Introduction: Starting at the beginning...

Hi!  My name is Michael Hamilton, and I'm here to share stuff. 

My mother, Antonette Hamilton, (no middle name) passed away on May 16th, 2013.  My father, being the stoic old man that he was, thought it best to erase Mom's digital footprint from the internet without informing anyone that he was going to do that.  With that, many many years of valuable family photos, videos, and memories were lost.  This is my attempt at creating some sort of online presence for her--a place where people can come to remember her as she was.

I will use as little narration as possible while I do this.  Please know that this is a long-term endeavor, and I will likely be spending the rest of my natural life going through old slides and photographs and scanning them into digital format.  This project could very possibly outlive me and wind up unfinished!

Birth photo of Antonette Coudle

Birth, Childhood and Early Life:

Toni was born to Josephine and Wm H Coudle on October 24th, 1944, at least according to her birth certificate.  Her mother always told her that it was a mistake however, and that she was born on October 23rd, and that is the actual date that we celebrated while I was growing up.  She was the youngest of three children, the others being Wm Howard Coudle Jr (Howard), and her sister Susan.  

To the left here is the only know photo of Mr. and Mrs. William Howard Coudle that I KNOW of.  William was a traveling railroad worker, and Josephine, worked where she could work in St. Louis.  William Coudle left Josephine the same day that Toni was born and never returned.

Likely from the later 40's, here is a photo of Toni all dressed up and looking rather mischevious!  

Photograph of Antonette and her sister Susan Coudle.  Not sure when this one was taken.  I will have to get in touch with her to find out!!

Toni Coudle at age 11.  Old School photo.  I hate to say this, but this would be about the time that her Mother, Josephine, would be entering the hospital with cancer.  Josephine would not survive.

Here's Toni at one of her homes, likely in Junior High School.          

Below is a difficult one to place.  Below is Toni Coudle likely in her Sophomore year of High School?  This is another one I need to check on.

I do believe that this is Toni's senior photo, taken around the time of her graduation from High School in Webster Groves.  At that time she was living with her sister Susan and her husband, Richard Zimmer.