2.12.9.5. Harold Muir (1917-2003)

Harold Muir was born on 28 March 1917 in Michigan, likely on his parent's farm in Dearborn, to Peter Semple Muir and Mayme Zebio. He was their fifth child but counting Harold only three were living. He was their first child to be born in Michigan after his father left the coal mines and began working in the automobile industry. He was not quite five years old when his sister, Pearl died of diphtheria.

The family moved to Palmyra in Lenawee County by 1930. Harold Muir graduated from Madison High School in Adrian, Michigan, in 1935. In 1940 he lived with his parents in Detroit and worked as a machine hand in an automobile factory. In 1941 he was a sophomore at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan, attending at night.

High school senior class photograph of Harold Muir;
Madison High School 1935 Senior Sickle

But the Army called on most young men Harold's age and his call came on 15 August 1942, though his Department of Veterans Affairs file gave his enlistment date as 4 June 1943. I tend to believe the Army file because it indicated he was a draftsman with two years of college, which seems more accurate to me. Harold was discharged on 25 January 1946 and returned to Lawrence Technological University to get his degree in mechanical engineering.

On 19 February 1949 he married Marian Ruth Ternes, daughter of William Peter Ternes and Elsie Agnes Gerstner. Marian's father had died in 1926 but her family had multi-generation roots in the Detroit area. They had two children in Michigan before moving to California, which they did in 1953. Their youngest two children were born in Los Angeles County.

By 1961 Harold's family lived in Garden Grove, California, and he was the president of Thermodyne Corp. In 1970 they lived in Oceanside, California.

Harold lost his wife in 1973. On 20 April 1974 he married Emma (Martin) Freed, a divorcee with two grown children.

Harold died on 20 October 2003 in Maui County, Hawaii. He was inurned at the Mission San Louis Rey Cemetery's columbarium.

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'Senior Class Photograph of Harold Muir,' Ancestry.com
1920 US Federal Census, Census Place: Dearborn, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T625_801; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 8; Image: 38
1930 US Federal Census, Census Place: Palmyra, Lenawee, Michigan; Roll: 1007; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 34; Image: 807.0; FHL microfilm: 2340742
1940 US Federal Census, Census Place: Detroit, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T627_1888; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 84-1554
Alice (Muir) Genealogy Notebook, pages 19-20
Global, Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, Memorial No. 136447249
The Californian, 29 October 2003
US, California Marriage Index, 1960-1985, 1974 Muir, Harold - Freed, Emma E
US, California Marriage Index, 1960-1985, 1974 Muir, Harold - Martin, Emma E
US, City Directories, 1822-1995, 1961 Long Beach CA, (Harold and Marian Muir)
US, City Directories, 1822-1995, 1962 Long Beach, CA (Harold and Marian Muir)
US, Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010, 2003 Muir, Harold
US, Michigan Marriage Records, 1867-1952, 1949 Muir, Harold - Ternes, Marian Ruth
US, Obituary Daily Times Index, 1995-Current, 2003 Muir, Harold
US, Public Records Index, Volume 1, 1970 Oceanside, CA (Muir, Harold J)
US, School Yearbooks, 1880-2012, 1935 Madison High School Senior Sickle, page 31
US, School Yearbooks, 1880-2012, 1941 Lawrence Technological University L Book, page 47
US, Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014, Number: 372-01-9356; Issue State: Michigan; Issue Date: Before 1951