Richard Pam Kehoe Looking Back a keepsake from Memoir for Me memoirforme com
Mom Nana and Dad Pops For the past present and future your children are grateful We probably haven t said this enough in the past 40 years so here goes We thank you for listening to us We thank you for protecting us from the things we shouldn t do We thank you for guiding us in the right direction We thank you for putting up with us We thank you for being there for us without a doubt How much do we love you You mean the world to us No matter what we always will love you no matter how much we argue or how much we never Ryan of course upset you we will love you for the rest of our lives Love Always Ryan and Megan 2019
Richard 1939 Richard Kehoe b 1936 Richard Edward Kehoe was born on February 8 1936 on the west side of Chicago He joined his mother Carolyn n e Dullard father Raymond Edward Kehoe and older brother Grover who was called Ray at 5404 W Quincy Street near Columbus Park I know we lived at other locations in the city but most of my early memories are from Quincy Street One strong memory includes hearing about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 It was Sunday after Mass We were sitting in our living room and the news came over the radio Everyone from that point on seemed to be involved in the war Richard has fond memories of his mother She was wonderful loving and a great cook and baker I d come home to the aroma of freshly baked bread and coffee cakes Richard describes his father as a disciplinarian who had a soft side thanks to a shared love in sports with his sons he was a good athlete in his youth He whacked us when we deserved it but he also played catch with us He played baseball on Army teams during World War I Raymond worked his way up to president of a small company called Viscosity Oil on the south side of the city My dad was smart hard working and great with numbers 3
Richard s paternal grandparents Edward and Margaret with parents Carolyn and Raymond 1920s Growing up family was all around My mother s brothers were Grover and Clarence aka Pick and Packey Grover owned the two flat on Quincy Street we lived in the first floor and he and Aunt Ann lived on the second floor Uncle Pick and Packey were both Marines in World War I and they made sure that I learned The Marine Corp Hymn Uncle Packey and Aunt Marge lived on Jackson Boulevard and had three children Dorothy Jack and Pat who were much older than Richard and Ray A special memory was on Christmas Day when Dorothy and Pat gave us our first dog Blackie they had him in a hat box with a big red ribbon around his neck Richard s Aunt May his father s sister and Uncle John Burke lived across the street with their kids Loretta Genevieve and Edward Then there was Aunt Allie Alice who married Art Bickner who lived in Wisconsin And finally Uncle Rich and Aunt Emma who lived near Wrigley Field As a kid we spent many holidays together at my Uncle Rich s house Aunt Emma was a great cook and baker Since his parents had Richard in their mid forties his grandparents were much older or deceased by the time he was born Richard has no memories of his maternal grandparents John and Carolyn n e Raggio Dullard or his paternal grandmother Margaret n e Toomey Kehoe He has only a few memories of his paternal grandfather Edward Kehoe Growing up Richard had many friends but says his brother Grover six years older has been his best friend for life 4
When I was little I called him Wowow I looked up to him He was the fastest kid on the block and good at baseball hockey and touch football Richard and Grover liked to roughhouse When my parents went out we d push back the furniture in the living room and wrestle He was a good fighter The outdoors provided a good backdrop for many memories together Our block had two vacant lots One was used as a baseball field and during the winter firemen would come by and flood it so we could play ice hockey We called the other lot the prairie We played soldiers and dug fox holes it was during World War II Richard attended Resurrection Grammar School in the Austin neighborhood It was a big school led by Monsignor Sullivan and the classes were all taught by nuns During grammar school Richard was held back his first year It was probably because I was a troublemaker and fighter One of the Sisters said I belonged in a reformatory My brother said that he always knew where to find me in the center of a circle of kids fighting Academics were not Richard s strong suit when he was in grammar school I found a note that my mother wrote when I was young In it she said Grover just finished eighth grade and is going to Fenwick High School Richard is going into second grade I hope he makes it Left Ray and Richard in 1941 right Richard 1948 5
