Farabaugh Family History - Person Sheet
NameJohn Leonard Fechter 
BirthAug 31, 1893, Altoona, Pa.
DeathJun 3, 1957, Logan Township, Blair County, Pa.
BurialCalvary Cemetery, Altoona, Pa.
FatherWilliam Fechter (1871-1935)
MotherBertha J. Young (1877-1922)
Spouses
BirthMay 1, 1900, Altoona, Pa.
DeathJan 30, 1973, Altoona, Pa.
BurialCalvary Cemetery, Altoona, Pa.
FatherJohn Davis
MotherCatherine Foley
MarriageJun 1, 1925
Notes for John Leonard Fechter
In 1910, John was working in a tin shop in Altoona, Pa. In 1918, his WWI registration form sought an exemption from service because he wanted to help with his father’s bakery business. In 1930, he was a bakery manager and WWI veteran renting a home with Mae on 18th Street.
John took over the Westmont Bakery, with his sister, following their father’s death in 1935. By 1939, it was expanded to three stories with a daily production of 15-18,000 loaves of bread, with capacity to produce 40,000. It had 63 employees and 18 trucks. In 1940, John was working 85 hours a week as a bakery business manager, earning $3,000 a year while renting with Mae on 18th Street.
His tombstone indicates that he served as a ship’s cook during WWI. A newspaper account expalins that he enlisted as a cook in the USN on June 15, 1918, and embarked for various European ports. He became a First Class cook and acting chief steward, returning to the States aboard the USS Coursair in 1919.
John took over the Westmont Bakery, with his sister, following their father’s death in 1935. By 1939, it was expanded to three stories with a daily production of 15-18,000 loaves of bread, with capacity to produce 40,000. It had 63 employees and 18 trucks. In 1940, John was working 85 hours a week as a bakery business manager, earning $3,000 a year while renting with Mae on 18th Street.
His tombstone indicates that he served as a ship’s cook during WWI. A newspaper account expalins that he enlisted as a cook in the USN on June 15, 1918, and embarked for various European ports. He became a First Class cook and acting chief steward, returning to the States aboard the USS Coursair in 1919.
Notes for Mae L. (Spouse 1)
Mae was a locally known singer in the 1930s in Altoona, and usually was reported professionally at civic functions as “Mae Davis Fechter.”