they were married.  A couple months after they were married he was drafted into the Army Air Corps and transferred to California.  My mother followed my father to California.  In 1943, my mother pregnant with my brother went back to Michigan.  Not long after, my fathers tour of duty ended and he returned  home.  They then proceeded to have three daughters in 1945, 1946 and 1949.  On the day my brother was preparing to go to college, they had me on Labor Day weekend in 1962.  My doctor was out of town that weekend taking his kid to college too.  I was a mistake or as my mom calls me "an infection."  Thanks Mom!  But I will always be her "baby". Sigh.

My older siblings being Baby Boomers then proceeded to graduate High School and start their own lives.  This left me at home with my parents.  I might as well have been an only child since that is how I always picture my family.  It was always just me and my parents.  My siblings only came home occasionally to chat with the parents and let grandma and grandpa dote on their kids.  I grew up with my siblings kids.  I was an uncle long before I ever set foot in the school house.  The great thing about being the only child is that you don't have to share your toys or fight for the bathroom.  My siblings always tell me tales of fighting for resources.  They used to have to share their bedroom.  I can't imagine three girls in a single bedroom in our tiny little home.  My father retired in 1965 and so I never knew my dad having to go to work.  Due to his advanced age, my peers always asked if my dad was my grandpa. I never knew my paternal grandparents and I only met my maternal grandmother.  However, she passed away when I was quite young so I don't remember much about her. The only vivid memory I have is staring at her knick-knacks in her curio cabinet which now resides at my Aunts house.

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