Young Richard would rather be having fun with friends such as Jimmy O Connor Charlie Tometz Jackie and Dick Johnson and Danny Enright The gang loved to play sports and find trouble We loved any running games and we climbed garages for fun In 1944 Richard s parents decided to purchase a summer home in Fontana on Geneva Lake Wisconsin about two hours from Chicago My father loved the area He bought the house for 5 000 but it wasn t winterized It did have a fireplace and a gas furnace in the basement under the living room floor but it was cold in the winter In 1948 they moved to Fontana Richard was in the second half of sixth grade Dad was still working in Chicago and my brother was at Loyola University They d come up on weekends Moving to Fontana was a big change for Richard I went from a school in Chicago with 35 kids in a classroom to Fontana Grade School where the sixth through eighth grades were in one room My graduating class in 1950 had 12 kids Living in Wisconsin ranged from lonely to fun depending on the season In the winter it was isolating It was a resort area so most people came up in the summer During the cold months I spent much of my time alone sledding and hiking But summers were wonderful I d mow lawns in our little neighborhood and then play with friends in the woods or at the beach all day Grammar school Richard is seated second from left 6
Family 1951 Friends such as Jimmy O Connor Joe Doody and Johnny Wellenhoefer were great pals for camping shooting and fishing I joined the Boy Scouts and we went on camping trips I was the only one in the family who liked that type of activity Their Fontana neighbor Dolly Martin was elderly and memorable to Richard thanks to her storytelling and the gifts she would give him Richard would walk her to the tiny grocery store and post office in Fontana She d tell me stories of her growing up and also told fortunes She gave me an Indian stone tomahawk that was found under her house when it was being built Her home site had been a campsite of the Potawatomi Indians She also gave him a little pistol It was a 22 caliber single shot Derringer If you shot a bottle with it the bullet would sometimes bounce off I still have both the tomahawk and the gun she gave me Richard graduated from Fontana State Grade School in 1950 He attended high school in Walworth Wisconsin for a few days but then his parents decided to enroll him at St Ignatius back in Chicago He lived with his Aunt May and Uncle John for a few weeks until his parents found an apartment back in Resurrection Parish at 5202 W Adams After a year of commuting by bus L and streetcar Richard transferred to Fenwick High School in Oak Park It was a long ride down through a tough neighborhood to get to St Ignatius Richard thrived at Fenwick and made many friends there including Bruce Libby Ron Severino Bill and Jim Jarvis and Art Lyon 7
It was a great school run by Dominican priests Plus it had a pool and I loved to swim Following high school Richard attended DePaul University for a year and then joined friends at Loyola University where he studied Business Administration He enrolled in the Reserve Officers Training Corps ROTC to help pay for school along with holding a string of character building summer jobs For a few summers he worked for the Chicago Water Department where his Uncle Packey worked He also worked in landscaping at Columbus Park Golf Course and spent another summer bored stiff working at City Hall I did nothing My boss gave me a big book and said Number the lines When someone comes in look busy I really hated that His boss eventually assigned him to a city garage on the West Side where he washed waxed and polished the cars of city bigwigs I detailed their cars They loved it and so did I Richard s last summer job was at Viscosity Oil where his dad was president They produced oil and grease products I loaded oil drums on rail cars among other jobs in the factory Richard graduated from Loyola University in 1959 and was assigned to Fort Benning Georgia as an Infantry Second Lieutenant After Officer s Basic Training I signed up for Airborne and Rangers School but was only allowed to choose one I selected Ranger Training It was very physically demanding For two months we trained in swamps in Florida and the mountains in Georgia It was tough but exciting 8 Left Fenwick graduation 1954 Right at Ft Benning Gerogia 1959
Ranger training 1959 Richard was there with a lot of young men from West Point and even from foreign countries who were sent to the camp for its intense training My dad thought I was crazy but he was proud My brother thought I was going to get myself killed Richard made some great friends during this time including Bob Nolan Jean Croisant Alan Reynolds and Jim Edgington After completing Ranger training Richard returned to Chicago in September 1959 and served the next few years in the Army Reserves This required him to spend one evening each month at Reserve meetings and two weeks each summer at Army Posts Thankfully Richard was home when tragedy struck My father died in my arms He was a great guy As I got older I appreciated him more and more After finishing his military commitment in the fall of 1959 Richard pondered his next move He decided to try out law school at DePaul University I only attended for six months but law school wasn t for me In the early 1960s Richard began working at Major Equipment near Fullerton and Cicero in the city My brother was working there and got me a job as a purchasing agent The company was fun to work for and was run by three brothers Frank Ross and Bobby Major They were fun guys always doing something crazy 9
