Dying To Meet You

Do you ever read the obituaries? I do. No, I'm not looking for people I know (knew?). I'm looking to see if there are people I SHOULD have known, interesting people I never had the chance to meet. Last week's obits in the SJ Mercury included a few interesting prospects:

Milfred Harold Reeves, 96, a San Jose resident since 1951. After moving to San Jose, he worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad until retirement. He was active politically in the civil rights and anti-war movements and was a strong supporter of the United Farm Workers Union. He bought an apricot orchard in San Jose and lived there the rest of his life, rejecting the entreaties of real estate agents and developers. He cared for the orchard, climbing ladders to prune trees, into his 90's.
This guy sounds like a real pistol! Not many people around these parts refuse to sell their orchards.

Leila Jean Lile was born in Salem, S. Dakota, March 20, 1921. She taught in a one room school house in the Dakotas and often had to stoke the coals for heat. She left the cold country for sunny California and worked at Douglas Aircraft as a "Rosie-the-Riveter" before landing a Hanford teaching position in the San Joaquin Valley.
It goes on to say she led a lifetime of volunteer work up until her death. I'll bet she had a few stories to tell. Her last name is almost the phonetic twin of her first.


Edward J. Riffle
War Hero, Salesman, Bicyclist (I'm interested already.)
Edward J. Riffle died quietly at home at age 87 after leading a life of love and happiness. Ed Riffle was born on November 25, 1918 in Pittsburgh, PA. His father died while he was still a child, and the Depression began when he was 11 years old. After struggling for years to make ends meet in Pittsburgh, Ed's mother, in 1934, packed up all the family's belongings, and took Ed, his sister Betty and brother Roger to California in a 1927 Chevrolet. They settled in South Pasadena where Ed began work at the Market Basket Grocery Store in the produce department. As a result of his family's need for his income, he never was able to graduate from high school. While working at Market Basket, he met Mary Kilcommons, the love of his life, in a church choir. A few years later, Ed and Mary and a few family members drove to Yuma, Arizona, where Ed and Mary were married. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Ed was drafted and sent to Fort Bliss, Texas. Despite Ed's lack of formal education, a board of officers picked him to attend Officer Candidate School. He became a "90 day wonder" commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Artillery. He was sent to France where he joined Patton's Third Army in England. He entered France shortly after D-Day, and participated in Patton's rush across Europe as a gunnery officer in the 128th AAA (Anti Aircraft Artillery) Gun Battalion. He was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery in action, and promoted to Captain. While stationed outside Nancy, France, Ed assisted a young boy, whose father was in a German prison camp, with his math homework. Fifty years later, that young boy, now a successful architect, contacted Ed and invited him to France to visit for a week with his family. Ed did travel to France where he was warmly embraced by a family who remembered his generosity in difficult times. After the war, Ed returned to California where he began his very successful career as a manufacturer's representative, mostly with candy products. He sold such successful brands as Pez, Junior Mints, Sugar Daddies, Heath bars, Charleston Chew and Cadbury all over Northern California and Hawaii. He was a classic salesman, wearing bow ties for years and always having a joke available for any occasion. His company, Edward J. Riffle & Co., employed as many as six salesmen and was one of the first such sales organizations to adopt a Profit Sharing Plan for all its employees. Following his retirement as a salesman, Ed and Mary kept quite active, traveling throughout the United State and Europe and attending annual reunions of the 128th AAA Gun Battalion wherever they were held. They made contact with Mary's relatives in Ireland, and visited often. The Irish relatives also visited Redwood City regularly, where Ed and Mary opened their home to all comers.At about the time he lost his beloved Mary in 1998, Ed began to bicycle, joining the Skyline Cycling Club at the Bicycle Outfitter in Los Altos. He worked himself into tip-top physical condition, and prided himself in making it to the top of the highest hill on the weekly Youthful Seniors Ride. He began an annual event of riding the same number of miles as his age on each birthday. He made it to riding 85 miles on his 85th birthday. Not long thereafter he attempted a 100 mile ride, falling just short when he hit a hole in the pavement and went over the handlebars. Undeterred, he recovered and returned to riding his bike daily. Ed made a whole new set of friends as a result of his interest in bicycling. Those new friends, like so many others, mourn his passing.
What a guy! I realized as I was posting this that one of his sons is my estate lawyer (not that I have an estate, mind you). This explains why they are able to afford such a long obituary.

A few months ago I noticed the Mercury had dueling obituaries...a man named Sal died and his first obituary was from his family, including wife, the subsequent obituary was clearly from his girlfriend. It was amusing but also tacky in an uncomfortable I-shouldn't-be-knowing-this kind of way. Unlike the above obits I didn't actually want to know Sal, but I was sort of curious about the guy. I don't recall how or why he died, but it sounded like he checked out in the nick of time.