Pearl Farm

I started this site to document some of our Pearl Family history and to memorialize the long journey of rehabbing the piece of the farm that I purchased in November 2021, including the farmhouse that my great great grandfather built in the late 1800s.

But we can’t talk about the Pearls without talking about the Dockrys and their ties to the Pearl farm.  So, first, here is a little lesson in the Pearl family tree. 

My great great grandfather, James H. Pearl, had six children, including my great grandfather, Tom Pearl.  Tom married Florence Doyle, who had four siblings, including a younger sister, Genevieve Doyle (Aunt Gen).  Their grandmother was a full blood Potawtomi Indian. 

Aunt Gen taken from a newspaper clipping. This isn’t the best picture, but I love it because I can see how my grandma resembled Aunt Gen.

Aunt Gen followed in the footsteps of most of the women in her family, and married an Irishman, Dr. Patrick F. Dockry.  They settled in Wisconsin and had four children:  Mary Ann, Patrick Doyle (Pat), Michael (Mike), and Dennis. 

Aunt Gen and Uncle Pat’s wedding announcement. I love that it refers to Aunt Gen as “Kansas Girl”.

My grandma, daughter of Tom Pearl and Florence Doyle, was close to Aunt Gen, and she even lived with Aunt Gen and Uncle Pat for several months.  Uncle Pat helped her to get a job at the local hospital.  (Side note:  Uncle Pat was friends with Curly Lambeau, and he was the unofficial first team doctor for the Green Bay Packers).  Grandma wrote a collection of short stories to document her life, and she wrote a story about Aunt Gen.  You can find that story here: https://pearlfarm.org/2023/04/16/aunt-gen/

Uncle Pat died very young, at age 49.  Great grandma Florence Doyle Pearl and the rest of the family rallied around Aunt Gen and her children, ages 12-19, following the loss of their beloved husband and father.  I’ve heard stories from the Dockrys of Aunt Gen sending the boys down to Kansas to spend time with their Aunt Florence and their cousins and work on the Pearl Farm.  I could write an entire post on just those memories. 

Uncle Pat’s death announcement in the Green Bay newspaper.

Undated photo of the Pearls, Doyles, and Dockrys, when the Dockrys visited Kansas. Based on Uncle Jerry’s look (front row right), I’m guessing that this was early 1940s. Aunt Gen is in the center with her arms on the shoulder of crying Mary Ann. Grandma is to the left of Aunt Gen.

Grandma absolutely adored her Dockry cousins.  She kept in close touch with them throughout her life, and traveled to see them when she could, and hosted them for countless family get togethers in Kansas.  Grandma never thought twice about jumping in the car or hopping on a plane to be there for milestone birthdays, weddings, funerals, and other special occasions, so If she was invited, she’d be there! 

I have so many great memories of spending time with Mary Ann, Aunt Gen and Uncle Pat’s oldest, and her husband, Tom, in Kansas and at Uncle Bob’s in Ohio.  Grandma and Mary Ann were close like sisters, to the point that Grandma would confide in MA when she was worried or concerned, and sometimes when she was happy (rare I’m sure!) with how I was doing in life.  I adopted Tom and Mary Ann as my unofficial godparents. They always kept tabs on how I was doing and would pray for me.  We also shared a special bond as we received our Potawtomi names together, during a ceremony hosted by Uncle Bob, in 2010.  I will never forget the special conversation that Tom and I had when we were driving in the caravan to a family dinner on the water in Maine in 2019.  I was having a hard time in life, and I left that trip filled with an immense sense of peace. Words cannot describe what their care and love meant to me.  Mary Ann died in 2019, and Tom died in 2021, and we gathered in Maine for memorial services each time.  Although each death was extremely sad, they brought me the gift of relationships with Tom and Mary Ann’s children, specifically their son Tom, and their daughter Meg, and their families, with whom I keep in touch.  Now we just need to manage to get together for events other than funerals! 

