Norbert C. Boncher &
Delores Cavallaro
Norbert C BONCHER was born July 17th, 1915, in Humboldt, Brown county, Wisconsin. Norbert was the third son of Joseph Henry MASSEY and Mary Louise LEURQUIN. The story goes that he used the BONCHER surname (belonging to his maternal grandmother) because his father Joseph Henry died in 1917, leaving his family in the care of his mother - Margaret Catherine BONCHER. Mary Louise remarried after Joseph's death in 1920 (see Theophile Balza Family History).
Norbert was educated through the eighth grade. At the age of 17, he threw his clothes out of the upstairs window, stole his brothers bike and rode it from Green Bay, to Batavia, Illinois. There he joined a carnival. After one month he quit the carnival and hopped a freight train to California. He joined the U.S. Army in 1938.
Delores CAVALLARO was born in Salinas, California.
Norbert Boncher met and married Delores Cavallaro in Salinas, Californina on February 9th, 1938. Norbert stayed in the Army in California until 1942 when he was mustered out, however, because of the war effort he was recalled into the Army and served until 1946 when he was mustered out for medical reasons. After leaving the army, Norbert worked as an industrial carpenter.
Norbert and Delores had five children born in California:
- Norbert C. BONCHER Jr. (Butch) was born in California and married Mary Alice COMPLIMENT raising 3 children( Lisa, Timothy and Lori).
- Joseph Phillip BONCHER was born in California, married Mary WILLIAMS and they have two daughters (Yvette and Noelle).
- Robert Henry BONCHER was born in California, married Judy Ann GRIESE and have three sons (Jesse, Jeremy and Justin).
- Nadine BONCHER was born in California, married John NABIELSKI and have one son Joshua.
- Francis Neil BONCHER was born in California, married Karen KOMISARK, and have three boys (Chad, Christopher and Cory).
The family remained in California until 1954, when they decided to return to Green Bay, Wisconsin. Their they had one more daughter:
- Christine Ann BONCHER, was born in Green Bay, Brown county Wisconsin, and married twice. First to Daniel SHOWER giving him three daughters (Jennifer, Stephanie and Carrie). Her second marriage is to Toni BAST
Norbert was employed as a carpenter at the Fruin & Colnon Construction Company from 1959 until 1971. He worked for Basten Construction from 1971 until 1974 when he fell down a stairwell on a construction site, and was forced to retire.
Norbert died on May 17th, 1995 (obituary).
Memories:
MASSEY Ancestry 
The eldest known Massey ancestor at this time is John MASSEY ( ) who married Mary Katherine BONCHER ( ) (John Massey Family History).
They had at least one child, Joseph
Henry MASSEY ( ) who married Mary Louise LEURQUIN (1894 -
1967). Joseph and Mary had three sons. The third son was
Norbert BONCHER (Massey) who is described above.
LEURQUIN Ancestry
The LEURQUIN surname is very much a research in progress. The origin of the Leurquin family like the Balza family is Belgium. According to the immigration records they come from the area around the city of Temploux. Our earliest known Leurquin ancestor is Desire LEURQUIN (1824 - 1910) who married Cecelia BOURNONVILLE (1830 - 1918). Together they had four children (Desire Leurquin Family History). The third child of this union was Dieu Donni LEURQUIN (1865 - 1935) who married Victoria MARTIN (1871 - 1936). Dieu Donni and Victoria raised ten children (Dieu Donni Leurquin Family History). The second of these children was Mary Louise LEURQUIN (1894 - 1967) who first married Joseph Henry MASSEY and had three sons (Frank, Clarence and Norbert) - Norbert is described above.
CAVALLARO Ancestry
Delores CAVALLARO
? Ancestry
Maternal Mother's surname unknown.
Last updated: January 15, 2000
Copyright 2000, Richard M. Balza
To make corrections or obtain more information contact: Richard M. Balza