Charles Rosenquist

(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society.

Here is Charles Rosenquist, father of Ruby Tonagel, riding shotgun in the Tonagels' delivery truck. We don't have a date on this photograph.

Charles died October 19, 1953, at the age of 81. His obituary gave a brief sketch of his life:

Rosenquist was born in Sweden, March 13, 1872, and came to the United States when he was 16. He was a farmer in the vicinity of Chesterton until 1938, when he retired and went to live with his daughter, Mrs. Ruby Tonagel, in Ainsworth. Rosenquist's wife preceded him in death several years ago.

Besides Mrs. Tonagel, he is survived by two other daughters, Mrs. Ester Fridh, South Bend, and Mrs. Hazel Young, Chesterton. Also surviving are a sister, Glenda Peterson, Chicago, and six grandchildren.*

Charles is buried in Chesterton Cemetery … as is his wife, I'm told, but unfortunately whoever added his record to findagrave.com did not include hers.

There was a Charles H. Rosenquist in Porter County, born ten years earlier than our Charles M., and we must not allow him to confuse us.**

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Eldon Harms, looking at this photo, remembered the delivery truck as being blue. He also said that the telephone number on the side ending in "3" may mean it was a party line, and a call to the Tonagels would ring thrice.

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*"Former Chesterton Area Farmer Dies in S.B. Hospital." Vidette-Messenger (Valparaiso, Ind.) 20 Oct. 1953.
**Any more than we are already, I mean.