07-01 Then There Were Two
Mother and Dad were married in August 1932 and I was born in August 1933. According to mother, they were “poor as church mice”, and instead of a crib, I slept in a dresser drawer. The baby photo is from age 6 months. Our father had never seen his parents hugging or kissing, so he…
07-02 Then There Were Three
Robert Ray was brother number three, was born in August 1942, when we lived at Bowie Avenue, a small three bedroom bungalow in the Dufferin Eglinton Area. He got his middle name from Aunty Ray, who was killed in a motor accident on New Year’s Eve 1942. Mother was pregnant at that time.It was about…
07-03 Then There Were Four
Peter was born January 1948. This picture is in front of our home on Richview Avenue. Mother is bringing him home from the hospital.It was a big deal, coming home from Ireland in May 1947, for Mother to announce that she was expecting a baby. Ian asked if it was a girl. I remember explaining…
07-04 Cousin Linda
OK, she is not a bro … but cousin Linda Young seemed like a sister. It would never be a surprise, to come home from school when we lived on Bowie Avenue in the Dufferin and Eglinton area, to find Linda there with her mother, Aunty Ray. Aunty Ray was mother’s best friend, and they…
07-04a Thunderball
It was 1965, and the fourth film of the James Bond spy series, Thunderball, was shot in Nassau, and both Ian and Robert had parts as extras. Although Ian worked at the Nassau Beach Hotel, he did some part time work for a scuba company that catered to tourists; so it was no surprise that…
07-05 Ian and Meg, 1972
Ian and Meg were married in Moraga, California on July 5th, 1972. Party time. It was a real family wedding with all the brothers and Mother and Dad in attendance. Aunty Anna and Uncle Lou were also there. We met the Breiling family, and Meg’s brother Brian chauffeured us around the area. Love the photo…
07-06 The Bros. Cruises
Here’s to Big John. That was the annual toast the four of us took, to remember our Dad, who died on January 16, 1980. It was 1981, and we all went to Las Vegas. Beginning in 1982, for almost ten years, we went cruising together in Father’s memory. Ian was the organizer, and for most…
07-07 Ian Gone
It was 6:00 PM on October 29, 2009, and Meg called from California. “John, I am sorry to be calling with such terrible news. Ian died today of a heart attack.” I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach. Here are excerpts from my obituary, read at his funeral service on November 6th:“It is…