William Tweeten Family William 1900 – 1974 & Evelyn 1902 – 1977
William Michael Tweeten was born April 8, 1900, in Mt. Valley Township at his parents’ home, the 10th child of Bendick Tweeten and Olava Hovland. He was educated in Mt. Valley Schools and attended St. Olaf Collegé; he was a graduate of Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa. Bill, as he was often called by the family, and Abb played clarinets and often played in the local theaters. Bill also played in the Iowa State College Orchestra and band. He also sang in Glee Club and Waldorf College Choir like several other members of his family who got to sing because Dr. Lyders was the church choir director. He was a member of a music honorary society. While living in this area, Bill worked as a butter maker at Leland, Thompson and Goldfield Creamerys. Prior to moving to Washington, Iowa, he also lived in Independence. On December 21, 1929, he was married to Evelyn Vance at Ames, in a double ceremony with Ray Maricle and Bill’s sister, Bertha Tweeten. Evelyn was the daughter of Alexander and Minnie (Richardson) Vance who was born at Kensett, Iowa, March 22, 1902. Bill worked in Independence after their marriage and then moved to Washington, Iowa, where he operated a Milk Store and sold milk and ice cream until he retired.
Bill passed away after a short illness September 3, 1974, and Evelyn passed away after a long illness and many years in the rest home in Washington, January 20, 1977. They are buried in Elm Grove Cemetery, Washington, Iowa. They had two sons:
A. Richard Vance Tweeten was born February 26, 1932. Arlene Knupp and I were married December 21, 1957, after knowing each other for 11 years. We were both working in Chicago. She was employed at Marshall Fields and I was working for Cherry Burrell Corp. We lived in an apartment in the home of a retired school teacher in River Forest until 1959. Then we moved to Wheaton, where our two daughters were born. We moved to our present home in Wheaton where our son was born.
In 1972, I resigned from Cherry Burrell and started with Beatrice Foods Company. I retired from Beatrice May 31, 1989, and June 5, 1989, we started Tweeten Consulting. My work has always been the same, working with food, producers, processors, and distributors in the areas of Engineering, Production, Quality Assurance, and Regulatory Compliance. Since retirement, I am engaged in the same activities with many of the same companies. Arlene and I have been able to travel together more and spend more time at the farm in Iowa. We purchased the building and small acreage from her mother in 1984. God has blessed us with good health and a fine family. We have three children:
a. Tamara Jo Tweeten Petricca was born January 21, 1959, at St. Charles, Illinois. She married Paul Petricca, June 12, 1982.
b. Sunya Elaine Tweeten was born November 29, 1964, at Winfield, Illinois. She moved to Atlanta, Georgia, area August 1989, and is teaching Elementary Music there.
c. David Hans Tweeten was born April 8, 1969. David is a student at Iowa State at Ames.
B. Ray Bendick Tweeten was born June 23, 1935. He was killed in a car accident June 12, 1956. He is buried at Elm Grove Cemetery, Washington, Iowa.