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| | WILLIAM ALFRED LAUGHTON (1913 - 1986)
William Alfred Laughton was born on July 27, 1913 in Niagara Falls
New York and died on September 30, 1986 in El Reno, Oklahoma. He was married on December 28, 1937 to
Eleanor Ramona Ghostley. William Alfred Laughton was commonly referred to as
"Bill Laughton".
In tracking his moves in the USA we see that he was christened in Niagara Falls,
New York in 1913 and confirmed much later on December 26, 1937 in Beaumont,
Texas. He graduated from Kirkville Osteopathic Medical as a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine in 1938 and practiced in
that profession from 1940 until his retirement in 1979 in EL Reno, Oklahoma. At the time of his
death, the obituary reports that his identical twin brother John Edward
Laughton 1913 is residing in Newark, California and sister Jean Retchless is in
Niagara Falls, NY
A picture of the "twins" was provided by Lindy Ryan Laughton, whose
husband David Michael "Mike" Laughton is the son of William Alfred
Laughton and Eleanor Ghostley Laughton. This image also appears on the page of
William Severn Laughton.
We are awaiting additional information on the family of David Michael
Laughton and Lindy Ryan Laughton so we can add the next page!
In the package of information that came from John Ivan Laughton
1929, there were four (4) letters from "Bill & El" from
1978 to 1983 , more or less switching to letters from El as Bill's
health became an issue. The letters have been scanned and added to the
database, and the following comments have been noted:
 | February
20, 1978 from Bill to Cousin Grace (Grace Althea Laughton
1905), who was the Aunt of John Ivan Laughton
 | refers to Jack Campbell Laughton, step-brother of my
Grandfather, who is seldom mentioned in correspondence from the
John Hugh Laughton 1859 siblings -refers to Irene who has died,
who I presume is Kathleen "Irene" Black, daughter of
Mary Ann Laughton 1863 |
| references to the family of David Laughton 1864 |
| Jack and Jane call once a month, presumably his twin brother
and his wife, who had met the family of John Addison Corbett
Laughton 1897 (the Optometrists), his son John Ivan Laughton |
| wants the family to buy and send in lottery tickets |
| refers to issues with his twin brother Jack (noted
confidential) |
| refers to son "Mike" (David Michael Laughton) |
| speaks as if his twin brother Jack is blind?
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| December
8, 1978 from El & Bill, probably to the Laughton Clan as
a Christmas Letter
| apparently both Eleanor and Bill were Doctors, as he refers to
her practice |
| refers to Edward 1876 children Reid Laughton and wife Mollie
but no dates |
| indicates that Bill's wife Eleanor is from Edmonton, Alberta
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| November 22, 1981 from Eleanor to John Ivan, as Bill had a
stroke in May 1981
| William "Bill" Laughon1913 had a stroke in May
1981 (age 68) |
| Eleanor is still running the clinic but Bill is fully retired |
| the Clinic was a Hospital but they closed it in 1969 |
| letter gives details that Robert Retchless, husband of Bill's
sister Margaret "Jean" Laughton 1911 had previously
died circa1959 (22 years prior to 1981 letter) |
| sister Jean is now 70 (90% blind) and never remarried after
the death of husband Bob |
| Aunt Julia (1867) was blind for several years prior to her
death as well |
| Bill's twin brother Jack has been blind for 5 years already |
| Jack's wife Mary "Jane" died in October 1981 (a
month before this letter) |
| Jack and Jane had an adopted daughter and she took twin
brother Jack with her back to California |
| Bill and El have 2 adopted children |
| refers to the two surviving sons of Edward 1876 (Bruce was
killed in 1904) indicating that Norman was already deceased but
Reid was alive and still sending Christmas cards |
| Eleanor's son Mike is in the insurance business |
| Eleanor went to the University of Alberta
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| January 14, 1983 from Eleanor to John Ivan Laughton - need
to figure out who the others are that are mentioned.
| Bill's condition has deteriorated a great deal |
| notes that Aunt Julia (1867) in Niagara Falls NY and Uncle Ed
(1876) were very close (also noted in some of the letters of
Julia) |
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The records indicate that William Alfred Laughton died on September
30, 1986 some 5 years after his stroke. If I recall correctly (to
be checked by RVL) Eleanor is still with us at the time Lindy was
sending information in late 2008 or early 2009. |
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