Monday, November 9, 2009

Uncle Albert's Birthday

Albert Junior Luckenbill - 11/9/1913 - 1/3/1988
"A blue shirt is a blue shirt."

Uncle Albert was a truck driver, and served in the Army in Panama during World War II; upon his return from that post the Army assigned him to a job delivering the bodies of soldiers killed in action to their homes around the country.  Married a woman named Geneva; they had two daughters, Jill and Lana.  This picture was taken circa 1956.  Albert was a good man and, like his three brothers, a fun uncle.

His grandson, David, for whom Albert was a caregiver and father-figure, writes: "Some of the things I remember are that Grandpa was a very strict and routine man.  He was always up and out the door by 5:00 a.m.  He would spend a lot of time at the local coffee shop in North Manchester talking with a group of vets that would meet there every morning.  Sometimes he would let me go with him, but only if I could be ready in time.  'Don't be late or you stay home,' he would say.  He would also attend church every Sunday even though Monday through Saturday his language would embarrass a truck driver.  He always spoke his mind whether you wanted to hear it or not.  Some of the other things I remember are that he loved to fix things.  We kids never had a shortage of toys.  He would find toys thrown out and bring them home to be fixed.  He always kept his hair short and wore denim blue button-up shirts.  I asked him one time why he would always wear the same style of shirts.  He replied in his usual loud voice, 'Why should I waste time in deciding what to wear? ... a blue shirt is a blue shirt, grab one and go!'"


5 comments:

  1. This is a wonderful tribute. And I love the denim shirt quote.

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  2. www.georgefitzgerald.blogspot.comNovember 11, 2009 at 7:44 AM

    Thanks Chris. David got a lot of character into those few words, and all credit to him! - Geo

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  3. I cannot believe I have come across this. My name is Angela and this is my grandfather. Lana is my mother.

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  4. Hi Angela - Your grandfather was a good man; he was my mother's brother. I have been in touch with David Luckenbill; would he be your uncle maybe? There are other posts on my blog about various Luckenbills ... if you want to send me your email address I'll send you the dates of the blog posts if you'd like.

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  5. Oh, Angela, my email address is fitzmar@aol.com

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