Fred Elledge Morehead

Fred was my brother-in-law, my sister Mary’s husband. He lived 22 years after the death of my sister June 25, 1987. He died February 22, 2010, near his Centerville, Ohio, home. He was 82. His obituary is listed below, and I have taken the liberty of providing comments about him from his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and his niece Jan Elizabeth Murphy. The comments are tender and say much about him.

My sisters and I lived in the same block as Fred: the 5600 block of Chamberlain Avenue, just off Goodfellow Bouleard in St. Louis. I think Fred lived four houses east of us.

Mary and Fred were teenaged sweethearts, but World War II interrupted any plans for marriage they might have had during that period. Fred served in the Navy. I can remember times when he would come home on leave in his sailor’s uniform.

As much of Fred’s story is incorporated in the comments below, I want to mention my visits to their Ohio home in suburban Dayton. Fred often would cook breakfast for me and my family. He seemed to enjoy that as much as we did. In recent years, we would see his wood carvings, and ride in his Model A beauty.

I recall that Fred often was “on the road” as international salesman for National Cash Register. The obituary below explains that he worked for NCR 43 years. That’s what you call “a real career”.

On one visit to Ohio, Fred took me to the NCR golf courses (there are two, side by side) for a round of golf. He did not profess to be a terrific golfer but he seemed to enjoy it very much. During our round, on a par five hole, he laced a three-wood onto the green in two shots. His ball was just two or three feet from the hole. He made that putt.

He seemed a bit confused when I told him he got an eagle (two under par). “Is that good???” he asked. (I think he was kidding!)

He smiled.

As his niece said (in her comments below), he always was smiling.

The obituary was as follows:

FRED ELLEDGE MOREHEAD. Age 82, of Centerville (Ohio), passed away Monday, February 22, 2010, at Walnut Creek Nursing Center. Fred was born June 30, 1927, in Centralia, Missouri, to the late JoGenelle (Elledge) and the late Turner Granville Morehead. He served his country proudly in the U. S. Navy during WWII. A sweet, kind and private man, with a great sense of humor, he also will be remembered for being loyal to his family. Fred enjoyed wood carvings, Model A’s, hiking, wild birds and love for nature. He retired from NCR in 1990 after 43 years of employment in International Sales. Fred was a member of Central Presbyterian Church in Moraine, Model A Club-Dayton, Dayton Wood Carver’s Guild. He was preceded in death by his wife Mary (1987) and brother Robert Morehead. Fred is survived by hi daughters Ann & husband Tom Wilson of Sugarcreek Township, Nancy Archdeacon & friend Nancy Kranzley of Morrow, Jaye & husband Tim Long of Dayton, 5 grandchildren Todd, Teri & husband Aaron, Erin & husband Jeff, Megan & husband Dave, and Jaimee, 8 great-grandchildren Todd II, Caleb, M. E., Grace, Joshua, Colin, Avery and Spencer, loving friend Pat VanOss, sister Ann Schaeffer of Denver, CO, sister Pat Elzey of Flagstaff, AZ. The family will receive friends from Thursday, Feb. 25, 6-8 PM t Conner & Koch Funeral Home, 92 West Franklin Street (S. R. 725), Bellbrook. Funeral services 11:00 am Friday at the funeral home. Pastor Brian Newell officiating. Interment in Miami Valley Memory Gardens. In memory of Fred, contributions may be made to Hospice of Dayton, 324 Wilmington Pike, Dayton, Ohio 45420. Online condolences may be sent to the famiy at www.ConnerandKoch.com.

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Personal comments, as follows, were led by Fred’s niece, Jan Elizabeth Murphy, of Colorado.

Today is your dad’s funeral and I am thinking of you all, with loving support. And I also am feeling the joy…in celebration of your father’s good life and how he lived it.

As my Uncle Fred, he was always so sweet to me. He and your dear mom made me feel so welcome in their home. He got the biggest kick out of what happened at one Thanksgiving when I was invited to come to their home in Dayton…(when I was living in Washington, D.C.)… I went to the wrong airport (Dulles) to fly out of the D.C. area, when I should have gone to National Airport, so I missed my plane! New arrangements were made and I arrived in Dayton the next morning…on Thanksgivng Day, and your dad and mom picked me up at the airport. After our wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and celebration, we were sitting around in the living room with all the family and someone asked me about my trip back home on Sunday… Uncle Fred smiled his wonderful big smile and answered for me saying,” Oh she won’t have any problem finding her plane…there’s only ONE airport here in Dayton!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Hahahaha!!!