Left At Major 1963 Right At The Paper House 1970 The Major brothers treated Richard very well and bought him a red Pontiac convertible as a company car In May of 1969 Richard met a young woman who would change his life Pamela Cafferata We met at Easy Street a bar on Rush Street She was dating the bartender I liked her right away she had long brown hair and was wearing a short leather skirt Pam gave Richard her phone number on a small piece of paper I still have the piece of paper For our first date I took her to a Mexican restaurant called Su Casa They began dating exclusively Within six months we knew we wanted to get married but we waited a while In 1969 Richard left Major because he wanted to go into business for himself I couldn t afford the equipment to go into manufacturing so I decided to open a bookstore because I loved to read Richard searched everywhere for a good location I drove all over the place and finally found a spot in Wheaton It was an old drug store in a great corner location but it needed a lot of work Richard spent weeks renovating the space and opened his new shop The Paper House It had paperbacks magazines and records I patterned it after a chain The Little Professor in Detroit 10 But Richard soon realized that it was hard to make a good profit on books
So I added a Hallmark line Ambassador Cards and gradually changed to cards and gifts It became very profitable But running a brick and mortar shop took a lot of hours I was working 9 a m to 9 p m so I hired this young woman Karen Heffner She was wonderful a great artist and a big help During this time Richard and Pam continued to date One snowy day in early April Richard closed the bookstore early and went to see Pam She was living in Carl Sandburg Village with roommates Mary Ellen O Brien and Ann Long who were both out I proposed to her and Pam jokingly replied You know I ll have to ask Ann if it s OK While he waited Richard took a nap on the couch When I awoke Pam said Ann said it was fine I can marry you It was April Fool s Day so I told Pam it was all a joke She got very quiet but then we both laughed On January 16 1971 Pam and Richard were married at Our Lady of Perpetual Help OLPH in Glenview where Pam grew up Their reception was at the Michigan Shores Country Club On our wedding day it snowed like mad A limo took us to the club but some of the guests didn t make it to the reception because of the weather On their wedding day in 1971 and working for Sheldon Good 1970s 11
Pam and Richard 1974 Richard remembers that he and Pam stood atop a horseshoe staircase near a fireplace waiting for their guests to arrive They kept filling our champagne glasses as we waited for them by the fire It was a fun time Pam and Richard spent their wedding night at the Drake Hotel in Oak Brook and left the next day for Petoskey Michigan to go skiing Following their honeymoon Richard returned to run the Paper House for a few years but also studied for and secured a real estate broker s license knowing that he d eventually want to move on to something new The store was profitable but retail got tiring I sold it in 1973 Richard and his brother Ray began looking at real estate opportunities They found a vacant lot in Lake Geneva Wisconsin that was owned by the YMCA My brother and I always did everything together White Hen a division of Jewel wanted to build a convenience store there So we applied for a building permit We acquired the house behind our lot tore it down and began building After the White Hen was built Richard and Grover added a laundromat next door In 1974 Richard started a job with Sheldon F Good a real estate office located in downtown Chicago at Madison and Wacker He would stay in that job selling commercial real estate for 11 years but that first year was rough 12 It was horrible I worked on a straight commission and you had to pay for your own advertising Pam and I were down to a few hundred dollars in the bank I worked really hard and stayed until 7 30 or 8 every night On my way home I d practice sales pitches in the car In my second year I won Salesman of the Year and was promoted to sales manager
