I have been thinking so much about my beloved brother, and I wanted to send these words to be shared since I cannot be there in person.
I idolized him and was always so proud that he was my brother. From the time we were young, he stood out to me. I remember him pulling his little red wagon through the neighborhood to deliver the Saturday Evening Post, and sometimes I got to go with him. To me, that was the coolest time.
Even as a boy, he was hardworking and full of ideas. He caddied at the golf course, then fished golf balls out of the lake, polished them up, and sold them back to the golfers. In the summer he watered gardens and mowed lawns, and I believe he had a bank account by the age of 10.
One of my happiest memories is from the Fourth of July when I had a beautiful blue and white Schwinn bicycle. He decided he was going to decorate it with red, white, and blue crepe paper, with streamers on the handlebars and woven through the spokes. That bicycle was really something, and when we entered it in the parade at the park, we won first place. It was such a big deal, and I have never forgotten how special he made that day for me.
When we moved to Dallas, he had a paper route, and later he worked as a soda jerk. Of course, he made things better there too. He added cantaloupe from the farmer's market, cut in half and filled with ice cream, and people loved it. My mother was going to the farmer's market every other day to keep up because it was such a hit.
There are so many good stories. Visits always seemed to include a road trip when we went to Cleveland. We double dated, went to dances together, and had so much fun growing up. I can still remember him sneaking up behind me in the kitchen, grabbing me, and rubbing my cheek with his chin whiskers just to make me scream. He loved to tease, and truth be told, I loved it too, though I did not want him to know.
What always stayed with me most was the kind of man he was. He was humble and kind, always a gentleman, and truly an extraordinary human being. At 17, he was taken out of high school to go fight in the Korean War. There were so many Gold Star families on our street, and we were afraid we might never see him again. We were in tears, but he was so steady and strong, already becoming the Marine he would be. He served his country, came home, went back to school, graduated, and went on to college. I was so proud of him.
He also had such a generous heart. He used to make banana nut bread for his dentist, his doctors, people in the neighborhood, and anyone having a rough day. That was his signature. Every summer he would send me a box of tomatoes, and that was always such a treat. Those little kindnesses were just who he was.
He was my hero, and he always will be. We never ended a phone call without telling each other how much we loved one another. We talked at least once a week, and often more than that. I know he knew how much I loved him, and I hope he knew how deeply I respected him too. I once told him that I would trust him with my life, and I do not think you can give a person much more respect than that.
If I could say one more thing to him now, it would simply be this: I still love you as much as ever, and I always will. You will always be my hero.
To all of you, I know we all loved him, and we are going to miss him so much. But I believe he is now resting in peace, because he was such a good person.
With love from
your sister, Mary Lou
