..told by Bobbie Jo, Great-Granddaughter of Pearl & Stanley
..June 2024

I remember going to my grandma’s house, Shelvie Jane, about 24-25 years ago. She was moving to Florida and packing up the house. Instead of moving a bunch of stuff from Ohio to Florida that she wanted people to have (that live in Ohio) when she had passed away, she was giving that stuff to us now. I have no idea what else she gave away that day. I got a teddy bear. He was a raggedy looking thing; definitely was well-loved. I’ve been told that I was getting a teddy bear, but this was the first time I’d seen it. And the first time I’d heard his story.

Grandma was about 8 years old. Her older brother, Hurley, was off in Germany, helping with the cleanup after World War II. They got word that he was being discharged and sent home. His arrival was anxiously awaited. Finally, his trunk arrived. They knew he wouldn’t be far behind. So they waited. And waited. And waited. But he never showed up. Calls were made. No one knew where he was or what happened. His trunk was opened. Inside was this teddy bear, with a tag that had the name “Shelvie” on it.

I instantly loved this teddy bear. Grandma told me how much she loved the bear. So much so, that both ears needed sewed back on, his nose needed re-done, and I saw several other places that had fresher-looking stitching than other places. She told me that he was an original Steiff (German) teddy bear and worth lots of money. (I did try to verify this, and he has lots of characteristics of a Steiff bear, but some of the trademark characteristics that they look for when authenticating an original Steiff bear have been worn down or resewn, so I couldn’t verify it. However, he’s priceless to me.) Grandma couldn’t remember what she called him, so I named him Hurley, after the great uncle that never came home.

Great-Grandma, Pearl, wrote lots of letters to lots of people, even the President of the United States, for years. Nothing was ever revealed to the family about his whereabouts or what happened. They sent a letter 7 years after his disappearance date declaring him dead and offering her the life insurance that Hurley signed up for when he enlisted. She refused to sign the death declaration or accept any money, as she held out hope that he would one day come home.

In an effort to find out more information, in May of 2024, I utilized veterans.org and requested his military records. I was told that it would take 6-18 months to get any information. Because the information requested is over 62 years old, it will cost money and they will contact me with how much it will cost to get these records. I’ll keep this page updated with any further information I find out.

Pictures of:

Letter to Retta

Letter from Military