In 1974 Richard and Pam moved to Deerfield purchased a home and were hoping to adopt through Catholic Charities of Lake County We interviewed with Catholic Charities and then we had to wait for the call That call came on May 2 1976 that our son Ryan had been born on April 29 Richard was at work when he received the call and he quickly called Pam who was teaching at St Francis Xavier in Wilmette I asked her What do you want for Mother s Day She said That s not funny I told her We have a baby boy She quit that day Richard and Pam went to pick up Ryan in Waukegan Illinois He was a preemie Now he s this big guy but we called him Mr Bones up through high school because he was so thin They applied for adoption once again and on June 26 1978 got the call that their daughter Megan had been born on June 23 Pam called me and said We ve got a little girl We have to pick her up right away Richard frantically ran to the train station to catch a train from downtown It was warm and I remember perspiring like mad Pam picked me up at the Deerfield train station and we headed to Catholic Charities in Waukegan I was tremendously excited Richard and Ryan 1977 13
Ryan and Megan 1979 In 1985 the growing family moved to Lake Forest and bought a house on Tanglewood Court where Richard has many fond memories raising Ryan and Megan While still in Deerfield Pam always dressed Ryan so cute I remember walking with him and our dogs Lucy and Linus down by the North Branch of the Chicago River Ryan was holding my finger and I remember how his sandals made a flipflopping noise on the street Ryan was a quiet friendly child but also a bit of a character One time at the pool when Ryan was about five or six I told him to jump to me He said Dad wait I ll give you all my money if you don t make me jump Little Ryan finally jumped and with practice became a strong swimmer He was captain of the swim team at Loyola High School and earned fourth place in State He s in Loyola s Hall of Fame Richard s daughter Megan was also a strong swimmer smart imaginative and a lover of nature Megan had this perfect beautiful stroke in the pool As a child she would rather be outside digging in the yard than doing anything else so we gardened a lot together She had a vegetable garden going She was entrepreneurial always wanting to start a business like selling flowers or vegetables to neighbors 14 Both Ryan and Megan loved to camp
When the kids were little we d go camping at Kettle Moraine State Park in Wisconsin and around Lake Oshkosh Pam was reluctant but she did it for the kids Other funny memories include DIY home repair mishaps In Deerfield I was installing a new toilet and showing the kids how it worked I went to flush it and it started to overflow like mad I d forgotten to take out the rags that blocked the sewer gas while I was working The kids were screaming and laughing at the same time their little footed pajamas were getting soaked The Kehoes also liked to water and snow ski One Christmas they took an unforgettable ski trip in Montana We headed there after Christmas dinner at my brother s house We had the car packed and drove straight out 24 hours The area had a major snowfall giving the Midwesterners 23 inches of fresh powder to enjoy The next morning Ryan Megan and Richard got up to the top of a run Richard told Ryan to go first then Megan and he would follow Halfway down the mountain someone was missing I looked around and asked Where s Megan She was buried but we spotted the little tassel of her hat popping up out of the snow She was okay and laughed In January 1985 Richard began working at Inland Real Estate a real estate firm in Oak Brook Family 1981 15
At one point I had about 40 guys working for me Brokerage is a tough business commercial brokerage especially It s an adversarial business Despite the challenges Richard enjoyed his job I liked it and was good at it I liked the commissions I also attended Missouri Auction School and became an auctioneer Richard traces his skill at making sales to his youth I ve been selling since I was a little kid I sold magazines as a little kid door to door to earn a Boy Scout knife Both Pam and Richard enjoyed good health into their later adult years but in 2009 Richard had a mini stroke I woke up in the middle of the night and felt bad so I took a couple of aspirin my solution for everything But he needed much more than a few aspirin Megan who is a nurse saw me that night and could tell that I had a stroke Richard was admitted to the hospital for observation and returned home in two days I initially had a hard time walking upstairs but I didn t tell anyone at work I told them I hurt my back because I didn t want them to think it would affect my job performance 16 With Megan 1983
