Ken Fuchs' Web World
Click on the pictures to see larger images.
Ewald Fuchs and Ruby Barrick (continued)
EWALD REMEMBERED
In the years after Ewald died, Ruby kept a journal and filled out some "Grandmother Remembers" books for her grandchildren. About Ewald, she wrote,
“Your grandfather Fuchs was always thoughtful, had an eye for beauty, brought me wildflowers, liked to read, dreamed about traveling to distant places, often mentioned Alaska, but would have never gone without me. He never had a lot of money and might have been debt-ridden (giving help to others, especially) if I had not felt so strongly about staying out of debt. "A good man leaves an inheritance for his children." [Proverbs 13:22]
“Dad had a twinkly sense of humor and teared gently. He also had a great deal of impatience with those who remained ignorant and didn't try to do things efficiently. He valued good tools and taught his sons to use them. He hated waste and unfaithful people. In the Great Depression, he always retained his job as a machinist's helper, because he worked hard and diligently.
“Once around 1936 or 1937 he met the crew of a German oil tanker ship at Ingleside bay, where they loaded oil from his employer's company (Humble Oil-Refining); they compared his German and conversation to Herr Professor Alfred [sic] Einstein. He never spoke German at home because he felt it would be disloyal to the U.S. He was quite patriotic.”
On the day of Ewald's funeral on December 15, 1976, the family gathered for a group photo in front of Hilburn Barrick's home in Abernathy on December 15, 1976. From the left: Robyn, Jerry, Ewalee, Laura Sue, Ruby, Hollis, Linda, Charlotte, Sophora, Sherrill, Nettie, John, Barbara Ellen, Mike.
Sophora recalled, “In the days before Dad's funeral we were all at Grandmother Barrick's farm milling around, biding time.
“I said to my brothers and sisters, ‘Here are these people trying to find out enough about Dad to do his service and WE are the people who knew him. Why don't we think about the attributes of our father that are so important that we do not want them to die with him, but to ensure for ourselves and each other that they be passed on to future generations?
“Grateful for a direction, the siblings gathered around Grandmother's table and for THREE SOLID DAYS talked about the character and qualities of our father. It quickly became apparent that none of us shared the same image and experience of our father.
“After a time we agreed that the only things we would write down were the things that were common to all of us, that each of us wholeheartedly agreed on. If it was not true for any one of us, it would not be written.
“So we talked about our father and, to be sure, each of us learned a lot. We laughed and cried and argued and agreed and disagreed. Some of what was obvious and essential to one would not be the life experience of one or more of the others.
“In this tribute, literally every word and even how it is stated is meaningful to ALL of Ewald's children.”
EWALD HERMAN FUCHS
A Tribute
We, the sons and daughters of Ewald Fuchs, acknowledge and cherish the attributes of our father which have given meaning to our lives and which we endeavor to impart to our children and our children’s children, through his example, by our lives.
Our father loved our mother with tenderness, faithfulness, sincerity and devotion. Together 52 years they set and example of fidelity, determination, sharing and caring.
He loved us, each of us and each of our own, without reservation. So great was his love that he would have given his life in exchange for any of ours. He showed us and he told us he loved us.
He believed in the value of the family unit; revered his forebears, honored his parents and cherished his brothers and sisters and each of their children. Each in-law was his sister, his brother or his child.
He respected quality in the individual, in work, in workmanship, in knowledge, learning and education.
He was a conservationist keenly concerned with the preservation of living things and natural resources. He loved nature, the great outdoors. He watched the sun, the moon, the stars, the weather and the changing seasons. He shared with us his observations and appreciation always in subtle ways. He taught us to see beauty in the smallest things and brought wildflowers as loving gifts to our mother.
He lived a clean life, moral, honest, unselfish and simple.
His sense of humor was ever-present and included everyone. The message from his teasing, gentle jokes and folksy anecdotes was to separate what must be taken seriously from what needn’t be.
Perhaps the greatest principle upon which he based his life was his interpretation of the Golden Rule: “The most important things we do are the things we do for others.”
To us, our father was the biggest man in the world.
December 15, 1976
Ewalee Ruby
Sherrill Herman
Sophora Joy
John Aldon
Jerry Clinton
Laura Sue
Ewald Hollis
