"Ronnie" was born April 12, 1931 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan to George Ronald Ferrara II (1895-1944) and Irene Tessmer Ferrara (1908- ?). George and Irene were married on October 1, 1926. The Ferrara family is originally from Ferrara, Italy, possibly by way of Madeira, Portugal when the Roman sailors re-discovered this "Purple Island". George Ferrara I died when he was not quite 38 and his son Ronnie was nearly thirteen.

Julius Tessmer and wife, Pauline Meltzer of Germany were the parents of Martha Tessmer b. 30 Novermber 1894 (md. Alfonso Garcia); Frank Tessmer (md.Teresa Tessmer); George Tessmer b. 191 August 1898-1962 (md. Mary Tessmer); Anna Tessmer b. 10 July 1900- (md. Edward Clause); Agnes Tessmer b. 20 December 1902- (md. Walter Frost); Helen Tessmer b. 5 August 1904- (md Karl Vollmer); Julius Tessmer b. 1 April 1906- (md. Mary Tessmer;  Irene Tessmer b. 11 March 1908- (md. George Ronald Ferrara I, he had previously been married to "Gladys"); Raymond Tessmer b. 5 June 1910 (md Helen Andrus); Arthur Tessmer b. 10 January 1912.

Ronnie, age 2, c.1933
Photo from Bertha Brown Ferrara Book of Remembrance - Courtesy of Jeffrey M. Ferrara

Photo from Bertha Brown Ferrara Book of Remembrance - Courtesy of Jeffrey M. Ferrara

Ronnie's grandparent's names are not known at this time. We do know their children were: George Ronald Ferrara I, b. 23 March 1895; Antonio Ferrara;  Joseph Ferrara ; Petrina Ferrara; Charlie Ferrara.

"Ronnie" served in the U.S. Army, guided missle department. While he was stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. He became acquainted with Bertha Brown Navas, an attractive divorcee with two daughters.

On November 21,1953 Ronnie & Bertha were married in the front room of Bertha's mother's house in El Paso, Texas.

Photo courtesy of Arlene Brown Shepherd

The newlyweds packed up his car with their possessions, and little thought about her two daughters, and drove from El Paso to Detroit, Michigan to start a new life. Initially, they stayed with Ronnie's mother, Irene Tessmer Ferrara (always clad in short-shorts), and the brothers, Kenneth Dale Ferrara, and Jimmy Gregory Ferrara, in a very small apartment. The daily fare was grilled boloney sandwiches for lunch and German Goolosh for dinner. It was different than what the girls were used to and quite tasty.

Ana Lucia, James Gregory Ferrara, Arlene Angela, George Ferrara III, Irene Tessmer Ferrara (widow), Kenneth Dale Ferrara
In August 1955 at Herman Gardens, Detroit, Michigan
Photo courtesy of Arlene Brown Shepherd

A place of their own was rented in the same complex, Herman Gardens, and the foursome moved there. Herman Gardens was a housing project first built in the year of 1943, Herman Gardens, known as "the Gardens", had 2,144 units of mostly two-story multi-family buildings. The 129-unit Gardenview Senior building was on the Herman Gardens site. “The Gardens” was located on the west side of Detroit, south of Joy Road and east of Southfield Freeway.”

50 year old Herman Gardens around 1993

The Herman Gardens was home to a few notable individuals. Automobile giant John De Lorean, and TV judge Greg Mathis both called Herman Gardens home. Many problems occurred in the buildings when the drug organization known as "The Young Boys Inc" (YBI) began a failed attempt to take over the drug trade of "The Gardens".

Bertha found a job, the girls were instructed on how to walk to school, and how to lock themselves in the apartment when they were home alone, which was most of the time. Retired schoolteacher, Mrs. McRae and her parakeet "Peetie" were kind neighbors here.

Ronnie was stationed in local and distant locations and was home rarely. Sometimes he was stationed at the guided missile range at Selfridge Air Force/Army base in Harrison Township. (Selfridge Air Natonal Guard Base is the only base in the U.S. that serves as a permanent post for all 5 branches of the military). Selfridge ANGB is east of Interstate 94 and south of Jefferson Ave., west of Anchor Bay on Lake St. Clair; located 30 miles north of Detroit where we lived, beginning around 1957 Ronnie would live on base and rarely come home to visit his family.

Bertha became pregnant in1954, then had her first son born on May 19, 1955. After six months or so Bertha allowed her eldest daughter, now eight years old, to take over the duties of sterilizing bottles, making formula, rinsing out diapers, washing laundry, changing diapers, and feeding this new infant. The Asian next door neighbor, Sandy Sakoro's mother, watched him while his sister was at school and Bertha was at work.

Photo courtesy of Arlene Brown Shepherd

Back row: Karl Vollmer
Front row: George "Booty" Ferrara III, Helen Tessmer Vollmer holding David Ferrara,
Jeffrey "Bubbles" Ferrara, Agnes Tessmer Frost, in September 1962
Photo courtesy of Arlene Brown Shepherd

Bertha's labors had been saved for a down payment and the family moved to Dearborn Township into a three bedroom house with a full basement, on the corner of Amboy Road and Midway.

