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Q: Obituary ( No Answer,   4 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Obituary
Category: Miscellaneous
Asked by: denali1-ga
List Price: $15.00
Posted: 27 Feb 2003 13:49 PST
Expires: 29 Mar 2003 13:49 PST
Question ID: 167998
Looking for obituary on Frederick Rudolf Thies, circa 1964 in Los Angeles.
Answer  
There is no answer at this time.

Comments  
Subject: Re: Obituary
From: sluggy-ga on 01 Mar 2003 00:18 PST
 
This may help any researcher answering the question:

According to the Social Security Death Index there were 7 deaths of
Frederick Thies' in the United States since 1935. There is only one
Frederick Thies who died within 2 years of 1964 (you said circa, so I
automatically thought of 2 years on either side), and who died in
Southern California (Los Angeles often being a generic term for folks
outside the region). I found only one man who died in that time frame
and who died in Southern California:

Frederick Thies (no middle name or initial listed) born Sept. 17,
1888. He applied for his Social Security number sometime prior to 1951
in Michigan. He died August 1966 (no day given) in San Diego, and his
last residence was in San Diego.

I then ran his name through the California Death Index. I
cross-referenced the Social Security number and came up with:

Frederic H. Thies (note truncated first name, common with some
databases)
born Sept. 17 1888. It lists Georgia as his place of birth and the
mother's maiden name was Schonefe.
It also list the date of death as August 10, 1966 and the place of
death as Los Angeles (as opposed to the SS Index which listed it as
San Diego)

This almost seems like our guy, except for the middle initial being
off. This can be due to a mis-reading of the 'R' as an 'H', another
common error I've seen in my many years of research. Or, it could be
the wrong guy all together. Hopefully the other details I supplied
(birthdate, birthplace, mother's maiden name)  will allow you to
confirm the identity. Now the fact that this man's last residence was
in San Diego, it's entirely possible he died in Los Angeles County,
but the person who filled out the paperwork assumed the last known
address and the county of death were the same (very very common error)

While I was at it, I searched for another Frederick Thies in the
California Death Index. You see, even if they don't show up on the SS
Index, they may still show up in the individual state's index because
their next of kin may not have informed the Social Security offices of
the death ( I see this frequently with woman, who only in the last 40
years or so have entered the workforce with any type of substantial
numbers. Many times woman did not even have their own SS#, they merely
'borrowed' their husband's if they needed it). Anyway, this is what I
found:

Frederic N. Thies (there's that truncated first name, and the middle
initial doesn't match. "N" and "H" are pretty similar looking in
handwriting script, so again, there's a possibility this was a
clerical error)
born August 4, 1893 in Michigan
Died June 26, 1966 in Los Angeles
mother's maiden name Blexrod

So if the questioner can confirm either of these names is the one he
seeks, then another researcher may be able to dig up the obit.

Good luck.
Subject: Re: Obituary
From: denali1-ga on 01 Mar 2003 13:40 PST
 
Nope, this is not the same guy.  We're sure the Frederick R.(for
Rudolf) Thies we seek came directly from Germany (Hamburg we think),
and was founder of Continental Diamond Drilling Corporation of Los
Angeles (not sure this is the exact name of the firm).  His son
Richard Thies is still alive but suffers from Altzheimer's.
Subject: Re: Obituary
From: sluggy-ga on 03 Mar 2003 22:47 PST
 
Ok, let's tackle this from another angle. Could it be that he either
went by the name Rudolf (Rudolph) or that there was a mistake and the
first/middle names were transposed?

I again searched my trusty California Death Index and found a Rudolph
F. Thies. Born in Germany, Dec. 02,1894,mother's maiden name: Moose.
Died August 20, 1964 in Los Angeles. Last residence was in the 90065
zip code of Los Angeles City (in the Cypress Park neighborhood).

A cross check of the Social Security Death Index confirms the details,
with the exception that no middle name/initial is provided.
Subject: Re: Obituary
From: denali1-ga on 04 Mar 2003 11:48 PST
 
I guess we could confirm it by any press announcements prior to his
death.  He was note worthy in that he founded a international company
in LA having to do with diamond drilling and equipment rental
[Continental Diammond, Inc - I blieve].

If an news business article or obituary could be found, I'm sure the
company would be mentioned.  How many Thies' passing away in LA around
1964 could there be?  This must be the guy.

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