William J Hork & Lela Nell Johnston’s Wedding

William Joseph Hork and Lela Nell Johnston were married at Queen of All Saints Church in Concord, California, on 19 April 1953.[1] Lea’s friend, Barbara Boyenger, was her maid of honor and Bill’s brother-in-law, Gene Soares, was his best man.

Before the ceremony, Ken Harvey, Barbara’s future husband, took photos of the preparation at Lea’s house. Barbara must have spent the night as we see the two of them having breakfast still in their night clothes. 

The marriage news was written about in the Contra Costa Times and the Concord Transcript. The article in the Times is very detailed about the clothing the participants wore during the wedding and afterward for their wedding trip.

They married on a Sunday afternoon at Queen of All Saints Church in Concord. Father Adrian McKenna presided over the ceremony attended by immediate family members and close friends. Because Lea was not Catholic, the ceremony was likely not a full Mass. The photo below shows the couple just at the altar. It is too bad the angle was not a little higher so the attendees could also be seen.

Lea wore a street-length dress made of antique white taffeta with unpressed pleats fashioned in the full skirt. The bodice was designed with three-quarter-length Dolman sleeves, a Peter Pan collar, and self-covered buttons. She wore an ice-blue lace picture hat with an open crown and matching silk gloves. Her white shantung slippers were adorned with tiny flower sprays on the toes.

Her borrowed item was pearl earrings belonging to her aunt, Kay Johnston, wife of Hal Johnston. She also carried a white prayer book topped with roses and stephanotis.

Her maid of honor wore a dusty pink silk shantung dress and white linen slippers. Her corsage was white carnations. Her mother wore a navy-blue faille suit dress with red accessories. Bill’s mother wore a printed silk dress with a matching stole and pink accessories. Her corsage of pink carnations completed her costume.

Out-of-town guests who attended were Lea’s aunt, Beryl Russell of Sacramento, Eugene and June Soares of Palo Alto, Loretta Patterson of Pomona, and Johnnie and Virginia Gertridge of Menlo Park.

The reception after the wedding was held at the home of Tom and Pansy Johnston. Cake and punch were served. The following photos of the reception were also taken by Ken Harvey.

Here are some shots taken at the reception.

For their wedding trip, Lea wore a navy-blue linen dress with a white jacket and matching accessories. She changed before the toast of the couple and when they left, they were sent off in a spray of rice.

The article did not state their destination, but they honeymooned at the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco.

Notes:

This was previously written as a chapter in the book about the lives of our parents, written for my siblings, December 2024.

1. "Lela Johnston, and William Hork Exchange Wedding Vows at Afternoon Ceremony," Contra Costa Times, 23 April 1953, p. 5.

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#52Ancestors-Week 23: Wedding Bells
This is my eighth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

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