Richard second from right with brother Ray and friends from high school 1980s The doctors thought it would take several weeks for Richard to recover But he was determined to beat that prediction I did my exercises way more frequently than they suggested I got an egg timer and set it for every half hour or so I was well enough to return to work within a week or so Richard retired from Inland Real Estate in the spring of 2017 At 81 Richard was ready to retire He is now able to spend more time gardening I like being outside I spend almost every day outside gardening in the summer He hopes to do more fly fishing in the coming years We did that when the kids were little in Colorado I like to fish because of the places it takes me spending time outside in pretty areas Richard maintains strong ties with his colleagues at Inland I still see some of the guys A group of us will fish at Rainy Lake in Minnesota near the Canadian border each summer Until his brother s death from Alzheimer s in 2013 at the age of 84 Richard and Ray remained best friends As the years have passed Richard misses his brother even more I miss him terribly every morning when I look in the mirror As I get older I look more like him 17
Grandchildren Tripp and Mabel in 2014 But age has brought blessings too Richard enjoys spending time with his two grandkids Tripp b 2011 and Mabel b 2013 They call me Pops It s been great fun watching them grow The grandchildren have excelled in sports hockey soccer and swimming I m the player they always want me to chase them and tickle them After nearly 48 years of marriage Richard cherishes his relationship with Pam more than ever One of my greatest achievements has been finding and keeping Pam We ve had a good life We both feel very fortunate We think alike when it comes to our children and now our grandchildren If we agreed on nothing else we agreed on how to raise the kids and what was best for them Through thick and thin Pam and Richard have worked hard to build a life and create a strong family We ve had some financially hard times but we stuck it out Part of the success to their relationship can be tied to a clear demarcation of roles She s the brains and I m the worker She runs the house and I try not to stick my nose in it too much Pam and Richard still reside in Lake Forest but also have a condo in Naples Florida that they can escape to during cold Chicago winters We enjoy our time in Florida We re close to the ocean and it s great to be outside a lot I bring my fly rod and cast off the beach 18
While he loved to run in his younger years current simple joys include long walks with Pam I walk every morning six days a week Pam walks with me three mornings a week Thanks to eating well and staying active Richard has lived a long and productive life and he s not stopping He s still thinking about another house project Once a real estate man always a real estate man I told Pam I have one more house in me maybe build one up in Lake Geneva I may be able to talk her into one more house Despite many successes in life Richard has a few regrets I wouldn t change a lot but when I was a young man I wish I had saved more money and gotten into real estate earlier If Richard could talk to his younger self he has some good advice Study harder work harder and think more before you do something In the end a busy life filled with business achievements comes back to the importance of family for Richard I did the best for my family that I was capable of doing and we raised two wonderful loving kids who are close to each other That s the most important thing Everything else is secondary Pam and Richard in Tanzania 2012 19
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Pam 1944 Pam Kehoe b 1942 On November 17 1942 Pamela Cecilia Cafferata was born at Lutheran Deaconess Hospital in Chicago to Mabel n e Belinski and William Bill Bennett Cafferata Pam lived her early years at 2638 North Marmora Avenue in Chicago and was the second of three daughters joining Melinda 1940 and then Carolyn 1949 We were referred to as Bill s girls Their father Bill was a banker and loan officer at the National Security Bank in Chicago where he worked for his whole life The bank was very important to him He loved his job He commuted by train downtown each morning dressed in a sharp wellpressed suit and returned home on the same evening train each night He was a creature of habit and made his presence known He came in the door hung up his hat and would whistle You knew he was home by the whistle When we were outside he could whistle so loud you could hear it for blocks That s how he would call us in on the weekends Bill was second generation American with Italian heritage from Genoa His mother Mary n e Bernardi Cafferata immigrated to the US from the far north of Italy as a child from an area that reportedly was home to more goats than people She married William Bennett Caffarata Sr and they settled in Assumption Parish on Illinois Street in the River North area Pam only knew her paternal grandmother who lived to be 98 years old 21
