RAY W. and LILIAN EDINGER HARRY L. and PEARL BRAS Centralia, Wash. Lewis County Submitted by Richard S. Edinger richard@edinger.com Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.org/copyright.htm See also ALEXANDER SQUIRES Ray W. Edinger, along with his father-in-law, Harry L. Bras, purchased The Daily Chronicle in Centralia, Wash., in 1916. The newspaper continued in the family for the next 50 years. In the meantime, the Edinger family raised three (plus parts of a fourth) generations in Centralia: from the time Ray and Lilian moved there in 1911 until Jessie Squires Edinger died in 2000. Ray, the son of John and Jeanette Edinger of Greenville, Mich., migrated to Everett, Wash., in 1910. He met his future bride, Lilian Eugenia Bras, there. Her father, Harry Bras, had moved to Everett the year before from Mitchell, S.D., and brought his wife, Pearl, and three of his four daughters by an earlier marriage. The fourth and eldest, Louiee, stayed behind in Mitchell. The other two daughters, besides Lilian, were Florence and Sara. Florence married Richard Betts and lived in Spokane, Wash., while Sara married Frank Wiehe and lived in Bellingham, Wash. Louiee married Art Bjodstrup and they lived in Sioux Falls, S.D. Harry Leonard Bras' first wife, Harriett Betts, died on Nov. 27, 1903 in Mitchell. He married Pearl Phillips on Dec. 22, 1904, in Portage, Wis. They had two children: Frank Bras (1905-1973) and Mary Emma Bras Tobinski (1907-1989). They both lived in Centralia and Frank became Centralia fire chief. Pearl Bras, bookkeeper for the Chronicle, died in 1955. Harry served as editor of the Chronicle from 1916 to 1940, when he died. Ray Edinger then took over the newspaper, with a new title of editor and publisher. Ray and Lilian were married on Dec. 26, 1911, in Everett. They then moved to Centralia after Ray found a job as an advertising salesman at The Daily Chronicle. After four years at the Chronicle, Ray found an opportunity to buy the paper, which had gone into receivership due to hard economic times. With help from his father-in-law in Everett, the pair bought the Chronicle on March 29, 1916. Harry moved down to Centralia and became editor, while Ray became business manager. Ray and Lilian had three children: Mary Louiee, born on Nov. 1, 1912; John Bras Edinger, born on July 30, 1914, and Gail Jeanette, born on Jan. 26, 1923. Ray died on Jan. 9, 1957, in Centralia, and Lilian died on July 20, 1976, in Olympia. Mary Louiee Edinger married Milo Glassman in 1936 and lived in Eugene, Ore. They had two children: Thomas Edinger Glassman (1939) and Gail Virginia Glassman (1945), both living in Oregon. Mary Louiee died on Sept. 15, 1994 in Eugene. John Bras Edinger married Jessie M. Squires of Chehalis in 1937 and had four children: John Jr. (1938), Richard Squires (1940), Jean Marie (1943) and Carol Ann (1945). John married Betty Olson in 1964, sold the Chronicle in 1966 and moved to Olympia. He died on July 19, 1986. Gail Edinger married Robert Knowles in 1945 then lived in Longview for a few years before moving to Centralia. They had two children: Robert (1946) and William (1950). John Edinger Sr. graduated from the University of Washington in 1935. He served as Chehalis manager of the Chronicle from 1935 to 1945 (including a year at Harvard Business School). He moved to the Centralia office in 1945 and became business manager. He later became general manager, then editor. He became editor and publisher upon the death of his father in 1957. He married Betty Olson in 1964, sold the Chronicle to Richard Lafromboise in 1966, then moved to Olympia where he lived until his death in 1986. John Edinger Jr. married Sharon Caswell of Chehalis in 1957 and have four children: John III (1958), Kimberly Carmel (1960), Stephanie Marie (1961) and Elizabeth Mary (1963). John's career with the CIA and State Department took him to the Far East, including stints in Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia. He retired in 2002 in North Carolina. Richard Edinger married Catherine Sutherland of New Haven, Conn., in 1969, after having attended Centralia College and the University of Washington and graduating from South Dakota State University. He worked as a reporter for the Herald & Review in Decatur, Ill., for two years, then the Evening Sentinel in Ansonia, Conn., for 10 years. He served as managing editor of the latter newspaper before returning to the Northwest in 1977. Since that time he has been with The Oregonian in Portland, retiring in 2005. They live in Portland and Vashon Island. A son, William Sutherland Edinger, was born in 1971 and lives in Portland. Jean Edinger married Dennis Rohr of Centralia in 1964. They have two children: Andrew Edinger Rohr (1969) and Melissa Ann Rohr (1976) and live on Fox Island. Dennis is an electrical engineer, having worked for the Clallam and Mason county public utility districts and later as a consultant for several Eastern Washington PUDs. Carol Edinger married Jim Sollars of Tenino, Wash., in 1965. They had two daughters: Jill Marie (1968) and Anne Renee (1970). Carol married David Robinson of Centralia in 1980 and they live in Bellingham, where David has a law practice. The grandchildren of John Jr. and Sharon Edinger all live in Virginia. John III has a son, John B. Edinger IV. The grandchildren of Jean Edinger and Dennis Rohr live in Fox Island, Wash., and Beaverton, Ore. The grandchildren of Carol Edinger Robinson live in Spokane, Wash. Since the death of Jessie Squires Edinger in 2000, there are no remaining descendants of the Edinger, Bras and Squires families living in Lewis County.