My Dad, Joe Bruecks, was the only child born to Joseph M Bruecks and Violet Olga Hedstrom-Bruecks. He was born on December 14, 1943 in Chicago, IL. His Dad, my Grandpa, was a mechanic at the time but later became employed at Continental Can where he held a very prestigious title. His position there required them to later move to Houston, TX while my Dad was still very young. When my Dad was only 7 years old, his mother, Violet, died of a brain tumor at the young age of 37. My Dad never talked about it much. I could tell by the way he avoided discussing it, even many years later, that it was probably the most painful experience of his life. After my Dad passed away, I found a box that contained my Dads baby book, school pictures, vacation photos and hundreds of other photos that were obviously taken while his Mom was still alive. Almost all of them were from the time of my Dads birth until he was about 7 yrs old. After that, and until the time him and my mom married, there are only a few pictures. Mostly only his annual school pictures. It's obvious by looking at the pictures, that his mom was the one responsible for such a cherished, priceless, family treasure. As I looked through these pictures, I became saddened by the fact that I never had the pleasure of knowing this beautiful, beautiful woman but at the same time, I felt like I knew her very, very well. I felt this incredible bond to her that I can't even describe in words. It was obvious that she loved my Dad every bit as much as I did and that he was as special to her as he was to me.---------------TO BE CONTINUED----------

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