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The Doyle Family

Updated December 13, 2000

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My name is Courtney Marie Doyle. At 18, I am the eldest of John and Mary Ann (Hollander) Doyle's three children. Gretchen is 16, and Johnny is 15.
I was born on May 1, 1982, nearly two years after the marriage of my parents. John Michael Doyle and Mary Ann Hollander were married at St. Bernard's Church in Dayton, Kentucky on June 27, 1980. My father was the son of John and Johanna Doyle of Newport, Kentucky. My mother was the daughter of Bill and Hilda Hollander of Cincinnati, Ohio. They met at Thriftway Food & Drug, where they both worked, several years before their marriage.
My father's family is primarily Irish in heritage. That is obvious, I suppose, from the amount of freckles and red-tinted hair on his side of the family. My great-great-grandmother immigrated to Newport from Ireland at the turn of the century. My father is the oldest of six children himself. My grandmother and her father, my great-grandpa, are the only grandparents surviving on my father's side of the family. My great-grandpa, Garnett Clark, is now 98 years old, and never fails to amaze us. From my grandmother's six children, she now has eleven grandchildren. Courtney (18), Gretchen (16), Johnny (15), Ian (8), Emily (8), Aaron (4), Blake (4), Brandon (3), Shelby (2), Nathan (2), and Madison (5 months). The Doyle family seems to be growing more and more every year. We tend to keep in touch pretty well, since we all live in Kentucky, and all of us probably within a half hour of each other. The 4th of July is our big party day, when we try to bring in everyone, including great aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Despite my mother's maiden name, Hollander, which might lead someone to assume a Dutch heritage, her family is mostly German. My mother's side of the family has a darker look, compared to the fair skinned faces of the Doyle family. Dark hair and dark eyes are everywhere, it's just that nobody in my actual house picked up on that trait!! My mother is the youngest of four children, two boys and two girls. My Grandma Hollander is my only grandparent remaining on that side, my Grandpa Hollander passed away when I was 10. Their children grew up and married, and produced 13 grandchildren altogether, to create a rather large family! I would list them all, but I don't think I have enough room! In the last few years, my older cousins have had children of their own, and now my Grandma has 3 beautiful great-children as well, to add to the Hollander family tree. The Hollander family all live in Ohio, so it's not as often that we are able to see them. They don't live too far away, but it's always seems difficult for us to manage to get together. Christmas Eve is probably our big holiday, when everyone tries to celebrate, and we often have some type of gathering for my grandmother's birthday celebration each March. And recently, my grandmother's family (the Kleckners) have begun a yearly reunion, which helps us to create a greater sense of family unity.
Throughout my life, thought I don't know where it may lead me, I hope and pray to always stay close to my family and my roots. Because, to me, my family is at the roots of everything that I am, and everything that I ever may be.

 
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