The Anatomy of an Obituary

Charles Conrad Cator, Jr., also known as Charlie, Buck, and Granddaddy, was a character.  He was a small in stature man who lived a brimming life. When I met him for the first time, I expected to greet a man who would cuss while commanding the room. Interestingly, he was so sweet to me, so kind, and very interested in me, the woman who married the grandson he raised, Patrick.  He was in command of the room, of that there was no doubt. I was delighted by Granddaddy immediately. My husband loved and loves him deeply.  

Did I see the true character of Charlie Cator? 

I have always honored his care for his family, his raising of six daughters and two grandsons.  Since then, I have heard many spirited family narratives about Granddaddy and have a clearer picture of how others saw him.  The stories are fascinating, as was the man who was dearly loved by many despite his being blunt, cantankerous, and bold.

When he passed away, his obituary did not tell of the depth of his character either.  His accomplishments in life were many, but not quite as written.  So, here is my exploration of his obituary's structure or anatomy.  

On January 17, 1987 Granddaddy died.

Charlie Cator had several interesting jobs, but he never retired from any of them.  

His last job, prior to "retirement" was with Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company in Washington, DC.  He was on two weeks of vacation from Pepsi and the day before he was to return to work from his vacation, his wife Florence, Grandmother, had a mild stroke.  Charlie asked for more time off due to this, but Pepsi refused. Charlie quit and moved to Colonial Beach, VA.  

He had worked for Potomac Electric at one point. While there he got hit by 2400 volts twice and 4800 volts once.  One hit actually burned his pants leg off, so he got off that pole!  He got into his truck and went to a bar.  He needed a drink!  The police looked for him and found him in the bar.  He had survived.

Another near miss was when he fell off a light pole at the 14th Street Bridge at night and landed half on the bridge and half off the bridge.  He told everyone that "you can find my fingerprints in the bridge."  He had survived.

So, he did not retire from anywhere, but he could have retired from the railroad.  He was severely hurt when coupled by a train while working as a dispatcher.  After a year in the hospital, they offered him a lifetime job with the railroad but he would "not take handouts."  But, he had survived.  

Thelma Sizemore was his live-in caregiver companion, but not his nurse.  After all, Charlie was cleaning out the gutters in his 90s.  

He and Florence personally raised two grandsons also, Patrick and Tommy Hill.  His daughter that predeceased him was Evelyn Cator.  Four daughters have passed away; not sure about Jerri. 

We love you, Granddaddy!

Great Grandfather Alva Keyser and the Boxcar Move

My nephew Christopher's great grandfather was Alva Grant Keyser who married Leona Amanda Jefferson in West Virginia on Sept. 15, 1898.  Alva and Leona began their life together as a hardworking farming family in Limestone, WV.  Alva believed in the simple ways of doing things and had a stubborn streak. Their first child, a girl named Eula was born, followed by Carrie and Martha.

Most of Alva's farm equipment was operated by his own hands or by animals.  He used horse drawn equipment and would not purchase his first Ford truck until 1927 and his first old tractor in the 1930s. 

Alva working his horse-drawn farm equipment:

The family had a friend, Lemuel Leach, who moved to Northampton Ohio and encouraged the Keyser family to join him there.  In the same year that Martha was born, 1904, Alva traveled to Ohio to see the area for himself and he ended up purchasing the Wiolland property which was close to the area's school and church.  He knew they would be sending their children to the church but he and his wife would likely not attend as the preacher hollered too much!  His purchase included 75.96 acres on R.D. 10 valued at $3500.

Alva returned to his family in West Virginia and they began packing.  The moving truck for them was a railroad boxcar into which they packed their tools, non-motorized farm equipment, bales of hay,  water for the animals, ropes, canning goods, livestock such as chickens, pigs, horses, cows, and much more ... and Alva. The train headed towards the depot station in Cuyahoga Falls.  What should have been a fairly short journey went well beyond the anticipated arrival date.

An accident in Uhrichsville Ohio forced the conductor to move the Keyser boxcar off the main tracks.  So close, yet so far.  Although the railroad folks knew he was on board the boxcar with livestock, they were not able to return to pick up his boxcar for several days.  During this sit-and-wait time Alva tended to his livestock. The livestock dined on the baled hay, while  Alva dined on raw eggs from the chickens, and some canned fruit that the family had packed.  He warded off hunger for all of them and waited and waited and waited for three days.  As a hard working farmer, this had to be a very boring time for Alva with concerns about when they would be traveling again. 

Imagine being in this boxcar with doors only.  Smelly, dirty, tight quarters.   

Finally, the railroad company returned his boxcar to the main tracks and headed to the depot.  His family joined him within a week and their life together in Ohio began. 

  

This is a photo of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton wreck , 2-21-1904, which could be the wreck but is more likely just a fairly clear picture of boxcars in the early 1900s.  We have no idea from which railroad company he bought his boxcar ticket.  If it were in February, add cold to Alva's miseries.

My nephew's great grandparents at home on the Keyser Farm in Ohio

Deadly Fires in the Family

Colonial Theater
Fire image: Alex-Murphy 

Patrick's Racoon & Prudence's Porcupine

Thanks for photos, Chiot's Run and

D.Gordon E. Robertson 

Dancing Grampa Austin Homer Who Had No Teeth

Loved Nana and Grampa Austin!!

Police are chasing WHO! Jean Replogle Wolf

Jean Replogle Wolf's son Don worked in Florida for Southern Bell Telephone.  His job took him far and wide across Florida over the years.  One day he and a co-worker were driving in Volusia County near the small city of Oak Hill.  They pulled their company vehicle to a stop at a crossroads.  Don looked at traffic crossing his path. 

A police car was chasing a large sedan with a woman at the wheel and a man sitting in the back seat reading the newspaper.  A bit amusing, but not hazardous to the company employees.  

The woman was obviously speeding and the man was obviously engrossed in some article and paying no attention to the cruiser or the driver.  The woman evidently was paying no attention to the officer either as she kept up her above-the-limit speed.  

Don studied the car a bit more.  It was highly familiar.  Wait!  Don recognized what he really, really did not want to know.

The driver was his mom!  The man in the backseat was his dad!  And neither of them saw the police...nor him.  His mom was focused on the road ahead and kept on a-going.  His father turned the page.  Don turned the corner to follow his parents and the police.  

Mom became the deserving recipient of a Volusia County speeding ticket but did not get hauled off to jail. Don, a very good storyteller, got a new story to tell his friends and family including his sons and grandchildren. This story has received much laughter and he has been asked to tell it many times.  His mom would merely smile when the story was shared in her presence.  Caught! Comical even to her and very funny...even now!


For more stories on Jean Replogle, see: http://catorfamilies.com/genealogy/replogle.html