Robert Donald Vermande

Robert Donald Vermande was born in South Bend, Indiana on 15 August 1923. He died on 18 February 2000 in South Bend. On 11 December 1953 he married Patsy Jane Coswell in South Bend.

Robert Donald was first named Robert John Jr. The family tradition is that his mother legally changed the name when Robert Jr was still a baby.

He graduated from Central High School in South Bend in 1942. He entered the Air Force and became a navigator - metereology technician on large airplanes. After the war, he remained with the Air Force Reserves until retirement age. In the meantime, he drove a tanker truck for a few years, then got a job as a draftsman - engineer at Bendix Corporation, then one of South Bend's largest employers (next to Studebaker). As Bendix cut back employment, he worked for Holiday Rambler in Nappanee, Indiana, and then the South Bend Water Works, where he was an engineer for 29 years.

Patsy Jane Coswell

"Pat" was born on 15 March 1933 in South Bend, Indiana.

For a while, she worked as a nurse, but then worked at home to care for a growing family. After her own five children were grown, she became a foster mother, and cared for more than 40 babies over the course of several years as they awaited adoption.

She died on 7 March 1994 in South Bend. The photo is of Anita, her mother.