The famous popcorn maker has made it into the family. Although I have no blood ties to him, his descendants and grandchildren are my 3rd cousins.
Orville was born, according to most sources, 16 July 1907 in the Clay County Indiana town of Brazil. His first wife, and mother of his three daughters, was Corinne Strate. His daughter, Sue, married my 3rd cousin once removed, Dewey Gourley (This is from my maternal grandmother's side of the family).
I'm currently attempting to locate information that Orville's grandson, Gary, did indeed share his surname, or if perhaps he was credited as such for advertising purposes. "Gary Redenbacher" appeared with his grandfather in later television commercials (in the 1980s). As yet, I've found no evidence that Mr. Redenbacher had a son, so the surname of this grandson is indeed interesting.
Of course, I've by no means done an extensive search on this family, so I'm going on the assumption (until otherwise proven false) that information does exist.
According to all reports that I've found for Mr. Redenbacher, he was a staunch supporter of his family, made vacation trips from California to Evansville every year, and loved his family dearly. As a young man, he grew up farming, and found the American Dream of success though honest, and hard work. I'm honored to be able to include this gentleman as an important part of my kinship.
Mr. Redenbacher died on September 19, 1995 in Coronado, California.
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Orville Redenbacher often credited Indiana 4-H for helping him to becoming a successful farmer & businessman. He supported 4-H financially. As I was growing up within 4-H clubwork, his success was used to inspire many of us to be good citizens & to strive for success in anything that we set out to do!
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