5946 Amboy Road, Dearborn Heights, Wayne, Michigan

On January 4, 1958, Bertha had a second son. This became her preoccupation for a time. However, Ronnie's absences were becoming longer. The family saw him for brief periods annually.

Camp Dearborn - photo on right - Ronnie, girl, Kenny, Arlene, Irene, Georgie (3 mo. old)
Photo from Bertha Brown Ferrara Book of Remembrance - Courtesy of Jeffrey Michael Ferrara

Karl Vollmer holding Georgie, Martha Tessmer Garcia (facing camera-b.1894), Irene Tessmer Ferrara(b.1908), Alfonso Garcia (at head of table), Bertha (wearing glasses), girl, Jimmy Ferrara (b.1942), Helen Tessmer Vollmer (b.1904)

Arlene Brown, Martha Tessmer Garcia, Jimmy Ferrara, Agnes Tessmer Frost (b.1902), seated - Al Garcia, Irene Tessmer Ferrara, Bertha holding Georgie, Kenneth Ferrara (b.1939), Helen Tessmer Vollmer, Karl Vollmer at Garcia home in Michigan, 1957. Dinner included spiced red apples, kielbasa, Vernor's ginger ale,( in Ginger Cows),

This art print was nicely framed, and a source of great pride, in Helen's entry hallway. I remember she commented on it a number of times while we were in her house.

"Ronnie" with Jeffrey at his shoulder and David on his knee.
Photo courtesy of Arlene Brown Shepherd

Ronnie holding a cigaretteRonnie looking at a picture of Georgie
Photos from Bertha Brown Ferrara Book of Remembrance - Courtesy of Jeffrey M. Ferrara

On one of his visits Ronnie drove home in a baby blue Cadillac convertible and had acquired contact lenses. To compete, Bertha bleached her hair blonde and got quite a reaction from Ronnie. He dragged her around showing the neighbors what she had done. He was so pleased with her new looks that the spark rekindled their relationship. On June 13, 1962 she had her third son.

When Bertha would have long hospital stays (measles, mumps, pneumonia, etc.) the members of the Church would take the children. Ed and Lillian Schwab, who had eight children of their own, took them in for over two weeks at a time. Cyrus Webber and his young second wife Claudia, took the two girls at another time. It was a wonderful experience for them to live in a lovely home with kind people, however this served to demonstrate the wide disparity between normal families and their own situation.

A few years later Ronnie took an assignment overseas to Germany for something over a year. He chose not to take his family and this set Bertha into a downward emotional spiral. She seldom left her bed and the Ferrara-Tessmer family squabbles intensified. Her health continued to deteriorate. While in the hospital to have a large lump removed from her hip (a syringe needle that had broken in her hip when she was receiving her immunizations for her mission had developed layers of scar tissue) she developed the mumps and then pneumonia. Illnesses that never quite healed and contributed to shortening her life.

When 35 year-old Ronnie returned from Wurzburg, Germany to Michigan he had in tow a pregnant girl that he met while she was an army office assistant, Rosemarie B. Pendl (born around 1944). He stowed her at his Uncle Tony [Antonio and Eleanor] Ferrara's house while he prepared to divorce Bertha. The divorce papers and property settlement were signed July 29, 1966. Ronnie was stationed at Edgewood Arsenal, Harford County, Maryland during this time.

The divorce was finalized November 4, 1966 and Ronnie married Rosemarie on the same day at Romeo, Macomb, Michigan. Their first child Regine Ingrid Ferrara was born February 1967.

Bertha sold her house and moved back to El Paso and family in early 1967. The emotional and physical scars of the Ferrara-Tessmer-Vollmer family, and the Michigan winters were evident and severe.

Ronnie eventually moved to Washington state. Another child, Peter Mark Ferrara, was born in 1969. Ronnie taught at Washington State University in the Engineering Department until his retirement.

After the divorce Ronnie did not visit, call, or make contact with his three sons. They suffered enormously from his abandonment and his emotional distance. When they moved to El Paso he did not send any support. Bertha died in December 1979, at the age of 57, from pulmonary disease, as a result of the mumps and pneumonia from which she suffered in Michigan.

One of Bertha and Ronnie's sons served a mission around 1977 for a year and a half, in the Washington-Seattle Mission. He made contact with Ronnie and his family in a vain attempt to develop a close relationship with his father. Ronnie has visited his first three sons maybe two or three times in the ensuing 30+ years.

Children of Bertha Brown and George Ronald Ferrara II

1 George Ronald Ferrara III Born: May 19, 1955 at Detroit, Wayne, Michigan Married: Karen Birdsong 1985 (div) Died:

2 Jeffrey Michael Ferrara Born: January 4, 1958 at Dearborn Township, Wayne County, Michigan, Married: Died:

3 David Lawrence Ferrara Born: June 13, 1961 at Dearborn Heights, Wayne County, Michigan Married: Stephanie Alice DeBoca 1989 (div) Died:

Seal of the Guild of St George, Ferrara.
Italian gilt-bronze, 13th Century, in an exhibition in the British Museum. 

May 29, 1971 Reception in Agoura, California
George (16), Jeffrey (13), David (10)

Sources:

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