Mary Ann, Tom, and me, at brunch the day following our Potawatomi naming ceremony where Mary Ann and I along with my grandma, and the Ohio Pearls, received our Potawatomi names. Cleveland 2010. More on that here: https://amyguerich.com/2010/08/23/nashok-maket/

And then there is Patrick Doyle (Pat), the second of four children, and the first son, and his wife Rita.  My grandma talked about them often, and I remember them driving down to Kansas from Minnesota with their fifth wheel camper.  We’d also see them at Potawtomi pow wows in Oklahoma.  They wrote Christmas letters each year, which allowed us to keep up on the happenings of their five children and their families, most of whom I’ve not met, and for the handful I have met, those meetings have happened in recent years.  I love all my family, but there will always be an extra special place in my heart for Pat and Rita.  They made the drive to Kansas from Minnesota for Grandma’s funeral.  They love their children and grandchildren fiercely.  Pat had a gentle soul and calm demeanor and the kindest eyes.  He also had a great sense of humor.  In recent years, when he’d see me, he’d call me a “big shot” or “famous” with a grin on his face, because he knew that I had done some TV work over the years, and he followed my journey from intern to business owner.  Pat gave the BEST hugs.  His wife of 60 plus years, Rita, is small but mighty in so many ways.  I have always admired her devotion to her family and her incredibly strong faith.  She has always been so kind and so friendly and welcoming and extremely positive.  Rita has the ability to always see the good in everyone and everything.  It is always a joy to be around Pat and Rita.  We were thrilled to spend some time together when I had to be in Minneapolis a few years ago.  Pat picked me up from the airport, and we went to meet Rita at the school gym to watch their granddaughter, Mia, play in a high school basketball tournament.  It was so fun to watch Mia, and it was so special to see how proud Pat and Rita were of her.  Whenever I spend time with them it is very clear that they are incredibly proud of all of their children and grandchildren.  I loved hearing their stories of traveling to games, school activities, graduations, weddings, and other milestone events for the grandchildren.  

Pat recently passed away at age 85, after a sudden and very brief illness.  I am so sad and will miss him so much. 

Pat, their granddaughter, Mia, Rita, and me, MSP May 2019.

Pat and me in Appleton, WI, August 2021. This is a terrible picture of me, but this is exactly how I think of Pat…with a big smile on his face.

Michael (Mike) was number three of the four Dockry kids.  Mike married Eleanor and they have two boys. I didn’t spend as much time with Mike and Eleanor as I did with Tom and Mary Ann and Pat and Rita.  Growing up, through listening to my grandma and her siblings talk about Mike, I determined that Mike seemed to be very close to our Potawatomi roots.  My great great great grandma, Theresa, who was a full blood Potawatomi Indian, had two brothers who received land allotments in Oklahoma.  Uncle Bob and Mike eventually ended up with the land after Uncle Leo died.  I also remember Mike’s quiet and gentle demeanor, and his friendly and kind smile.  He was also a great story teller.  I admired his candidness and appreciated hearing stories from his past because it helped me to feel more connected to my roots.  Even though it was a sad occasion, I was overjoyed to get to spend time with Mike and Eleanor when we were all together for Mary Ann’s memorial service in May 2019.  I remember being in such utter shock when I heard the news that Mike passed around Christmas time in December 2020.  Eleanor and the boys hosted the most wonderful celebration of life on a bright sunny Green Bay day in August 2021.  I was grateful to have been invited. 

Family dinner where we gathered during the weekend we spent in Maine for Mary Ann’s memorial service May 2019. I love this picture because I wanted a picture with Tom and Mary Ann’s grandkids, and Mike wanted to jump in. This makes me so happy. This was my last night with everyone, and I cried when I said goodbye.

My cousin Gerry Lou and I with the Dockry crew at the hotel following Mike’s celebration of life, August 2021.

