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Note: My Father Was Raised On A Farm In Devon County, Around Fort Scott, Kansas. He Attended Grade School And High School Graduating From Fort Scott High School. He Then Enlisted In The Army With The Battery E 161st F A, Local National Guard Unit Which Was Mobilized In 1940. He Served With Battery E In the Aleutians During World War II And Later In France And Germany. After His Discharge In August 1945, He Returned To Fort Scott To Resume His Job As Auto Mechanic For A & S Motor, Frank Sipe Motor Company Of Devon, And With The Local Chevrolet Firm Since Feb, 1948.
He Married My Mother On Feb 14th, 1947 In A Double Wedding Ceremony In Which His Sister Betty Married My Mom's Brother Phil. On January 9th, 1948 I Was Born As His First Son. My Older Half-Brother Gary Was Born In A Prior Relationship To William "Bud" Severly Which Didn't Work Out. According To My Mother He Adopted Gary As His Own. On Dec 4th, 1949 My Younger Sister, Linda Kathleen Blair Was Born.
According To Our Mother Dad Was A Hard Working Guy Who Loved Her and His Children. He Treated Her Like Gold And To Hear Her Tell It He Was A Very Good Father.
On April 19, 1950 At 10:50PM On The Way Home From A Chevrolet Meeting In Pittsburg. My Father, Along With 2 Of His Friends Were Traveling On U.S. 69 4 Miles South Of Fort Scott When The Driver Of The Car Lost Control. The Car Swerved Headon Into The Path Of A Southbound Tractor Trailer Who Was Unable To Stop. The Resulting Collison Resulted In The Death Of 2 People And Serious Injuries To My Father. He Was Taken To Burke Street Hospital With Numeous Injuries. He Survived Until 7:08Am Friday When He Finally Succumbed To Injuries Substained From The Accident. From What Wittnessed Said It Was The Worst Accident They Had Ever Seen In That Part Of The County.
His Service Was Held At The First Christian Church Which Was So Packed That They Had To Bring In Extra Chairs. Members Of The VFW, The American Leigon, And Many Other Groups Attended. He Was Buried At The Fort Scott National Cemetary With Full Military Honors.
One Of The Most Interesting Footnotes Here Was Something That I Did Shortly After The Funeral. I Guess That My Sister And I Didn't Attend The Services. A Few Days After The Services Were Over My Mother And My Grandma Took Us To See His Grave. When I Climbed Out Of The Car I Proceeded Directly To His Grave And Set Down And Started Talking To Him. Now Mind You I Had Never Been There Before. My Mother And Grandma Were Both Amazed That I Was Able To Go Exactly From The Car To His Grave Which Was A Good 100 Feet Away From The Car At The Age Of 2 Years. That Was The Last Time I Saw It That I Can Remember Until 1981 When My Daughter And Myself Went Back For A Family Visit. My Grand mother And I Went To The Cemetary And I Again, Without Any Coaching Went Straight From Mty Car To The Grave Site. Now Keep In Mind That I Was 2 Years Old When I Did It The First Time And Was 33 Years Old When I Went This Time.
All In All I Wished I Would Of Had The Pleasure Of His Company. I Have Always Felt Cheated That I Don't Remember Anything About Him. But Then God Does Work In Strange Ways And Who Am I To Question Him. I Love You Dad.............
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