Louise Mary Valley was born on the 10th of January in 1912 in the village of Mapleton. Mapleton is located in Grand Traverse County, Michigan on the peninsula between the two bays. Louise was born to John Peter and Milicent May “Millie” (Evans) Valley. Sadly, baby Louise learned tragedy in her short life and she learned it very early. Millie died when Louise was only 7 days old from acute peritonitis and sepsis, a complication of childbirth. It was a common complication for women in this time period. Louise had no living siblings. Millie gave birth to a daughter on 12th of May 1910, but she died hours after she was born from infant exhaustion. Essentially the infant had the inability to take in nutrients, commonly seen with premature infants. The baby girl didn’t have a name on her death certificate.
Louise was raised by her father, John, after her mother’s death and likely the women in their family. One can only imagine his sadness. John worked as a farmer to support the family. John was the son of Isadore and Mary Elizabeth (Deverney) Valley. Tragedy struck Louise’s life again when she was 5 years old. Her father was in an automobile accident and died from injuries from the accident, specifically a skull fracture. John died on the 26th of October in 1917. Louise went to then to live with her Aunt Mary (Valley) Lardie, Peter’s sister, and her family. From the stories of Mary Lardie, Louise had a happy life and was well taken care of.
Louise’s sad story continues. At only the age of 8, Louise died on the 23rd of Dec 1920 from diphtheria at the home of her cousin, Lillian (Lardie) Wood, Aunt Mary’s daughter, and her family. This must have been a truly sad time for this family indeed. Mary’s grandson, Lillian’s son, baby John George Wood died of diphtheria on the 18th of December 1920 at only 7 months old. Baby John was laid to rest on December 20th in the family plot at St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery in Mapleton. Louise was laid to rest on Christmas Day 1920 in the family plot at St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery as well. She was buried with her father, John, Grandparents, Isadore and Mary Valley, and baby cousin John Wood.
