VIETNAM ERA & His Final Years (1960 thru 1974)

Wilimovsky's Studio, Photographed by the Artist - Early 1960s

Samples of Charles Wilimovsky's Art Photography that he

developed in his own well-equipped darkroom - Early '60s

Bill's Studio in Torrance, California
(slightly different from the top photo) - Early 1960s

Dorothea's second husband: Has Scheneman

Has teaching Charles to gallop - 1961

At the Weidner home in San Francisco photographed
by Roark: James, Cynthia, Jain, Willie, Jimmy

The Parker kids: Billy, Laura, Sarah - 1961

Bill took this startling shot from the backyard of our home in San Diego. The sliding glass door shows a reflection at top-left of Laramée on the hill behind our property, and my mother Charmian is coming through a doorway inside the house.

THE ONLY KNOWN SELF-PORTRAIT OF C. A. WILIMOVSKY 
To create artistic special effects, Bill occasionally experimented with skillful double-exposures (or even triple, as we might be seeing here). Judging by the words on the sign behind his head, this is a reflection. He isn't peering thru the viewfinder but is purposely shooting himself at chest level. Super-imposed hands appear above his knees, suggesting another self-portrait that is mostly invisible, and it seems that a third faint image of seashells has been added to the composition.

Exploring a cave

Charmian Lyda in Yosemite (with imaginary snow)

Charles Lyda - Yosemite

Yosemite National Park, California, by Wilimovsky - 1962

Bill's photo of his grandchildren:
Laramée, Grady, Charles - 1962

Laramée and Charmian - Torrance, California

Dotty Scheneman - February 1963

Note on Back by Frances Brazzel (far left): "Here I am in the picture again, Jain next to Florence, Linda & baby & Marguerite. Charmian between Linda & Marguerite. Florence & Jain closed their eyes for some reason." - Torrance, CA 1963

Lu's father Pappy (Grady Lyda, Sr) and Lu's sister Martha Parker

with daughter Laura -- Lakeside, California, near San Diego

Pappy & Granny (Lu's parents) plus their grandkids
Sarah & Laura, with mom Martha

Billy Parker, Granny (Sarah Lyda) and
Martha Parker - December 1963

Torrance, California. Note by Charmian: "Harry [Marguerite's husband], Lu, Me and Daddy at Marguerite's backyard -- My [37th] Birthday Party 8-10-64 -- Daddy 79-80 years old"

August 10, 1964 - LEFT: Bill, Charm, Charles, Laramée
RIGHT: Lara, Harry, Dorothea, Charm, Florence, Bill

These pictures show Marguerite & Harry's large backyard. Beyond this image, about 50 feet to the left, we would see the small guest house where Wilimovsky happily lived by himself among his paintings (see interior photo at the top of this page).  

Grandma Brazzel, Charm, Florence, Jain, Grandma Dot

A water-skiing outing: Marguerite, Harry, and Lu
(Charm is barely visible at left)
Mission Bay, San Diego - August 1964

Helping Has to work a SoCal neighborhood
for pony picture customers

Posing with the family's Citroën: Mom, Laramée, Grady (holding a model of "The Mummy" that I built from a kit), Chuck and Dad

Charles Clinton Lyda, Age 12 - October 1964

Thanksgiving: Great Grandma & Laramée, with Dad using a newfangled electric carving knife - November 1964

Grady, Lara, Grandpa Bill, Grandma Dot & Brazzel, Lu, Charm, Charles, & a tasty turkey

Christmas with Laramée, Grady (wearing a silver lamé spacesuit made by my mom, an expert seamstress), Chuck and Grandma Brazzel - 1964

Note on back by Dot: "Our sailor boy Roark Weidner, September 24,1965, with Charmian & yours truly. Has took pictures, we bade him goodbye at L.A. air station [LAX]"

Boy Scout Charles Lyda - November 1965

Dad and Mom

Jain Weidner - November 25, 1965. NOTE that the large Wilimovsky painting on the wall (seen above & below) is the same art that appears in pictures from his Torrance, California, residence in the late 1950s (see 1950 thru 1959) and the early '60s (see above). Some of C.A. Wilimovsky's most beloved paintings were exchanged among different households thru-out the years.  

Jain and Jim Weidner, San Francisco

Thanksgiving with Jimmy, Grandma Brazzel, Cynthia,
Jain, and Jim Weidner - 1965

Note by Charm: "Laramée in her first formal.
I made it for her Dec 11 School Christmas dance" - 1965

 

Grandpa Bill's photos at the family's home. It's amusing to realize that Grady's position in each picture represents Bill's location while snapping the other photograph: "Okay, now you come here and I'll go there."

Has, Frances, Dotty - February 1966

My Great Grandmother Brazzel was a persistent human being: She kept living until 1:PM, Wednesday, September 13, 1972, when she finally died at age 94. You can see an account of her burial if you visit my blog that covers each day of 1972: "Friday, September 15, 1972 - I am a pallbearer at the funeral."

