My Dad and me
My Dad, George Philip Manfroid, Jr. was born to George Manfroid and Helen Desens on 26 October 1919 in Forest Park, Illinois. Dad grew up in Forest Park and Elmhurst, Illinois. He went to York High School in Elmhurst, Illinois. He had a brother, Donald, 14 years younger than him. He grew up during the depression and that made a great impression on him. I remember the stories that my dad told me about the depression. When I hear about the recent recession compared to the great depression on TV, I cringe because the recent recession is nothing like what my father described to me. His father lost his business, then they lost their house, and they ate bananas for Sunday dinner. There were no safety nets like there are today for the unemployed. Because this made such an impact on my Father he decided that his children would not go without. He went without lunch for weeks and saved his lunch money to buy me a doll for Christmas. He made me a doll house with a hand saw (he didn’t have power tools at the time). He gave me everything he possibly could. Not only did he give me material things, he gave me his time, attention, advice, and love. He gave me history lessons at the dinner table. He loved history, and I learned about history and current events through dinner time discussions. He had a great sense of humor. Whenever my brother or I asked if he would buy us the latest toy or gadget, he would say, “Yes on the 42nd of July.” Just in case they ever changed the calendar the 42nd had to land on the second Tuesday of the week. In other words we were never going to get it. He loved gardening and painting the house. He was always painting inside or outside. He loved his baseball and the Cubs. He was always there for me whenever I needed him. If I just need to talk or if I needed a shoulder to cry on, he was there. I loved him very much and I have no doubt about his love for me.
Dad walking me down the aisle
When I got married, he walked me down the aisle and gave me away. He told my husband on our wedding day that if he (my husband) ever did anything to hurt me, he would have to answer to him (my father). After we were married for several years, my father told some friends of ours that when their daughters grew up he hoped they found someone like my husband. I picked a good man because I had a good father.
My Dad worked hard and sometimes worked two jobs to make ends meet. When I was born my dad was a bus driver. He drove a bus for a suburban bus company, Leyden Motor Coach. At first he worked nights and holidays, but as he gained seniority, he was able to work mostly days and had the major holidays off. Sometimes he would take a charter on his day off. He especially liked the ones to the ball games. He would get off work from the bus company about 2:30pm, and go to his second job driving a mini bus for a nursery school, Jack and Jill, in Villa Park, Illinois. He was with the bus company for 17 years when the company closed down. My Dad then got a job with Burney Brothers Bakery driving a delivery truck. He delivered to Jewel grocery stores in Chicago. He also took overtime delivering wedding cakes on Saturdays. After 17 years with Burney Brothers, they closed down too. At 59 years old my father was without a job, no pension, and not old enough for Social Security. He found a job doing maintenance work at the Wheaton Park District. He worked there for the next five years.
We lived in an Apartment until 1953 when my parents bought their first house in Lombard (Villa Park was across the street). We lived in that house until 1963 when they bought another house in Villa Park. In 1968 they moved to a smaller house in Carol Stream, Illinois due to my father’s health issues. My father lived in the Carol Stream home until his death.
In 1967, my dad was diagnosed with throat cancer. He was given radiation treatments for six weeks. The tumor was in his voice box, and he couldn’t talk very well. The radiation shrank the tumor so he did get his voice back. They wanted to remove the voice box to get rid of the cancer altogether, but my father said he would rather die than to be without his voice. He lived 17 more years without a recurrence. In late February or early March of 1984, we noticed my dad had slowed down. He said he wasn’t feeling good, and my mother finally convinced him to see a doctor. He went to the doctor and was sent him for some tests. He was diagnosed with lung cancer. A few days later my dad was admitted to the hospital. I went to see him and he had to cough a lot. It was deep cough and it seemed that when he coughed he could not get his breath. It was hard to watch. My last visit with my father, I noticed he kept staring at me. I thought to myself that he is studying me in case this is the last time he sees me. When it was time to go, I said “Good-bye I hope you get better soon.” He said, “Me too.” We were holding hands and he did not want to let go and neither did I. I planned to go back every day, but the next day I came down with a terrible cold that settled in my chest. I did not go to visit him because I was afraid of giving him my cold. I thought the last thing he needs is a cold. The next day my mom called me to say that the doctor called her and told her to get to the hospital he was dying. I couldn’t go because I had two small children at home. My mother and brother were there with him at the end. My mom said he kept pulling the tubes out of his arms. So I think he was ready to die.
My dad passed away from Cancer on March 15, 1984 at 64 years, 4 months, and 18 days. I wish I was there with my Dad at the end; however it is a comfort to know that my mother and brother were there for him. He is loved and dearly missed by his children, grandchildren, family, and friends. Happy Father’s Day to a great Dad! If I could tell him one thing it would be this, “Dad, the Cubs finally did it and won the World Series in 2016!”
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks topic this week Father’s Day
Copyright©2016 Gail Grunst
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Family Tales from Gail 