Children of Maggie Alma James (1893-1978) of Mulberry, Crawford County, Kansas and
Edward “Ted” Luke (1882-1969) of Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey:
1. Verle James Luke: born July 29, 1921 in Mulberry, Crawford County, Kansas;
first marriage to Norma June Kemp (1925-2001), daughter of Jesse Clarence Kemp (born
1902) and Iva Glenn Amos (born 1903); second marriage to Frances Bertha Hovey (1917-2013),
daughter of Clarence Ray Hovey (1886-1956) and Ada Bell Craven (1894-1993); died
May 3, 2003 (aged 81) in Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma; buried at Rose Hill Memorial
Park, Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma; known children include: Sherry Luke and Janice
Luke.
2. Teddy “Ted” Edward Luke: born February 2, 1924 in Mulberry, Crawford County,
Kansas; married 1948 in San Francisco, California to Coriene P. (1925-1999); died
November 16, 2013 (aged 89) in Lafayette, Contra Costa County, California; buried
at Oak Hill Memorial Park, San Jose, Santa Clara County, California; known children
include: Nancy Luke and Scott Luke.
3. Freddie “Fred” Allen Luke: born 1931, first marriage to Janet Anne Shelton
(1934-2015), daughter of Andrew Rowley Shelton and Esther Pulley; second marriage
to Orpha Payne; known children through Janet Shelton include: Teddy Allen Luke, David
Luke, John Luke and Steven Patrick Luke.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Notes:
Maggie Alma James (1893-1978) was the daughter of George Washington James, Jr. (1846-1919)
of Bedford County, Virginia and Alice Ann Burcham (1865-1944).
Verle James Luke (1921-2003) enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army Reserve Corps,
Serial No. 17061746, on August 3, 1942 at the age of 21. He was a veteran of World
War II. Following the war Verle worked as a manufacturing plant production supervisor
for Heat Exchanger Co., and, as a coal miner and tipple foreman for Pioneer Coal
Company.
Teddy "Ted" Edward Luke (1924-2013) was remembered as a gentleman, with an always
courteous nature and love of family and friends. He was born and raised in Mulberry,
Kansas. Upon graduating from high school, Ted joined the Army Air Corps where he
was trained as a B-29 co-pilot and was stationed on the island of Guam in the Pacific
Ocean. After World War II, he was shipped back to San Francisco, where he met Coriene,
his wife of 51 years. The two married in 1948 and moved to Kansas where Ted graduated
from the University of Kansas. Returning to San Francisco, Ted went to work for Union
Oil Co. in sales management until retiring in 1986. San Marino, CA was their last
residence until 2005.
Ted enjoyed genealogy, family history and organizing bi-annual James family reunions
in the city of Pleasant Hill, California for the descendants of George Washington
James, Jr. (1846-1919). He also enjoying playing cards, Co-Weds, golf and vacationing
in Maui with Coriene. Ted was preceded in death by his wife Coriene and older brother
Verle James Luke . He was survived by his younger brother Fred Luke of Gilbert, Arizona,
daughter Nancy Luke of Laguna Beach, California, son Scott Luke of Pleasant Hill,
California, daughter in-law Ann and his four grand-children, Kendra, Brian, David
and Steven, Steven's wife Jody and his great-grand children Annalee, Tyler and Lauren.
A celebration of Ted’s life was conducted on December 14, 2013 in Oak Hill Memorial
Park, San Jose, California. At the time of his death Ted was a resident of Lafayette,
California.
Sources:
World War II Army, Reserve Corps, Enlistment Record of Verle James Luke, Crawford
County, Kansas, Aug. 3, 1942.
George Washington James Family Reunion & Picnic, City Park, Pleasant Hill, California,
Saturday, June 29, 1996.
Notice of Death for Verle James Luke (1921-2003) published in Staff Reports for Tulsa
World on Sunday, May 4, 2003.
Obituary of Teddy "Ted" Edward Luke (1924-2013) published in the East Bay Times &
the Contra Costa Times on Tuesday, November 26, 2013.
Obituary of Janet Anne (Shelton) Luke (1934-2015) published in the Daily Herald of
Provo, Utah on January 3, 2016.
Obituary of Steven Patrick Luke (1964-2019) published in the Free Lance Star of Fredericksburg,
Virginia on January 13, 2019.
Verle James Luke (1921-2003), Find A Grave Memorial, ID No. 17234310, by OkieBran,
added December 31, 2006.
Frances Bertha (Hovey) Luke (1917-2013), Id., Memorial ID No. 180229113, by Dennis
Wilson, added June 10, 2017.
Teddy "Ted" Edward Luke (1924-2013), Id., Memorial ID No. 190214284, by Chuck Schubert,
added May 30, 2018.
Coriene P. Luke (1925-1999), Id., Memorial ID No. 190214277, by Chuck Schubert, added
May 30, 2018.
Janet Anne (Shelton) Luke (1934-2015), Id., Memorial ID No. 156673224, by Annie Duckett
Hundley, added Jan. 2, 2016.
Photos:
Verle James Luke (1921-2003)
Verle James Luke (1921-2003) and Norma June Kemp (1925-2001).
Teddy "Ted" Edward Luke (1924-2013) circa 1945
Teddy "Ted" Edward Luke (1924-2013) circa 1960
Janet Anne (Shelton) Luke (1934-2015)
Freddie “Fred” Allen Luke and Orpha Payne Luke
Updated: February 7, 2021
