December 2004                                                                     The Megaphone                                                                                  Page 5

A Man Greatly Admired

by Shirley (Fite) Dellinger

I want to tell a story about a man I greatly admired. He was born in 1896 and was one in a family of seven children. His mother came over by boat from Germany, and his father was born here in the states. His father died when he was 12 years old and in the 4th grade. After that happened he quit school (yes, in the 4th grade) and went to work at the glass factory to help his mother raise the other children. It was always a shock to me as I got older that he could read and write with only a 4th grade education. Later he worked at the Tin Plate in Elwood, and not much later his mother died at a young age. Especially young as ages go now, he was drafted into the service at the age of 21 and served in World War 1. 

He married at the age of 29 and had seven children and worked as a mechanic at Dietzen's Bakery and later at the Coke plant in Anderson. He and his wife had two boys. Then they lost a baby girl, but they later went on to have another girl and three boys. They lost two more children: a baby six weeks old and a son 21. He was the one who had to tell his wife about both the boys' deaths. He didn't have the money to bury his 21 year old son so he took a home improvement loan on their house. The bank let him use the money to bury their son. That is where a prayer was answered! 

He never had a new car or many other material things, but his children always had enough to eat and clothes. They weren't the latest style but were always clean and in good shape. He loved Christmas and, though money was tight, he always had something for his children to open on Christmas. 

His oldest daughter loved him so much and was so close to him. His kids grew up and married and he had grandchildren that loved him as much as his children did. The oldest granddaughter was especially close to him and he would take her hand and walk to the park with her. She told him things that she would not have told just anybody. 

He had to quit work sooner than he wanted to because of a back injury. He would go to the lake and fish as he loved fishing. At the age of 71 he had a heart attack and had a pace maker put in. Then later he was in a wheel chair but still enjoyed his kids and grandchildren. He loved all them so much. The last time I saw him he was in a hospital bed, and I fed him some ice cream. The last words I said to him were, "I love you, Dad." And he said, "I know."

What a wonderful father I had.

Shirley (Fite) Dellinger '54