She was not formally educated but was an incredibly hard worker who led a difficult life She raised five children on her own and buried each one after long difficult illnesses She worked whenever possible or until her two oldest sons could help out and when she died she left her grandchildren a little money She was so independent up until late in life she took the bus everywhere Pam enjoyed her father s family Her dad was close to his brother Bernard Uncle Ben and his wife Frances Aunt Winnie They lived in Chicago and later moved to Glenview just before Pam s family moved there in 1951 Pam s maternal grandparents were Joseph and Francis n e Olejnicki Belinski but neither lived long enough for Pam to get to know them She did get to spend holidays and other special occasions with her mother s family We only saw our Uncle Walter and Aunt Marge occasionally with their son Warren We were very close to my mother s two sisters Aunt Lottie Edward Daeumer and Aunt Nettie John Binkee There was a third sister Cecilia who lived and died young in New York City We grew up with our cousin Tom Daeumer and our oldest cousin Marilyn Binkee and spent many summer vacations together up in Wisconsin Pam s mother Mabel was laid back a deep thinker and good with languages She started a college degree at Northwestern University but dropped out when she met Bill at 18 and married at 22 on January 12 1935 The two were a good match My parents were fantastic loving kind and never raised their voices to us or to themselves They did not argue they were in love until the day they died 22 Bill and Mabel Cafferata 1935
Pam left with sister Melinda 1943 Neither parent was a disciplinarian in the house even though the girls weren t perfect by any means I had the freedom to do anything and never had a curfew but I remember being swatted once on the backside when I balked over taking my younger sister Carrie to a music lesson But that was the extent of the discipline needed While many women at the time prided themselves on a neat house Mabel was more of a philosopher than a housekeeper It wasn t until high school that I noticed my friends houses were neater My friends were not allowed out to play until they did their chores so I would ask for chores just to fit in Pam grew up close to her sisters but they did have their differences Pam s youngest sister Carolyn was very easy going and doted on by everyone as the baby Her older sister Melinda was outgoing and held all the energy in the family Pam was calm and quiet more introverted less spontaneous and often trying to please others One of her favorite activities was getting lost in a book Because they were only two years apart Pam and Melinda were often spotted together as a twosome For years I followed in her footsteps Pam has few strong memories of her early childhood in Chicago but remembers being a happy child She attended grammar school at St Ferdinand s Elementary School under the watchful eye of Monsignor Barry until her family moved to Glenview in 1951 23
Bill with his girls in 1948 and 1950 There was an embarrassing moment in fourth grade when my whole class matriculated I had to sit there in my seat as the whole class got up and left It was like a public shaming and you couldn t say anything Did they think I was being held back I wanted to shout I m moving The new house was at 1724 Grove Street right down the street from Our Lady of Perpetual Help OLPH Parish where the girls went to school It was a red brick two story Cape Cod only a year and a half old and on a much larger lot than the girls were accustomed to in the city When my parents took us to the house to see it they gave each of us a flashlight and told us to go walk around the backyard I kept thinking that we must ve been on someone else s property it was so big It seemed to go on and on It was in Glenview that Pam met her best friend Mary Powell and then ten more We called ourselves the Dizzy Dozen Dopey Dames We would go around riding bikes talking about school and boys and hanging out at Roosevelt Park I have so many happy memories with them Close girlfriends provided good escapes from sibling rivalry and were often as close as blood relatives Mary was like my older sister Whatever she was doing I was doing If she jumped in the lake I did it too I was a good follower a good Indian not a good chief We went to summer camp together up in Kettle Moraine Wisconsin through the Girl Scouts 24 In 1956 Pam started high school at Marywood Academy in Evanston now the Evanston Civic Center She was a good student something just expected of her
All of us girls were good at the books We weren t geniuses by any means but school work was just something you did She participated in athletics for the social aspect of it I wasn t good at sports but I did try I even joined our all star baseball team and was the catcher and the only reason I did it is because I wanted to get my Marywood Athletic Association pin It was a box to check off because other people were doing it Looking back Pam can see she had a blessed upbringing thanks to parents who worked hard to provide I was a middle class middle child We were not very rich and not very poor but I was not so naive to think it was easy for my parents to raise three daughters We wore uniforms to school but our walk in closets were full of big dresses with crinolines Do you think I would ever wear my sister s prom dress No I had to get my own Their father Bill had a good sense of humor about it My dad would say You three girls are my three Cadillacs When not at the bank Bill enjoyed spending time outdoors tending to his garden and lawn We had a Concord grape arbor that he would pick from once a year My mother would make wonderful pies from it William Bennett Cafferata 1950 25
