Sunday, April 10, 2011

Obituaries of Employees of New Departure-Hyatt/Delphi

A former employee of New Departure-Hyatt, later known as Delphi, donated a collection of obituaries of former employees of the General Motors plant here in Sandusky. The years span 1996 through 2009. (GM sold Sandusky’s Delphi plant to Kyklos Bearings International in 2008.) Over 400 names are included in the notebook. An index at the front of the notebook provides easy access to the obituaries.


A great deal of personal history can be gleaned by browsing through these articles. Most obituaries of U. S. Veterans include the name of the unit with which they served. One lengthy obituary includes information about the former employee’s experience as an Eagle Scout, and as a combat pilot in the Pacific Theatre in World War Two. Hobbies, church affiliation, and club memberships are mentioned in most of the obituaries. An obituary for a Mr. Graziani, who passed away in 2008, provides his birth date and birthplace, which was in San Marino (within Italy) in 1929. Family connections can also be found, as the maiden names of wives are included, as well as the married names of daughters.

Following the obituaries is a collection of news articles related to New Departure-Hyatt from the Sandusky Register and company newsletters.
The last section of the notebook of Obituaries of Employees of New Departure-Hyatt/Delphi is a section of news articles about the wedding anniversaries of New Departure-Hyatt/Delphi employees. Almost every article includes a photograph of the couple.

While the notebook of Obituaries of Employees of New Departure-Hyatt/Delphi records information about a relatively small group of people for a limited number of years, virtually everyone who has lived in Erie County for any length of time will know someone whose name appears in this valuable resource. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to browse through the compilation of obituaries and anniversary articles of former auto workers in Sandusky.

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