Harwood Douglas Ponton

b. 29 December 1919, d. 7 March 2007

Harwood Douglas Ponton 1919-2007
  • Harwood Douglas Ponton was born on 29 December 1919 in Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.
  • Harwood D. Ponton and Evelyn Lee Campbell appeared in the US federal census of 1 January 1920 in Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. Other members of the household included Harwood Douglas Ponton, Ella Wood Ponton, Douglas McQueen Campbell and Ella Abercrombie Wood.
  • About 1920, a snapshot was taken of Douglas McQueen Campbell and his grandson Harwood Douglas Ponton.
  • Harwood D. Ponton and Evelyn Lee Campbell appeared in the US federal census of 1 April 1930 in Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, at 917 South Division Street. Other members of the household included Harwood Douglas Ponton, Ella Wood Ponton.
  • A photographic portrait was made about 1935.
  • Harwood D. Ponton and Evelyn Lee Campbell appeared in the US federal census of 1 April 1940 in Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, at 917 South Division Street. Other members of the household included Harwood Douglas Ponton, Ella Wood Ponton. It is noted that son Harwood was absent from the household.
  • He was employed as a vacation relief man by an oil field supplier, according to the 1940 census.
  • He enlisted on 26 June 1942 as a private in the US Army Air Corps at Lake Charles Air Base. At the time of his enlistment he was single and without dependents.
  • The following appeared on 16 June 1943 in the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate: Harwood D. Ponton, son of Mr. and Mrs. H. D. Ponton of Lake Charles, and a graduate of the University here, has been promoted to the rank of second lieutenant, bombardier, at the Victorville Army Air Forces Bombardier school, Victorville, Calif.
  • He married Elizabeth Sue Norman, daughter of Aubrey Norman Smith and Mary Glenn Tatum, in June 1943 in Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, at 739 Pujo Street, the home of the bride. Although a fall wedding in California had been planned, the groom, serving in the US Army Air Corps, was able to fly home unexpectedly, so the happy event was put together in about 24 hours.
  • The following appeared on 11 November 2004 in the Aiken Standard: Harwood D. Ponton served as a 1st lieutenant in the US Army Air Corps during WWII as a lead crew bombardier and also as a celestial navigator. (He was one of few who earned their wings with the dual rating.) He flew the B-29 Super Fortress over "the hump" from India in order to get fuel to the advance bases in China from which they bombed Manchuria, Japan, and Taiwan. He accumulated over 500 hours of operational flight time before he was brought back to the states to go into research and development.
  • The following appeared on 29 January 1960 in the Lake Charles American Press: Mrs. Evelyn Ponton of 917 South Division street, wife of Harwood D. Ponton, died at 7:35 a.m. today at the Lake Charles Memorial hospital. She had lived in Lake Charles for the past 41 years.
         The body is at the Hixson funeral home, where Christian Science services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday with Leader Frank Ferrar officiating.
         She was a member of the First Church of Christian Scientists here and the Mother Church of Boston, Mass. She was active for many years in local civic and welfare work and served in many organizations.
         Survivors are her husband; one daughter, Ella Wood Ponton of Lake Charles; one son, Harwood D. Ponton Jr., of Baton Rouge, and one granddaughter.
  • Harwood Douglas Ponton became a widower at the 27 August 1988 death of his wife Elizabeth Sue Norman.
  • During September 2005, four descendants of Green Wood met to share the treasured documents so carefully preserved through the years by his daughter Ella and her family.
  • Harwood Douglas Ponton died on 7 March 2007 at age 87 in Aiken, Aiken County, South Carolina.
  • He was interred at Greenoaks Memorial Park, Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.
  • The following appeared on 9 March 2007 in the Aiken Standard: Mr. Harwood Douglas Ponton, born Dec. 29, 1919, died March 7, 2007, at Trinity Lutheran Home in Aiken, South Carolina.
         Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, March 12, 2007, at Shellhouse Funeral Home on Hayne Avenue in Aiken. Rev. George Howle will officiate. Interment will be at Greenoaks Cemetery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
         Mr. Ponton was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, a son of the late Harwood D. Ponton and Evelyn Campbell Ponton. Mr. Ponton attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He was a lieutenant in the military during World War II as a navigator and bombardier in the 444th Bomb Group in the 20th Air Force. He lived in Baton Rouge from 1948-2003, where he was an executive with PVF, Inc., an industrial-oil field supply company. In 2003 he moved to Aiken.
         He was predeceased by his wife, Elizabeth Norman Ponton and is survived by his only daughter Elizabeth (Betty) Ponton Thomason and her husband Richard Sumner Thomason of Aiken. Other survivors include three granddaughters, Laura Leigh Thomason, Susan Thomason Gawlik (Anthony), and Katherine Thomason Weikel (Colby) and a great-grandson, Reid Thomason Weikel, all of Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Ponton was fondly called "Daddy Wood" by his family and friends.
         Mr. Ponton raised camellias in Louisiana. He had been a member and past president of the Quarterdeck Club in Baton Rouge and a member of the Senior Men's Club in Aiken. He was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He was a loving husband, a caring friend, and a devoted family man.
         Memorials may be made to Trinity Lutheran Home, St. John's United Methodist Church, or the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (Mid-Atlantic Chapter, c/o Anthony Gawlik, 9801-1 Southern Pines Blvd., Charlotte, N.C. 28273).
         The family will receive friends from 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 11, at Shellhouse Funeral Home, 924 Hayne Avenue, Aiken, S.C.
  • Last Edited: 17 Dec 2014

Family: Elizabeth Sue Norman b. 2 December 1923, d. 27 August 1988