Mabel was a good cook and in Catholic tradition never cooked meat on Fridays We always had good meals My mother always made a salad lettuce tomato and cucumbers with oil and vinegar Fridays were for seafood Shrimp DeJonghe and Shrimp Creole On Saturdays we always had a grilled steak or hamburgers Other food memories include Italian classics from Grandma Cafferata My grandmother was the real Italian she had never heard of lasagna but she was big on ravioli and pesto Pam graduated Marywood in 1960 and went off to Loretto Heights College in Denver Colorado where her older sister Melinda was studying nursing Her choice of major was interesting since all through grammar and high school if she cut herself she would scream bloody murder at the sight of her own blood William and Mabel wanted all their daughters to pursue a college degree My dad wanted us all to get a good education but it had to be Catholic all women s and far enough away that you couldn t get home on weekends Bill wanted his girls to see other parts of the world For Pam college was full of novel experiences We had to wear a gown and mortarboard to mass every Sunday but sometimes we wore pajamas underneath Living independently brought its share of lessons 26 Pam far right with Carrie and her parents over the Rockies 1960
Pam left with friends from Loretto Heights College in Colorado 1963 I had no concept of money Freshman year my dad gave me a budget and a checkbook I wrote checks to buy Austrian drapes curtains and a nifty quilt for my dorm room I even wrote a check for 50 cents to pay for a mixer and used another to sign myself up for horse back riding lessons Older sister Melinda had to intervene My sister came to me with a stack of checks and a note from Dad to itemize all my expenses I was way overdrawn and had to explain myself Melinda helped her get out of the jam It wouldn t be the first time Earlier that year I had signed up for a lot of extra curricular activities that were costly and Melinda went right into the Registrar s office and told them to take me out of this put me in that etc The skiing could stay the horseback riding lessons had to go Pam s choice in majors was not her own Sr Frances Marie approached me and said there were not a lot of students who were going to major in Chemistry and in order to keep the department open they needed recruits Not wanting to disappoint her Pam agreed Despite a challenging course load Pam had her share of fun 27
Left Pam right with friend Ann Long at the U S Marine Corp Ball in Vienna Austria 1962 Right Pam and her dad Loretto College 1963 During freshman year I started to have a lot more fun going to parties and dances hanging out with the boys from Regis University going skiing not well but I did it anyways During her sophomore year she gave her parents quite the shock when they were visiting for her older sister s graduation Sister Frances Marie came to my parents and told them I would not pass her class I had to miss my own sister s graduation party because I was stuck trying to finish lab reports During her junior year Pam broadened her horizons by studying abroad at the University of Vienna My good friend Ann Long now Gorey and I studied abroad together and traveled through Europe On a trip to Greece with some other friends many in the group thought we should trade in our tickets back to Vienna and visit Istanbul and hike through Turkey For once I didn t follow Pam decided she would go back the way that was planned even if she went back alone They agreed and went with me That was the first time I remember making an important decision on my own and not just go along with the others 28 Though there were times when she barely made it through her chemistry program Pam passed her demanding comprehensive exams and graduated in 1964 Her father was so proud when she was offered a Fellowship in Chemistry at Loyola University She went reluctantly
