William McKinley Coller

  General Notes:

William McKinley Coller was also called "Bill".

INFORMATION FROM SOCIAL SECURITY APPLICATION
Address: Box 363, Owosso, Michigan
Age on Last Birthday: 58
Date of Application: May 1, 1954
Date of Birth: August 5, 1895
Father's Full Name: William E. Coller
Mother's Full Name; Ada Cains
Business Name of Employer: Periodical Publishers Bureau, Inc.
616 Hammond Bldg., Detroit, Michigan
Place of Birth: Snover, Sanilac County, Michigan

INFORMATION FROM WWI DRAFT REGISTRATION
Age: 21
Address: R.D. No. 1, Snover, Michigan
Date of Birth: August 5, 1895
Citizenship: Natural Born Citizen
Occupation: Farmer
Employer: Self Employed
Employer Location: Lamotte Township
Dependents (Parents/Immediate Family): None
Married or Single: Single
Race: Caucasian
Previous Military Service: None
Claim Exemption: No
Height: Medium
Build: Medium
Color of Eyes: Grey
Color of Hair: Dark Brown
Bald: No
Disabled: No
Registration Precinct: Lamotte
Registration City or County: Sanilac
Registration State: Michigan
Registration Date: June 5, 1917

William McKinley Coller's death certificate states that he died at Monroe Memorial Hospital located in Ocala, Marion County, Florida on November 7, 1975. The cause of death was chronic pulmonary emphazema. He was survived by his wife, Hazelle Nelson, and they lived at 315 S.E. Watula Avenue, Ocala, Marion County, Florida. He was buried in Highland Memorial Park on November 12, 1975. The funeral home was Hiers Funeral Home. He was a retired insurance broker.

Karen Coller Curell remembers Bill as being tall and slender and working in the insurance business. He was probably born in the woodshed behind the farmhouse of his parent's Sanilac County farm.

Marcella Criner was a student who stayed with Bill and Hazel Coller when they lived in Owasso. This is her recollection:

So glad to hear from you. I used to live with your grandfather and his wife, Hazelle, in the early 1940s while I was a student at Owosso (MI) High School. I always loved him. He was such a nice man. And he had a high regard for me, too, I know, even though he nicknamed me "Wild Bill" because I did every errand so speedily!! I helped Hazelle check her students' papers every night, ran errands to the store, and helped clean house every Saturday morning before I went home for the weekend. Was paid $1.00 plus my room and board for that. And Iwas glad to get it!! One other important job was for me to help Billy find his pipe almost daily. He'd drop it down and forget where it was.

Billy and Hazelle lived in three different houses in this area. I lived with them in two. The first was a rented apartment only a block from the high school where Hazelle taught. The second was a duplex home they bought just half a block away from that apartment building, so it was still within walking distance for her. After I went on to college, another girl lived with them, as I had done.

She and Billy convinced Hazelle to sell the duplex and buy a brick farm house plus acreage north of town. Hazelle had to ride to school on the same bus as the school kids. She hated that fact.. They bought the place the same year my husband and I bought ours. Billy laughingly offered to sell the house to us for the price they had paid. Of course, having just gone into debt for this one, we turned down the offer. We didn't have enough money coming in to make the payments on that one, I'm sure. And, yes, all of the places are still here and lived in. The farm house has been altered--- the large porch has been torn off.

Marcella had Bill's family Bible and many pictures.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Social Security Number: 382-36-1271: Michigan. Issued 1954 in Michigan.

• Residence: Box 363, Owosso, Michigan, 1954. Address on Social Security application dated May 1, 1954

• Residence: 1422 Richfield Road, Flint, Michigan, 1918-1924. Source is address and postmark on mail.

• Place: This map shows Snover, Michigan. The birthplace of William McKinley Coller.

• Residence: 315 S.E. Watula Avenue, Ocala, Marion County, Florida, 1975. ¹

• Occupation, 1917, Buick Plant, Flint, Michigan.

• Cemetery: Highland Memorial Cemetery: Ocala, Marion County, Florida.

• Picture: William and Eldon Coller, 1922.

William married Ethel May Miller, daughter of John Harvey Miller and Alice Paulina Leary, on 19 Jul 1917 in Flint, Michigan. (Ethel May Miller was born on 20 Nov 1899 in Liberty Township, Putnam County, Ohio, died on 31 Jul 1973 in Armada, Michigan ² and was buried in Bruce-Armada Cemetery, Romeo, Michigan.)

  Marriage Notes:

Ethel May Miller and William McKinley Coller were married in Flint, Michigan at the Evangelical Church by Rev. Lewis (?) Hayes.

William next married Hazelle Nelson. (Hazelle Nelson was born on 27 Jan 1895 in Michigan, died in Nov 1985 in Ocala, Marion County, Florida and was buried in Highland Memorial Park, Ocala, Marion County, Florida.)