Bernice Hellman and George Livingston Oswalt

Grammy and Papa were upstanding members of the community. Grammy was a Pink Lady at the hospital and Treasurer of the group most of her life. Papa was an active member of the Kiwanis Club and the Masonic Lodge. This church photo was taken in approximately 1973. It is how I remember them.

George Livingston Oswalt was born 24 December 1899. He was third of nine children. Their father was part-time sheriff and part-time diamond miner in the mining town of Diamond, Indiana. 

Bernice Hellman was born 12 June 1911 in Chicago, Illinois. She was ninth of eleven siblings and had severe scolioses with multiple spine curvatures that worsened with age. Papa was a boarder at the Hellman’s when Grammy was 12 years old and he was awarded his first patent. After graduating from school, she worked as a bookkeeper at the Palmolive building. 

Between 1923 and 1962, George L. Oswalt was awarded 18 US patents related to the automation of concrete block production.

Papa traveled to underdeveloped countries and built concrete block facilities near railway access for distribution. After setup, he only needed three trained people to operate and maintain a plant. Mom traveled with him and lived for months in far away locations like Guatemala, the Caribbean, and Hawaii. My aunt has suffered from severe motion sickness her whole life. She and Grammy usually remained at home.

Elmwood Park Lived next Jackie “the Lakey” Cerone. After gunfire at their famous neighbor's home in 1962, the family moved to Florida.

Three acres on Lake Nettie were planned to be a family estate. Gardening and woodworking. Needlepoint, crochet and knitting.

In September 1976, Papa was working in the yard and started having chest pains. He waited too long because of a recent misdiagnosis. By the time he decided to go to the hospital, it was too late. He died a couple days later.

What happened to Trustone and the patents? What unrealized plans did Papa have? He lost a patent lawsuit to a dishonest businessman between 1962 and 1967 in Ocala, Florida. Who was it? How did karma play out for the thief and his offspring?

Please reach me via the Contact form or social channels if you have any information that can help me document the lives and contributions of these two amazing people.