The Family of Gary Dubach

The Dubach Family

Darrell E. Hamilton

Irene Mary Frey Dubach was born on March 26, 1926. Ironically, as I mentioned to her,

that is the same year that Marilyn Monroe was born. Irene was born three houses from where

she lives now Rt. 84. Her mother died when she was but eight months old of romantic heart

fever. She then lived with her aunt the first few years of her life. Her father had been in a

similar situation. His parents has died when he was very young and he was raised by his

German speaking grandfather.

Irene first started school in a one room school house on Carson Rd. in Plymouth. The school had outhouses and they had to haul water for drinking water. The school is still there but it been modernized and turned into a house. Agnes Wyman was the teacher and she taught all eight grades. Irene’s father moved around a lot and Irene ended up with stepmothers.

In 1945, Irene graduated Ashtabula High School. In the 1945 Bula yearbook, the caption that goes with her pictures reads; farmerette,,,,,,,,, happy-go-lucky,,,,,,,,,third finger left hand. Yes, Irene was married. Her new husband was a boy that lived next door to her! She was married on May 30, 1944, Memorial Day at the end of her junior year of high school. Fred had graduated in 1941 from Ashtabula High School. Irene Kay Frey was now Mrs. Fred Dubach. The problem was that Fred was in the Army. They spent their short lived honeymoon at the Cleveland Hotel in Conneaut. After less than day of marriage, Fred boarded the train at
the Ashtabula Depot for a trip to fight the Germans.

For eighteen months scores of letters were exchanged in which Irene still has. In the mean time, Irene continued with high school. She received fifty dollars a month from the Army and at one time boarded with Henrietta McKinsey of Bunker Hill School. She eventually was able to get own apartment on West 48th Street. While she was in high school and her husband was away, Irene worked at the old Bula Theater on 46th Street in Downtown Ashtabula at the pop-corn machine.

In December of 1946, after over eighteen months without seeing her husband, Fred Dubach finally came home, whole. While her husband was away, she was able to save over $300. Fred was able to find a job at the Ashtabula Box Company. Later on, Irene’s father got Fred a job with The New York Central Railroad.

Fred and Irene had six children. There were three boys and two girls and one that was stillborn. Their names were Carol, Fred, Gary, Larry and Susan.

Irene has lived most of her life where she lives now on 84 except for a few years in Kingsville and the years she lived on West 52nd Street where Fred had a garage. At the garage Fred’s sons helped in his garage except when they were all in the service at the same time. Something that Fred Sr. and his brothers had done in World War II. Ironically a friend of Gary’s would often visit Gary and his father and brothers at the garage. His name was Robert Beaver.

Fred and Irene’s son, Gary had dropped out of high school to join the service at seventeen. Right before he left for Vietnam, Gary said goodbye to his family and his girl friend, Norma in June of 1968. The rest of his classmates which included myself would still be in high school.
Gary’s little sister, Susan, was ten years old at the time. He bought her a stuffed animal before he left. She still has it this day.

At the time, the Dubachs lived on West 52nd Street. One Sunday in February, two service men got out of a car and started towards their door. Irene looked at her husband and said, “Uh! Oh! There’s something wrong.”
After coming to the door and announcing who they were, they stated that their son had been killed in action.

They proceeded to tell them the details of Gary’s death. Gary had served as crew chief of a helicopter when it was shot down. The crew survived the crash but the skids of the helicopter had broken off in the crash. Not realizing what had happened, Gary jumped out of the helicopter only to have the blades cut off the top off his
head. That was on Valentines Day, 1969.

Gary became the 14th county victim to die in Vietnam. Ever since, Valentines Day has not been celebrated in the Dubach home.

Gary’s father died a couple of years ago. Irene tries to stay busy. One of her favorite past
times is bowling. At one time she wrote a neighborhood column for the Star Beacon. Her children take very good care of her. Carol lives in Arizona while Susan makes frequent trips from Madison to check on her mother as do Irene’s sons.

Today Gary Dubach and Robert Beaver are both included in the Ashtabula High School class of 1969 roster. We salute them.