I received word from his sister that my cousin died Tuesday night, October 20th. He had dementia and was in a care facility. He was 79 years old. We were close in age with me being a little older.
He was good at everything he did. He was a Saint Louis County police officer, a career to which he aspired because his father and two of his uncles were policemen for the City. That was going fine until he arrested a politico's kid and refused to drop the charges. That politico made sure his career as a police officer in Saint Louis County was ended. He then was a private investigator for a while but that didn't lead to anything much so he went into car sales and, again, excelled. He did that until he stopped working.
He was married twice. The first time to young woman and they were very much in love; they had a son. She couldn't bear the dangerous job he had with the police, afraid he would be injured or even killed while on duty. She became a nervous wreck about it and they divorced. Later she remarried but ironically her husband was killed during a holdup.
His son said that his father didn't want anything to do with him. There was no reason given to the son as to why. Then later his sister said that he didn't have much to do with any of the family; that she was the only one with whom he kept any contact. My cards and letters were returned, undeliverable.
His dad, my uncle, left town abruptly on a Christmas eve in about 1960. Later it was said that he was afraid for his life for gambling debts he couldn't pay but nobody knows for sure. He was found, years later, in Florida when he applied for a driver's license. His brother, on the St. Louis police force, had a dragnet out for him to locate him. This brother and his sister went to Florida to clear some property matters. My cousin went also to see his dad. I don't know how that went.
Uncle Fred was taking care of an older man. Uncle Fred had a woman friend who was his companion until he died in 1988. The older man left his money to him, which his companion took upon his death. There's no way of knowing how much was involved.
The family struggled without their father but they all pulled together and made it through to have families of their own. There are/were six children and they all successfully established families. His brother died young as result of lung cancer; cigarettes killed him as well several of my mother's brothers.
I am Facebook friends with his son and one of the daughters; she told me about his death and a hint or two about him before. I don't hear anything from the others.
One Christmas at my parents house when I was maybe six or seven, the whole family was assembled; both my mother's and my father's. The action had died and silence sat upon the assembly so I marched into the center of the room and announced that Fred and I were going to wrestle. He had no forewarning of this, it was a spontaneous announcement.
We squared off and, voila, he put me down and pinned me! Needless to say everyone there laughed heartily about it. My ego was bruised but survived. Fred was, I think, as surprised as I was about how fast it went. Fred was good at everything he did. He may not have believed it but he was. May he go in peace
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