I also remember when he and Aunt Mary and girls visited us in the mountains in Colorado where we lived. Jacques was a baby, and dad had to go to work that day…and so Uncle Fred took his car and went down the mountain to our little grocery store and bought the groceries, and brought them home. I was quite impressed (being only 10 or 11 years old myself) that he could do that!

I also remember him at the time of his 80th birthday party weekend, when we all sat out on Ann’s back deck enjoying the yummy pot luck meal. Although he’d been having memory problems, he knew who I was…and I told him about the books I had written. And he smiled and I was so pleased! He wanted to know all about the stories in them, and then said he wanted to buy them. I knew he would not be able to, but his very genuine, loving interest was compliment enough for me!

I always thought of your dad as a gentle man. I never saw him be angry or upset, or ever out of sorts. I’m sure that could’ve happened “once or twice”, but I never saw it. That’s the joy of having an Uncle Fred…I can only remember him smiling.

Love, your cousin,
Jan

The first comment from a grandchild was that of Megan Ketover………..

Remembrance of Grandpa

When I think about my Grandpa, I remember lazy Saturday afternoons spent at his house. My Grandpa was a gentle and kind man, with a positive attitude and great sense of humor.

When I spent time with him, I loved how he would be up for whatever adventures I came up with. He’d accompany me to snoop in the barn, or walk all the way across the yard to the trees. Grandpa would tirelessly push me on the swing. Sometimes we would sit together by the window and read.

Grandpa taught me a love of nature, all about hummingbirds and cardinals, to walk quietly enough to not startle the deer, and to drive a tractor.

I know these are my favorite memories because this is how I see him now — in a warm fleece jacket, walking across the field all the way to the trees. I miss his kind soul and warm energy.

Megan Ketover (age 30 at funeral)

Among those noting Fred’s humor was Nancy Kransley, friend of Fred’s daughter, Nancy Archdeacon………….

Fred was a kind and funny man. He welcomed me into the family and, after my own father died, he became that gentle, strong fatherly person that I needed in my life.

But mostly, I loved his sense of humor. I especially remember one day when Nancy, Fred and I were working on the infamous old boat that Nancy owned and stored at his house in the non-boating season. It was the beginning of the first summer that the boat was part of my life. We were scraping the lake muck off the outside, replacing the carpeting, cleaning the seats, repairing the engine, etc, etc. At one point, Fred looked at me and, with that little sly twinkle in his eye, said “So, how are you enjoying boating?!”

I miss that guy!

Nancy Kranzley

Next was his son-in-law, Tom Wilson, husband of Fred’s and Mary’s daughter, Ann……………

When I got out of the Navy in 1972, Ann, Todd and I returned to Dayton. We moved into the house on Sugar Ridge until I could get a job and get back in school. When Fred & Mary had the house built, they didn’t finish the lower level. Dad and I got busy after work each night to finish the lower level.

We had everything framed and all the drywall hung and we were in the process of taping and spackling the drywall. One night while we were working at one end of the lower level we heard pounding at the other end. We went to the area of the noise and there was 15-month-old Todd with a hammer in his hand and three big holes in a newly dry-walled wall.

In my mind I said “Oh NO!

Dad said “I guess we should take the hammer away from him before he helps us some more.”

For those of us who knew Dad, you understand. He was saying that’s life, it happens. Accept it, move on and do the best you can.

Tom Wilson

The first of the comments from daughters came from the youngest, Jayne………………

My Remembrances of Dad

I’m Jayne, daughter number 3, the baby, and undoubtedly… his biggest challenge of the 3.

There is no way to summarize a lifetime of memories in a paragraph or a few minutes. However…

I will remember Dad as a quiet man, with a great sense of humor. Not so much with stories or jokes, but with slow, dry wit, silly quips, followed by his fabulous grin and a chuckle at himself. He almost always cracked HIMSELF up.

I will remember Dad as a strong man, a hard worker, a builder, a repairman, a mechanic…..the all `round Handyman. He was always doing something … he always had a project and in my mind, I don’t think there was a thing he couldn’t do.

Dad traveled all over the world when he worked for NCR and we made many trips to the Dayton airport to pick him up. I remember being so excited when he was finally the one to emerge from the plane, walk down the steps from the plane and across the tarmac. I remember being in awe of him for being so worldly. I don’t know that I really knew what worldly meant as a child … I just knew I felt proud he was my Dad.

