Portrait of Ernest Wabasha by J. Burch, 1974. Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.

Ernest Wabasha in the US Navy, early 1950s. Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.

Ernest and Vernell Wabasha at their wedding, 1956. Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.

The Chase family (Ernest Wabasha’s mother’s family). Back row (left to right): Father Joe Jesse Chase; Emma Chase; Henry B. (Hank) Wabasha; and Helen (Florence) Chase (married to Henry). Center: Olive Chase. Front row: Mother Martha Adelaide Wakute Chase holding Tommy; Helena; Jeanette; and Grandmother Jenny Wakute (Martha’s mother). Joe Jr. is seated in the front at center. Undated. Used with the permission of Sue Moman Bowen.

Description: Henry Wabasha, Ernest Wabasha’s father, undated. Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.

Ernest Wabasha’s sister and brothers with their mother. Clockwise from upper left: George Wabasha, Matthew Wabasha, Florence Helen Wabasha, and Emmarica Wabasha Larsen. Undated. Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.

The Wabasha family ca. 1938, after returning to Minnesota from Nebraska. Back row, from left: Ernest, Florence Helen (Ernest’s mother), and Matthew Wabasha (Ernest’s brother). Front row, from left: Mary, Vera, and Ernestine Wabasha (Ernest’s sisters). Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.

Napoleon Wabasha, Ernest Wabasha’s grandfather, undated. Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.

Joseph Jesse Chase and Martha (Wakute-Wapaha) Chase, who were married on June 11, 1872. Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.

Florence Helen Chase, Ernest Wabasha’s mother, with her sister Emma Chase Frazier, undated. Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.