Dennis is the youngest of the four Dockry children.  He’s married to Bonnie.  Dennis and Bonnie were famous in our family because they sailed in Wisconsin.  It is my understanding that any time they hosted Kansas relatives, Dennis and Bonnie would take them out on the sailboat.  I don’t remember personally spending much time with them until we were all together in Maine for Mary Ann’s memorial service.  I’m so grateful to Bonnie for keeping in touch with me and letting me know about all of the arrangements, so that I could make the trip and spend time with everyone.  Now we trade emails to exchange news between the Kansas and Ohio Pearls and the Wisconsin and Minnesota Dockrys.  When we were together for Mary Ann’s memorial service, one of the first things that Dennis asked me when he saw me was how my Uncle Jerry was doing.  He had tears in his eyes when he recalled his fond memories of spending time at the Pearl farm in the summers as he was growing up.  When we were in Green Bay for Mike’s celebration of life, I got to meet Dennis and Bonnie’s daughter, Kelly, and their son, Ryan and their families, for the first time.  Ryan and his wife, Lori, recently stopped and visited us at the farm when they were passing through, and we had so much fun catching up over dinner. 

Cousin Gerry Lou and I with Bonnie after Mike’s celebration of Life. Appleton, WI August 2021.

We got some Pearls together when Dennis and Bonnie’s son and daughter-in-law, Ryan and Lori, were passing through. St. Marys March 2023.

I used to worry about whether or not I’d be “alone” or “on my own” when my grandma died, because she was my link to our extended family.  Uncle Pat died before my dad was even born, and Aunt Gen died 7 years before I was born, so I never got to meet them.  Their four children were my grandma’s first cousins, which makes them my second cousins once removed (thanks, Ancestry.com for helping me to understand what that even means!).  I don’t know many people who know who their grandma’s cousins are, let alone getting to meet them, their children, grandchildren, and keep in touch and spend time together.  So the fact that they’ve all embraced me and kept in touch and welcomed me to family gatherings, and welcomed me into their homes is truly an amazing gift that I will treasure for the rest of my life.  We have so many relatives all over the country that now, more than nine years since Grandma’s death, it’s sort of comical that I ever thought I’d be alone! 

Words cannot describe how THRILLED that I was when I sent invitations out for our July 2nd party at the farm last summer, and received replies from Bonnie and Dennis and Pat and Rita that they’d be making the trip to visit and attend the party!! I have a huge smile on my face just thinking about the memory!  They drove in and arrived on a Friday in the late afternoon. Cousin Claire was extremely generous and hosted us all for a family buffet style dinner at her house, so that we could spend some time visiting and catching up.  It was wonderful to be able to get together outside of a funeral or memorial setting!  The next day, we were able to do a driving tour of St. Marys and had a visit to the Doyle Place (my great great Grandpa Doyle’s cattle ranch- he would have been the Dockry kids’ grandfather) hosted by Ryan and Andrea and their sweet kiddos.  Saturday evening we had a blast at the farm visiting, enjoying delicious food, cold drinks, and live music.  On Sunday morning, we had a poolside brunch send off before they got on the road north back home. I get goosebumps thinking about all of the Doyles, Pearls, and Dockrys smiling down on us from heaven, especially my grandma, and Uncle Jerry and Aunt Hildegard.  I am so grateful that we had a photographer at the party so we have a permanent record of the party and how happy we all were to be together.  I’m so glad that I gave Pat a few extra long hugs now that I know that was the last time I’d get to see him. 

Dennis, Bonnie, Rita, and Pat outside of the Doyle home, now Ryan and Andrea’s house, July 2022.

July 2nd Party July 2022. This makes me so happy!

I am so grateful for our family connection to the Dockrys, and they will always be a part of the past, present, and future of my journey at the farm. 

Link to the story that my grandma wrote about Aunt Gen at some point in the late 90s.

https://pearlfarm.org/2023/04/16/aunt-gen/