I remember a time when in the evening, as he arrived home from work, Mom would be cooking dinner and give me the “heads up” that “Dad’s home!” I would run to the hall closet, nestle in behind his suit jackets, his overcoats and hide. He would set his leather briefcase down in front of my “supposed” hidden feet, hang his jacket up and close the door. I would pop out giggling. Never once did he let on that he knew I was in there and I thought it was so funny I could trick him again and again. I still remember the smell of that leather briefcase.

Dad taught me to ride a bike. He took off the training wheels and we walked to the end of the driveway on Enfield. I got on my bike, he got behind me, with his hands on the seat, started to push and said go. Pedaling, pedaling down the slope of the driveway approaching the backyard… I turn my head around and there was Dad back at the end of driveway grinning that grin. I made a safe stop halfway into the backyard. Ignoring the possibility there could be some serious trust issues later on to deal with….I rode my bike down the driveway over and over that day. There were never any trust issues with Dad either.

I will remember many summer family vacations to National parks, visiting relatives in many states along the way, arriving in California where his Mom and Stepfather, my Grandma and Grandpa….Beanie and FaFa lived.

Dad liked hats. He liked music, braunschwager sandwiches and John Deere Tractors. He especially liked red tractors. He liked to fish…. however I don’t ever recall him ever catching one. He didn’t like the game Bingo.

I will remember Dad as a gentleman farmer…… plowing, planting and harvesting 6 acres of soybeans and loving every minute of it. Writing it off as a loss every year probably nurtured that love.

After Mom passed away and later on in his life when he was no longer farming, I will remember his passion for his hobbies; Tennis, hiking, carving, his Model-A’s and his never ending tinkering around.

He was a loving Dad and would do anything for us. Always ready to lend a hand or give advice.

I will remember Dad as a loving Husband, a wonderful Grandfather and Great Grandfather, a fantastic Father-in-Law who made the guys feel like sons, a loving companion, a helpful neighbor and good friend.

There is something though that Ann, Nancy and I have always wanted to forget… and that is that we were not so blessed to inherit…. through genetics…. his thick fingered, wrinkly knuckle hands. We thanked him often for that and he always chuckled. I believe he has a couple nieces who were blessed as well.

Dad’s big, strong hands, many times scraped and calloused, served him well. As he slowed down, his hands were still big and strong, but very soft. We held hands many times the last few years, in silence, and he would gently squeeze mine. I knew that meant… I love you. Now, whenever I look at my hands, I will think of Dad and smile.

I always will remember watching Dad at the end of the day, sitting quietly on the back porch with a glass of lemonade, ice tea, coffee, or cocktail …enjoying the beauty of his little farm, savoring the accomplishment of a good days work.

Well done Dad… .a life well done.

Love you, will miss you.

Jayne (Daughter Number Three)

Next was Jayne’s sister, Nancy………………

During the course of our Dad’s career at NCR, he had many occasions in which he would need to speak in public or in front of a large group. He took various speaking courses including “Dale Carnegie’s” How to Win Friends and Influence People. From that course he learned that when people identify their greatest fear, they typically list speaking in front of a group as a fear greater than death. To lessen that fear, Dad said that they taught him to stand at the podium and when he looked out at the assembled group….to imagine that the people in the audience had cabbages where their heads should be. I think that it is only fair that you know how I am seeing you all right now.

What I learned from my Dad….when we had Dad’s 80th birthday party, Ann and Tom made a video for Dad and the song that seemed so appropriate for that video was “The Things We’ve Handed Down”.

These are some of the things that he has handed down to me.

Love of nature and wildlife, especially birds.

Just like him, I love having a barn and a workshop and a place to “putter” around, as he would say…. Because of him, I feel pretty comfortable working with the tools that he used. He never made a big deal of teaching me, we simply did things together.

After seeing what he was able to create out of trees, I have the desire to carve wood. I do not know if I will ever be able to do what he did with wood and a carving knife, but I would like to try. His carvings are some of my favorite memories of him.

A love for fishing, not deep sea fishing or big fishing trips, but quietly sitting by the water on an afternoon…. it was not really about catching fish, we never really caught many fish. The family joke is that we caught so few fish and invariably someone at the bait store would say “Oh, you should have been here last week, they were hauling them in.” Maybe that was why is was so memorable when we did……But, he taught me to bait a hook to make it almost irresistible to a fish, which I have taught my grandson, Joshua, and I will teach Avery, if she is interested.

