The Clyde and Dawn Aaron Family:Information about Marvin Warren Aaron

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Marvin Warren Aaron (b. October 01, 1909, d. September 18, 1995)

Marvin Warren Aaron (son of Clyde Harold Aaron and Verna Mabel Shive) was born October 01, 1909 in Bethlehem, Pa, and died September 18, 1995 in Bethlehem, Pa. He married Emma Mae Kern on April 30, 1938 in Bethlehem, Pa, daughter of Alfred Harrison Kern and Edith Ida Jane Schiffert.

Notes for Marvin Warren Aaron:
the following are excerpts from the eulogy that was written and presented in by Marlen Schoffstall, the pastor of the Mountainview Moravian church in September of 1995.

Marvin Warren Aaron was born on October 1st, 1909 in Bethlehem, PA, the son of Clyde H and Verna Shive Aaron. Born into a Westside Moravian church family he was baptized in infancy and confirmed his baptismal vows there in 1923. He grew up spending a great deal of time at his grandparents only a block or so away from his parents home and in many ways he was raised by his grandparents.( Nora and Milton Shive). While member of that church he was a regular attender, taught Sunday school and was Sunday School superintendent. He went through the Bethlehem school system and became a Liberty high school graduate, class of 1927. Continuing his education he earned an associate degree in civil engineering and structural steel design from the Allentown campus of Penn State University.

His full-time work began with Bethlehem Fabricators in 1931. During the 1930s Depression years he was laid off and took an engineering and surveying job for the Pennsylvania Department of Highways . Later he was called back to the Bethlehem Fabricators but he still maintain the part-time relationship with the highway department. He remained in the fabricators engineering department until his retirement in 1972 even then, he was immediately retained by them as consultant for three more years. Incidentally, he was never drafted into military service during World War II because his work of designing military equipment at that time was considered crucial to the war effort. One of his tasks was designing oil well towers that were sent to Iraq to help supply valuable fuel for the war effort.

He was introduced to his first wife Emma, by his sister Anita. As one thing led to another and another he and Emma Kern were married on April 30th 1938 in the Westside Moravian Church in Bethlehem. Their married was blessed by a son Clyde. From 1938 until 1942 they lived in a second floor apartment in Bethlehem. Then a significant new era began for Marvin and his family.

In late 1942 they moved into the newly constructed home in this area of Hellertown known as Mountain View. From that date until the day he died, his home was only about five blocks away, northeast of this church .His involvement here began some of the most significant contributions to church and community anyone could make.

After World War II ended, Mountain View continue to grow and expand. In early 1948 the Moravian church purchased this land right here and bought 902 Magnolia Road to be used as a center for the newly begun church and a resident for student pastor Herbert Weber. Marvin and other men were elected as temporary church committee to head the group until the congregation was formally organized. He never hesitated and never looked back. He and a growing core of community residents worked steadily toward the establishment of this church. Some of the original work group are sitting here with us this morning. Martin also served as chairman of the first building committee that put up this Church unit in which you were seated.

After we were formally organized on March 14th 1951, Marvin served on the first board of Elders. He and Emma were two of the original charter members. He continued to serve terms on either the Board of Elders or the Board of Trustees throughout his remaining years of life. When he was 71 years old, in 1980, he accepted a three-year term on the Board of Trustees and served as chairman for two of those years. After his election ,he commented to me " why not?, I've gained some experience and wisdom over the years, I have the time, and can still get the job done." And he did, as usual !

Amazingly enough he was actively involved in many other ways. He joined the Masons when he was in his 20's, move through the chairs, became a 32nd degree Mason, was Past Master of the Hellertown Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and continued as a member of the High Twelves for older Masons. He was also a member of the Scottish Rite Bodies, Valley of Lehigh. He served on the Hellertown Board of Health for 50 years and was a member of the Hellertown Historical society, both until the day he died. He previously held membership in the Beethoven Waldheim and the American Society of Civil Engineers, and other organizations.

He was a fine family man as well. Clyde recalls sailing with his parents first on their 8' and then 16' sailboats on Lake Wallenpaupack. Another of his memories was for several years on Christmas morning getting up to find a fully assembled and decorated train yard where, the night before there was only in the normal family furnishing. When Clyde learned that Santa Claus wasn't that good then the two of them worked on the train together. One of the lesser-known dimensions of Marvin was that he was musically gifted. For years he played an accordion and an electronic organ and their home, all by ear ,because he could not read music. He had an avid interest in classical music. He and I had occasional discussions on fine music and he introduced me and no doubt others by listening to recordings of some fine artists and music I had not been aware of. He enjoyed cars , went to races and car shows,, and simply enjoy driving anywhere and everywhere. Still, weaving through his life journey, were the threads of love and respect starting with his family and moving outward from there. He was genuinely proud of his son and his grandchildren.

