Janitor, Flight Instructor or Businessman?

*Note - So when people die, we lie? 

Ok, I had a blog post written and published for today, but I pulled it down. Apparently I "stepped in it." You see, I guess I didn't realize that when our family members die, we don't put the truth on their death certificates, but instead we put what we want, you know, to portray them in the best light possible.

The original post for today was about the conflicting information on Elizabeth Warren's father's occupation. She now says he was a janitor, but on his death certificate, she, the informant, listed his occupation as flight instructor. And the instructions were clear - "Give kind of work done during most of working life."She listed "Flight Instructor" and employer as "US Army."

So, now, are we supposed to believe that he really was a janitor, but that wasn't good enough so Elizabeth Warren decided to list him as a flight instructor because that would portray him in a better light? That is basically what I was told on Twitter today. Are you kidding me? If Elizabeth Warren did that, then she is a bigger snob than I thought! My gosh. If your dad worked to support the family, then whatever occupation he had was good enough! There is no shame in working hard for a living. None!

This is absolutely insane. It seems that very little Elizabeth Warren says about her family today matches the information found about them in primary records or other documents. Sometimes even the information she provided for those primary documents doesn't match what she says today. 

Below, you find my post from this morning. I guess you have to decide if she is telling the truth now, or if she was then. Or if in a moment of deep sadness, when most people just tell the truth, she decided to list him as a flight instructor for the military for most of his life because that would portray him in a better light than a janitor. And, if that is what she did, then why say he was a janitor now. After all, he is still dead. why not keep portraying him in a "better light," whatever the heck that means.

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While continuing to research Elizabeth Warren and her claims of Cherokee ancestry, I stumbled across a video, apparently one made by her campaign. In it, President Obama says Elizabeth Warren was a janitor's daughter. 

That caught my attention because that is not what the informant put as his usual occupation on his death certificate. There, where the instructions said, "Decedent's Usual Occupation (Give kind of work done during most of working life)", it said, "Flight Instructor." And, the informant was none other than "Mrs. Elizabeth Warren." 

Click to enlarge

Also, in his obituary, he is not listed as a janitor, but instead, as a flight instructor during the war, and a self-employed businessman. 

Daily Oklahoman, The (Oklahoma City, OK) - December 5, 1997 Deceased Name: Donald J. Herring HERRING Donald J., 86, of OKC, died Dec. 3, 1997 at his residence. He was born Nov. 5, 1911 in Wetumka, OK to Grant and Ethel Herring. Don had been a resident of the OKC area for the past 35 years. He was a member of the May Avenue Methodist Church. He was a flight instructor for the U.S Army during WW II and was a self-employed business man. His wife, Pauline, preceded him in death July 18, 1995. He is survived by three sons, Donald Reed Herring and his wife, Marion of Chappala Mexico, John Hayne Herring and his wife, Barbara of OKC, David Lee Herring and his wife, Carol of Deer Creek, OK; a daughter, Elizabeth Warren and her husband, Bruce Mann of Cambridge, MA; two brothers, Raymond Herring of Dallas, TX, Jack Herring and his wife, Mary Jo of Wetumka, OK; one sister, Virginia Stout and her husband, Eldon of Okmulgee, OK, and sister-in-law, Bess A. Veneck of OKC; nine grandchildren and three great grandsons. Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. Friday, Dec. 5,1997, at the First Unite d Methodist Church in Wetumka, OK. Interment will follow in the Wetumka Cemetery. Edition: City Page: 31 Copyright (c) 1997 Oklahoma Publishing Company 

Anyone else confused? It seems today, Warren only says her father was a janitor, but when he died, she listed the work he had done most of his working life as "flight instructor." And in the obit, there was no mention of janitor, but only flight instructor and businessman. Was her father really a janitor? Who knows? It seems every time Elizabeth Warren says something about her family and/or family history, no matter what she says, it rarely matches what the documents say. But either way you look at this one, she is lying somewhere. Either her father was a janitor most of his working life and she lied on the death certificate, or he was a flight instructor most of his working life and she is lying to us now. It can't be both ways.

Gee, isn't genealogy fun? Who would have thought it would ever play such a role in giving us insight into the credibility of a political candidate?

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thanks for reading.

*Note added 9/14/2012 - There is no mention of janitor in the following article from 2010 either. Maintenance man is the closest they get to anything it .

Her father, a self-taught pilot who was a flight instructor in Muskogee during World War II, worked as a traveling salesman and in Oklahoma City, at Montgomery Ward. He was demoted after suffering a heart attack, and later took a job as a maintenance worker at an apartment house.

 http://newsok.com/elizabeth-warren-an-okie-in-washington-riles-wall-street/article/3481388#ixzz26RGvhRxG

copyright 2012, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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