My father was the youngest of two and the only son. He told many stories about his family, one being that he was born on a houseboat. I have never been able to confirm this story. He attended St. Peter's Grade School and was an altar boy, telling us the stories of the tunnels under the church and how they would sneak down to explore. He went to the old Catholic High at 12th & Sandusky but did not graduate. By the time he was 19 he was married to his first wife. They stayed married for about ten years. I was told a story by Mother's best friend that they divorced once and remarried. Unfortunately, this was a family secret that I only found out through Ancestry.
Daddy worked as a welder, mechanic, radio technician and eventually a radio engineer. He worked at the Darby Corporation in the 1940's and designed special radio equipment for military aircraft that the enemy could not eavesdrop on. He met Mother at Darby where she worked as a secretary. After the war the company manufactured jukeboxes. He had a business where he placed jukeboxes in taverns and collected the income from record plays. After the 1951 flood put an end to the company's jukebox division, he joined the Local Union 124 of the IBEW as an electrician. He retired from the union in the late 1970's.
Mother was 13 years younger than Daddy. There is no recorded date for their marriage but they did have their marriage blessed at Christ the King Catholic Church in 1954 after his first wife died. They were the parents of four daughters, the first being stillborn. Their entire married life was spent in the same house on 67th Street. That area was called Bethel, Kansas, back in the day until it was incorporated into Kansas City.
Daddy loved his roses! He planted quite a few around the patio and always took care of them. After Grandpa King died, he brought Polly, his yellow head Amazon parrot, to live with us. He was a quiet man who liked to talk about his growing-up years. Besides roses, he was an avid ham radio operator, building his own radio and spending his spare time in his "man cave" detached garage talking to people all over the world. His call letters were WØVAT. He passed his love of ham radio on to my husband. They spent many days together in Daddy's garage.
I miss his stories and I do wish that I could remember them all.
Daddy worked as a welder, mechanic, radio technician and eventually a radio engineer. He worked at the Darby Corporation in the 1940's and designed special radio equipment for military aircraft that the enemy could not eavesdrop on. He met Mother at Darby where she worked as a secretary. After the war the company manufactured jukeboxes. He had a business where he placed jukeboxes in taverns and collected the income from record plays. After the 1951 flood put an end to the company's jukebox division, he joined the Local Union 124 of the IBEW as an electrician. He retired from the union in the late 1970's.
Mother was 13 years younger than Daddy. There is no recorded date for their marriage but they did have their marriage blessed at Christ the King Catholic Church in 1954 after his first wife died. They were the parents of four daughters, the first being stillborn. Their entire married life was spent in the same house on 67th Street. That area was called Bethel, Kansas, back in the day until it was incorporated into Kansas City.
Daddy loved his roses! He planted quite a few around the patio and always took care of them. After Grandpa King died, he brought Polly, his yellow head Amazon parrot, to live with us. He was a quiet man who liked to talk about his growing-up years. Besides roses, he was an avid ham radio operator, building his own radio and spending his spare time in his "man cave" detached garage talking to people all over the world. His call letters were WØVAT. He passed his love of ham radio on to my husband. They spent many days together in Daddy's garage.
I miss his stories and I do wish that I could remember them all.
My father was the youngest of two and the only son. He told many stories about his family, one being that he was born on a houseboat. I have never been able to confirm this story. He attended St. Peter's Grade School and was an altar boy, telling us the stories of the tunnels under the church and how they would sneak down to explore. He went to the old Catholic High at 12th & Sandusky but did not graduate. By the time he was 19 he was married to his first wife. They stayed married for about ten years. I was told a story by Mother's best friend that they divorced once and remarried. Unfortunately, this was a family secret that I only found out through Ancestry.
Daddy worked as a welder, mechanic, radio technician and eventually a radio engineer. He worked at the Darby Corporation in the 1940's and designed special radio equipment for military aircraft that the enemy could not eavesdrop on. He met Mother at Darby where she worked as a secretary. After the war the company manufactured jukeboxes. He had a business where he placed jukeboxes in taverns and collected the income from record plays. After the 1951 flood put an end to the company's jukebox division, he joined the Local Union 124 of the IBEW as an electrician. He retired from the union in the late 1970's.
Mother was 13 years younger than Daddy. There is no recorded date for their marriage but they did have their marriage blessed at Christ the King Catholic Church in 1954 after his first wife died. They were the parents of four daughters, the first being stillborn. Their entire married life was spent in the same house on 67th Street. That area was called Bethel, Kansas, back in the day until it was incorporated into Kansas City.
Daddy loved his roses! He planted quite a few around the patio and always took care of them. After Grandpa King died, he brought Polly, his yellow head Amazon parrot, to live with us. He was a quiet man who liked to talk about his growing-up years. Besides roses, he was an avid ham radio operator, building his own radio and spending his spare time in his "man cave" detached garage talking to people all over the world. His call letters were WØVAT. He passed his love of ham radio on to my husband. They spent many days together in Daddy's garage.
I miss his stories and I do wish that I could remember them all.
Daddy worked as a welder, mechanic, radio technician and eventually a radio engineer. He worked at the Darby Corporation in the 1940's and designed special radio equipment for military aircraft that the enemy could not eavesdrop on. He met Mother at Darby where she worked as a secretary. After the war the company manufactured jukeboxes. He had a business where he placed jukeboxes in taverns and collected the income from record plays. After the 1951 flood put an end to the company's jukebox division, he joined the Local Union 124 of the IBEW as an electrician. He retired from the union in the late 1970's.
Mother was 13 years younger than Daddy. There is no recorded date for their marriage but they did have their marriage blessed at Christ the King Catholic Church in 1954 after his first wife died. They were the parents of four daughters, the first being stillborn. Their entire married life was spent in the same house on 67th Street. That area was called Bethel, Kansas, back in the day until it was incorporated into Kansas City.
Daddy loved his roses! He planted quite a few around the patio and always took care of them. After Grandpa King died, he brought Polly, his yellow head Amazon parrot, to live with us. He was a quiet man who liked to talk about his growing-up years. Besides roses, he was an avid ham radio operator, building his own radio and spending his spare time in his "man cave" detached garage talking to people all over the world. His call letters were WØVAT. He passed his love of ham radio on to my husband. They spent many days together in Daddy's garage.
I miss his stories and I do wish that I could remember them all.
Inscription
Together Forever
