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Raymond K. RoeAs I am about to write about my dad, so many memories flood my mind. He was a hardworking brick mason as were his ancestors. He loved to travel and visit his relatives. He loved the family reunions.Our family would drive to Jacksonville, Illinois to see his brothers and sisters and eat a wonderful picnic lunch. My dad loved to eat. He had a very loud laugh. My mom and dad married June 15, 1946, in Brighton Illinois, and then moved to Alton. My father was a Lieutenant in the Army and served at Aberdeen, Maryland, to train troops to go overseas in the war. My dad kept in touch with his brother Harold who also was a brick mason by trade . Harold was living in London Mills, outside of Peoria, Illinois with wife Marjorie, daughters Marion and Dorothy, and Harold Jr. He was able to offer my dad a job. So he and my mom left Alton and went to live with his brother and family. By the time I was born, my parents were living in Creve Coeur, Illinois. Life as a brick mason had long hours of hard work. The summers were hot and the winters were bitter cold. His hands would be rough and calloused. But he would have free time on most weekends, and would take me uptown Creve Coeur to visit with his friends from the Lions Club who had businesses. He made me feel so important as I would sit up on the stools in their shop. My dad loved to go to the Illinois State fair and carnivals, especially he liked the ferris wheels, even the double ones. He loved to fish and hunt. My uncle Harold and he would go out to round up squirrel, rabbits, and sometimes deer in my uncle's woods. He would clean them, mom would cook them and we would eat them for dinner. Camping became the next fun thing in our lives. By now I had a little sister Robin, and our whole family would go to campgrounds near us. Friends from church went with us. We also took a trip to Colorado with them and had so much fun cooking out and splashing in the Snake River. I only had my dad for 55 years. He died with a heart attack in Hyden, Kentucky, while the whole family was visiting me. (I was finishing my training as a certified nurse midwife). I miss him still.