Long before Dad’s memory began to fail, he showed us by his actions what each of us meant to him.

He did not so much teach us, as show us by his actions and by sharing with us the things that he learned as he lived. In this way, he handed them down.

I never doubted where I stood in Dad’s heart, No matter what, I always felt well-loved. And he was well loved in return.

Nancy (Daughter Number Two)

First daughter Ann, who is expert in the role that chronology authorized, said the following…………….

ANN’S REMEMBERANCE

One Christmas, Dad carved us all Santas. They were very cute, each one a little different. Mine was holding a tennis racquet. Thinking it couldn’t be that hard, I thought I’d give carving a try and asked Dad to teach me to make Santas.

Being the infinitely patient man that he was, we made a date for my lesson. Well, the more wood I carved the more I realized that this was much harder than it looked. Dad was very encouraging and kind, but I can’t imagine what he was thinking as my Santa developed one very skinny ankle, completely out of proportion to the other. At that point I was ready to call it quits on learning to carve. He really did have a talent that he didn’t pass on to me!

I remember commenting that carving was not going to be my forte, and asked him how in the world he got the proportions just right, and he said “it’s simple…. just carve away the parts of the wood that aren’t a Santa”.

As I now look at all of his beautiful carvings, I remember his simple answer to my question and marvel at the potential he could see in an ordinary piece of wood.

In much the same way, all of us who were blessed to be a part of his life, felt uniquely accepted, each of us different but perfect in his eyes, perfectly carved and loved just as we are.

Ann (Fred’s and Mary’s oldest daughter)

Ann’s and Tom’s daughter, Teri Ann Wilson Smith (age 33 at the funeral), had the following memories of her grandfather……………..

Memories of Grandpa

G……stands for GRAND….. because that is exactly
what he was.

R…..stands for RED TRACTOR….it was a part of
him….and we always have our own special memories of
the tractor.

A….stands for MODEL A….and riding with him in the 4th of
July parade.

N….stands for NAPS in his chair…..I have so many memories
of sitting on Grandpa’s lap in his chair.

D….stands for DAPPER… because he was so
handsome

P…..stands for PEANUT BUTTER AND BUTTER
sandwiches for bed time snack.

A…..stands for ALWAYS….because I will always love and remember you Grandpa and treasure the wonderful life you lived and all the memories we created.

Teri (granddaughter)

Teri’s brother, Todd Alan Wilson, was next ……..

He was the best grandpa ever because…. well, there isn’t just one thing.

There are many memories that come to mind. Riding around the yard on that mini-bike that was held together with bubble gum and rust. How did we all survive? or how we would all fight to be next to ride on his lap on the tractors…as you look at the video of pictures, there isn’t a picture of him and his tractor that he doesn’t have a grandchild or great grandchild in his lap…

There was the time when he hired me and my friend Shawn to cut down the trees along the lane. Now mind you these were large trees, we were down to the last one and we cut it wrong and it was leaning toward he power lines. Well, never fear Grandpa is here! He rigged some sort of rope system that involved several pieces of old rope, chains, and I think I even saw a piece of rubber hose…he hooked it to the tree and then to the old Ford tractor. I’m not afraid to admit it, I didn’t want to watch…. but, like always, it worked and he fell the tree right where he wanted it…

My dad once said it was frustrating doing work over at Grandpa’s cause he had so many tools but never the right one…but if you needed something, Grandpa would rig or fashion something together and it would work…l could go on for hours….he was the best Grandpa ever because…..he was GRANDPA

………………..oh and by the way Grandpa….I’m getting my haircut later today!

Todd (grandchild, Tom’s and Ann’s son, age 39 at the funeral)

Todd’s son, great-grandchild Todd Alan Wilson II, offered the following…………………

He was the best great grandpa ever because I would remember always wanting to ride on his big red tractor. And I can still remember one time, when I was little, that he took me on it and let me sit in his lap. That was a good day, and an even better memory. He was a great man and the best great grandpa ever.

Todd Wilson II (great-grandson, age 13 at time of funeral)

Todd’s sister was next…………………….

Grace Wilson (Todd’s sister)

He was the best great grandpa ever because he loved all his great grandchildren and loved to ask a lot of questions. He loved his family so much.

(Grace Kelly Wilson, age

And the last great-grandchild, Jaimee Gabriel Long, Jayne’s daughter (age 23)………………….

Jaimee

I will always remember his bright smile, rides on the tractor and walks through the farm.

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