Grandma Brazzel rarely spoke, but she always celebrated her great grandchildren's birthdays by presenting a card with a collection of pennies glued to it that matched the kid's age. I thought that was an unforgivably cheap gesture, but I realized that if I gave her a similar card, she'd be very close to a whole dollar by now. Consequently, here's a giant card (20"x14") with real pennies that I built for her birthday in 1971...

I thought this tremendous artistic achievement would get a rise out of her. Maybe she'd laugh heartily and say, "Oh, thank you, Grady. I love it! You're so clever and talented!" Instead she glared at it briefly, shook her head and turned away, wandering off without a word.

Later my mom pointed out that I got her age wrong (this was actually her 93rd birthday) and I misspelled her name (only one "z" instead of two). Ooops! This awkward incident inspired me to become a diligent proofreader and fact-checker in the future.

My father, Lu Lyda, was employed as a technical illustrator for the U.S.
Department of Defense. He also created his own sculptures and drawings.
Above is his wood carving that depicts a brutal ceremony. The central image
shows a prominent Aztec god. At right, we see a priest offering a still-beating heart
freshly removed from a sacrificial victim. The murdered man's spirit connects
the heart with his body, confronting the hungry god who caused his death. 

 Phoenix Rising from the Ashes (Rebirth & Transformation)
and Taking Flight (Revolution & Freedom)

Lu built these metal sculptures using twisted wire and molten solder.

This is my Dad's grand masterpiece showing everything anybody would ever want to know about those pesky Vikings (53"x21.5") - 1966 (To see a high-res version, go here)

Lu made a series of drawings based on photos from his son's paddling trips. Chuck took copies with him to various venues and sold them to help finance his ambitious athletic endeavors.

My brother made this sign to raise money at a river running event. He became a World Champion paddler, an Olympic Athlete, a Biathlon Coach for the California Army National Guard, and served in Iraq as a Major in the Army Corps of Engineers.

Chuck had achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and he was preparing for another tour of duty in Iraq when he was hospitalized with a sudden illness. His ashes were buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on October 8, 2010.

Chuck Lyda at the White House - April 29, 1998

A personal class project from 6th Grade at Paularino School in Costa Mesa, California. At age twelve, I (Grady) built a detailed replica of a Mercury space capsule. I am barely visible inside this model. My father helped a bit with its construction, but the big ugly poster hanging on the rear curtain is all mine - 1966

Laramée Lu Lyda - June 1969

Has and Charles on a truck driving job - August 1969

Laramée with husband Michael Sarason,

married December 20, 1969

Dorothea Agatha Brazzel Wilimovsky Scheneman (Grandma Dot)

and Frances B. McAuliff Brazzel (Great Grandma Brazzel) - April 1971

Dot with her sisters in Kansas, Margaret & Loretta Brazzel - April 1971

Grady, Charmian, & Dorothea going on a trip to Europe - April 1971

Chuck Lyda with girlfriend Wendy Carpenter in San Francisco - August 1972

Charmian & Chuck on the Kern River, CA - April 1974

In the blog that recreates my journal for each day of 1972, I describe a few times when Grandpa Bill visited us (TrueTimeTravel). I was living with my mom, Charmian, in a mobile home on the shores of Newport Bay in Southern California.

See "Saturday, December 2, 1972 - A visit from Grandpa Bill" when I shared my photos of Chicago (his home town) and my risque artwork (his specialty). On that day, I was privileged to witness his persona as a distinguished art professor critiquing a promising student's work, as he had done with Walt Disney more than 50 years earlier.

He was 87 at this time, but I suddenly saw him as a youthful teacher struggling to bestow a tepid compliment before carefully laying out a detailed game-plan to improve the artist's development throughout his lifetime. CAW was spot-on with his insights, and his ingenious knowledge was extremely helpful. Grandpa Bill's advice on that day continues to inform my artistic endeavors. 

Chuck with Grady at his mobile home in Newport Beach - 1973

In 1973, my mother moved to her own apartment and I was finally living by myself. One day, Charles Wilimovsky came by to see me and spend the night. We walked to the beach and laughed a lot, happily chatting about life and art. His eyesight was failing and he was getting pretty slow, but he was the same old guy I had always known.

I would never see him again after that visit -- he died less than a year later. As a self-absorbed teenager I was completely ignorant about his interesting backstory. He was simply Grandpa Bill to me. But now, almost every day I am learning more about this extraordinarily talented, creative man... and I am grateful that I knew him.

End of the Line...

Wilimovsky's Death Certificate: 8:25 am, October 15, 1974 - Age 89

The Artist's Trusty Palette

Balcony, New Orleans  22" x 17 3/4"

Visit Each Day of 1972: Window into the Past

To See the Previous Decade, Go To: 1950 thru 1959