That’s the nickname bestowed upon him by his mother, who refused to call her children by their given names when visiting them in the children’s home. Dad was “Red”, his brother was “Buddy”, sisters were “Pee Wee” and “Tommie”. He outlived them all.
Red was born in Racine, Wisconsin, on 20 August 1925. Shortly after 7 December 1941, Buddy enlisted in the Navy and served on an aircraft carrier. The following spring, seeing a way out of the children’s home, Red lied about his age and also joined the Navy.
His original station was Orange, Texas. I think while waiting for his first ship, a Destroyer Escort, to be completed. The DE ultimately sustained heavy damage from a kamikaze, after which Red was stationed on a troop ship responsible for shuttling Marines.
Red attended college on the GI Bill at the University of Wisconsin and then worked as a research chemist for Armour Pharmaceutical Company for 32 years. Armour’s owner sold the company in 1977, after which Red was transferred to another subsidiary in Tarrytown, NY, then let go a few years later when the new parent’s main product lines started losing money.
Rather than retire at 57, he landed a job in the New Orleans Veterans Administration Hospital, under a former Armour colleague. At 65, he accepted a one-year extension offered by the VA; he continued to accept one-year extensions until he turned 71.
Red died in his sleep on 17 April 2016; his wife of 63 years died in her sleep on 5 September 2010. With his family not known for longevity, and hers was, he’d been concerned that she would outlive him.
Surviving are his 10 children, five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. I’m the tenth and never got to do the usual dad/son stuff with him like learn how to play catch or throw a punch. He did teach me to play cards: Blackjack, Gin Rummy, and Cribbage.