Helen M Gaskill and George James Willy

George James Willy was born 25 Jan 1900 in Columbia, PA, the son of Anna H Greulich and George C Willy. He was described in his WWI draft registration as a machinist for Barry & Zecher Co and in the 1920 US Census as a machinist at a machine tool shop.

Some time between 1920 and 1930, George James (I'll refer to him as George from now on) moved out of the family home and possibly out of Columbia entirely. I can't find him in the 1930 US Census. Some time between October 1936 and April 1938 he married Helen M Gaskill of Chester, Delaware County, PA.

Helen was the daughter of Nellie J Crowley and Joseph P Gaskill, born 12 Feb 1902 in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. She may have been born in specifically in Brandywine Summit, as her one-year-old brother was born there. The family was living in Birmingham Township as of 1910, but by 1920 had moved to Chester, where Joseph and Nellie bought a building on the corner of Kerlin and Second Streets. It served as both the family's residence and the location of Joseph's butcher shop.

Helen started work young. By the time she was 17, she was working as a stenographer in a ship yard. The 1930 US Census described her as a typist in a court house and the 1940 US Census as a stenographer in a court house. The full truth is a little more interesting. Helen was the jury board clerk. As such, she was frequently mentioned in articles in the Chester Times and Delaware County Times. The earliest reference I could find was 15 Aug 1931. The latest reference I could find in which she's referred to as "Miss Helen Gaskill" was 28 Oct 1936. Then she reappears 18 months later on 16 Apr 1938 as "Helen M Willy." This brackets the date of her marriage to George Willy.

As of 1940 Helen and George were living with her parents and brothers in the house at Kerlin and Second. George was a machinist at what looks something like "pike mill" but is probably a pipe mill. Specifically, it was probably the South Chester Tube Company. On 18 May 1851 the Chester Times published an article about South Chester Tube honouring workers with ten years or more of service. George J Willy is listed among the workers who have 10 to 20 years of service.

Sadly, George died four years later, on 29 Jul 1955.

Helen continued to work with the jury board, except that in 1949 her job title received a small upgrade. the Chester Times published 01 Jun 1949 reported that "the board has changed the classification of Mrs. Helen M. Willy to secretary to the jury board. She was previously designated as 'clerk.'"

The latest reference I've been able to find to Helen working for the jury board (AKA the jury commission) was dated 27 Dec 1963. She would have 61 years of age at the time. She died 03 Mar 1992, having survived her parents, her sister, all three of her brothers and her husband.