Dear Uncle Fred, You are the greatest uncle of all time. You were the finest role model for a young boy (me) growing up in the l960s & 1970s. That trip out West with you & Aunt Erna, Cousin Eva & my sister Tina in 1968 remains one of the most important events in my life. (Just think, Harry & Fred Jr. weren't even born yet!). My mom Hannelore, was visiting Oma & Opa for a month in Wuerzburg & my dad Bill was preparing for final exams his junior year of college. They needed a babysitter so you & Aunt Erna took me & Tina for the month. We flew out to Phoenix, AZ & then you rented a car & we drove all over the West. You cracked me up with all of your fun jokes & crazy stories. You told me that we were going to go down to Nogales, Mexico to find some Mexican Jumping Beans & a worm at the bottom of a bottle of a type of Mexican liquor called Tequila. I simply could not believe that such things really existed. We got to Nogales on Cinco de Mayo. Mariachi bands were playing all over the town & people were dancing on the sidewalks, dancing in the streets, dancing in the restaurants. It was the craziest event in my short life. This & so many of the other events left a lasting impression on me. I have hundreds of so many happy memories with you, especially all of the great interstate road trips between Oak Forest, Il & Jonesboro, Ark. But you always challenged me intellectually too. You always asked what(book)I was reading & you would quiz me about national & international events that were being reported on in the Chicago Tribune. Your generosity was everywhere. You treated me, Tina & my younger brothers Roy & Carl as if we were your own children. Heaven is truly one angel richer with your arrival there.