Heathcock Genealogy Database - Person Sheet
Heathcock Genealogy Database - Person Sheet
NameRuth Lydia Houck
Birth12 Jul 1904, Buffalo, Erie Co NY
Death22 Feb 1976 Age: 71
Spouses
Birth6 Jun 1895, Motherwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Death26 Mar 1992, Buffalo, Erie Co NY Age: 96
FatherJohn Thomson (1857-1934)
MotherRebecca Richardson (1866-1934)
Marriage15 Nov 1928, Batavia, Genasee Co NY
Notes for George Ward (Spouse 1)
George Thomson, age 18, born in Motherwell, Scotland, arrived at Ellis Island from Glasgow on the ship Cameronia on June 23, 1913.

Wed twice; first wife unknown; 2nd wife Ruth Lydia Houck.

Obituary:
1854
George W. Thomson Dies at 96; Last Member of World War I Unit

George W. Thomson, 96, of Akron, a native of Motherwell, Scotland, and the last surviving member of the Army's Base Hospital Unit 23 of World War I fame, died Thursday (March 26, 1992) in Millard Fillmore Hospital after a brief illness.
Thomson came to Buffalo in 1913 and worked with a brother in the plumbing business until May 1917, when he enlisted in the Army.

After receiving training as a medic, he went with Base Hospital Unit 23 of Buffalo to Vittel, France. The unit included some 300 doctors, nurses and medical personnel. He served with the unit in France until 1919. In January 1990, he was the only member of the unit still alive.

After the war, Thomson went to work for Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. He retired as general foreman of the underground cable department after more than 39 years with the utility. Before he came to America, Thomson was one of the early-day Boy Scouts. He joined the organization in 1907 to become one of founder Sir Robert Baden-Powell's first troop members in Scotland.

Thomson was a member of Tillman Post, American Legion, Akron; Lodge 527, F&AM, Akron; the Buffalo Consistory, and Ismailia Shrine.

During World War II, he served as a master sergeant in the 65th New York State Guard.

In 1966, he was honored by the town of Vittel for his service with the medical unit during World War I. He also was instrumental in Vittel's becoming a sister city of Clarence. In 1980, he returned to the French town with Arthur Hartman, then-U.S. Ambassador to France, to dedicate plaques to American servicemen who fought there in both World Wars I and II. He also served as an ambassador of good will from the City of Buffalo.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the Bernhardt Funeral Home, 130 Main St., Akron. Burial, with military honors, will be in Acacia Park Cemetery, Pendelton.

Survivors include three daughters, Georga Breissinger of Darien Center, Norma Snip of Dundas, Ont., and Wilma E. Beyer of Toyko; a son, George A. of Akron; three sisters, Barbara Vogl of Cheektowaga, Jesse Brown of Kenmore and Emily Marling; 13 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Last Modified 18 Oct 2022Created 3 Jul 2023 using Reunion for Macintosh
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