The saddest time in his life was the illness and death of Emma in July 1970. Even now I can remember the heartbroken man who still maintain his poise and dignity throughout the ordeal of her illness, passing, and funeral service, and greeted people even at that time with his customary warm and graciousness, more concerned about making them feel better than about his own sense of loss.

A couple years after the loss of Emma he decided to pick up the phone contact Elsie Gabriel. Elsie had lost her husband about the same time Marvin lost Emma. One of the first things he said to Elsie was "I'm tired sitting around and being lonely.... let's go out to dinner." And they did. It was a really a renewal of an old friendship that led to an entirely new dimension in their relationship. Until she was widowed, she was married to Marvin sister Anita's husband Pete's brother in law( Elsie is Pete's sister) so the family knew each other well. On July 23rd 1973, Marvin was married to Elsie. Since brother and sister were now married to brother and sister, Anita then became Marvin 's sister-in-law as well as her sister.

No matter how many involvements, organizations and accomplishments in family and community we can note, is essential to point out that the very heart and core and the very essence of soul in Marvin would take far too long to describe here. I will use a few descriptive words, but they do not begin to do justice to the impact he had an all those who lived and worked with him, and knew him in many other dimensions. He has been a true patron saint of many of us. He was extremely intelligent and talented with his hands, yet he was never threatening. He was very courteous, yet no one who knew him ever mistook his courtesy for weakness. He was an extremely hard worker and perfectionist in all he did, yet he seem never to show up the others who are with him. He was meticulous about his personal appearance and about his home and cars yet he did not seek to impose those traits on others. He was very free with complements and other affirmations yet his nature was so accepting of others that we did not take any absence of affirmations to be negative. He was a man of his word. When he said he would do that, he would get it done, right and almost always on time. Still he accepted others when they did not display those same traits as consistently as he did. he was generous with family, friends, church, lodge, and others yet he did not expect that they and we be generous to him in return. He was happier when we continued to cycle of generosity by passing it on the others. He had a great deal of ability, confidence and self-respect but it never came through as egotism or or wholly those holier- than- thouness..

One of the greatest complements I have been able to pay him to his face was that he was one of only a very few good examples in my life of how to grow old gracefully and graciously. Doing so was one of his goals and he accomplished it admirably. For this trait and many others we will never forget him. He has truly been one of God's premier servants. The world and all of us who crossed paths with him have been made richer, deeper, finer and better by the example of his life and inner being.

One final vignette before we close this memoir. On Sunday, May 14, we held the ground breaking ceremony for this church's new wing. We asked Marvin turn over a spade of earth as one whose leadership and behind the scenes encouragement led to the first building in 1950 ,and this new unit. Knowing that Marvin and a couple others digging into the ground were not a young and strong as they once were, I arrived at the church about 8 o'clock that morning with my garden spade to break and soften the area about two feet square so that no one needed to struggle to turn over a spate of dirt. After introducing Marvin I handed the spade to him and pointed to the ground already broken. Deliberately, I feel certain, he backed up until he was at the unbroken ground and dug into that . I thought later about how symbolic that was! He did not take easy way; he did the job right, he was not afraid of the harder work and he did not boast about it. He just did it!. In his integrity, he did not care whether or not we noticed. But we did noticed. And like all things involving Marvin we were inspired and vowed never to forget situations like those and a 100 other ones from him.

In April of this year he was hospitalized with symptoms that required immediate attention. He was diagnosed as having a brain tumor. After two bouts with surgery it soon became clear that he never would get well again. After being unable to communicate meaningfully for several weeks, as the tumor spread throughout his brain, he was no longer the Marvin we all knew. He mercifully slipped into a coma bit less than a week ago and his life and being was transferred to the new life this past Tuesday at the age of 85 years 11 months and 17 days.

Surviving the keen sense of loss but to rejoice that he is alive as a well in whole person in a new life in a new dimension are his wife Elsie, his son Clyde, his sister Anita of Allentown, two stepchildren Neil Gabriel and Nancy Montgomery, two grandchildren's Scott and Catherine, and five step grandchildren Joan, Denise, Diane, Halford, and Jeffrey. His was predeceased by his brother only a few weeks ago.

More About Marvin Warren Aaron:
Burial: September 1995, Hellertown, Pa.
Confirmation: 1923, Westside Moravian Church, Bethlehem.
Occupation: Draftsman, Bethlehem Fabricators.

More About Marvin Warren Aaron and Emma Mae Kern:
Marriage: April 30, 1938, Bethlehem, Pa.

Children of Marvin Warren Aaron and Emma Mae Kern are:

+Clyde Harold Aaron II.

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