All the students were so serious complete with slide rules hanging off their belts I commuted from home and did it for one year All around her friends were off living their lives working and living in interesting places like New Orleans and New York City Most of my friends were English and education majors with teaching jobs Melinda was focused and knew she wanted to be a nurse I didn t know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life except that I knew it was not Chemistry She dropped out of the Fellowship and got a job teaching fourth grade at St Emily s in Mount Prospect The Catholic schools would take anyone with a degree I had 48 kids in my classroom and they give me the smaller class I was the low man on the totem pole but I loved it The next year she and her college friends Ann Long and Claudia Reiss left for San Francisco California They found teaching jobs and absorbed the scene that was Haight Ashbury in the 1960s But family matters brought an end to their time out west Both Claudia and I had a need to go home My dad had been battling cancer on and off for years Also my sister was getting married so it seemed the right time to move back In 1967 Pam got a job teaching at St Joseph the Worker in Wheeling and would stay there for several years She spent the first year commuting from her parents home in Glenview but in 1968 she and a few friends moved downtown and rented an apartment together in Sandburg Village College graduation 1964 29
We had a few bucks not much as Catholic school teachers but enjoyed going out on Wednesday nights to find a date for the weekend In May of 1969 while out with girlfriends at a bar called Easy Street on Rush Street she met Richard Kehoe Pam was dating the bartender at the time but Richard left an impression He asked me to dance but I thought I was too tall for him But Richard didn t give up and the two started dating soon after In less than a year Pam and Dick were talking about marriage He proposed at Pam s place on April 1 1970 He said to me Let s get married and I told him that I had to talk to my roommate Ann first Richard fell asleep on the couch Ann came home later said it was OK and Pam went to wake up Richard who decided to play a little joke on his soon to be fianc He said Ah no it was April first April Fools Thankfully he wasn t serious After a few delays they tied the knot on January 16 1971 It was a snowy day I thought it was just gorgeous but my mother was worried Apparently two couples from the church never made it to the reception One ran right off the road Pam with Richard and her parents 1971
Pam in 1970 and 1972 With her younger sister Carrie just delivering her first child in Denver four days before the wedding Pam s three bridesmaids included her sister Melinda her college friend Ann Long and her childhood friend Maureen Brennan They wore dark green velvet dresses and matching shoes and the shoes dyed the snow green with footprints Following a church wedding at OLPH they enjoyed a reception at the Michigan Shores Country Club in Wilmette All their friends came most already married and jokingly called Pam and Richard s wedding the last hurrah The next day the newlyweds left for their honeymoon skiing at Boyne Mountain in Petoskey Michigan Back home Richard owned a bookstore in Wheaton so the couple moved to nearby Carol Stream to start their life together at 595 Gunderson Drive Pam was still teaching in Wheeling but the commute got to be too much In addition to a long work commute my dad was not in great shape and I was driving to Glenview a lot Pam took a few substitute teaching jobs closer to their home in Carol Stream but by 1974 she and Richard decided to move north to be closer to Pam s parents They bought their first home 631 Dimmeydale Drive in Deerfield and would remain there for more than a decade They enjoyed married life with two dogs Lucy and Linus mutts from Lake Geneva that someone was just giving away We always had dogs in our lives those dogs were wonderful 31
Ryan and Megan outside the house on Dimmeydale 1979 They were also trying to start a family I had several miscarriages Most of my friends were getting pregnant and my two sisters seemed like they couldn t stop getting pregnant They had previously registered on an adoption waiting list while out in Carol Stream but were discouraged when they were told that by the time a baby became available they might be considered too old to adopt In Deerfield they didn t give up on adoption trying the Cradle and registering with Catholic Charities of Lake County A year and a half later we got a call It was May 2 1976 Pam was teaching at St Francis Xavier in Wilmette and took a call from her principal s office A baby boy a preemie was awaiting them at Booth Memorial Hospital in the city Pam and Dick needed to bring their own baby clothes and meet their new son Ryan born April 29th He was so tiny The clothes we had brought were so big While they stumbled at first learning the basics both Pam and Richard were quick studies at parenthood I remember Richard trying to put on this tiny diaper in the office at Catholic Charities in Waukegan and Ryan pooped in his hand Richard said Well this is one hell of a way to start our fatherson relationship They brought him home on May 5 1976 I was there more since Richard would go to work but he was still very involved That first year with Ryan he was right there changing diapers and bathing him 32 Like most parents Pam discovered that the first child comes with a bit of a learning curve
I remember when Ryan was little he slept so deeply As we drove home from the Catholic Charities office we stopped to pick up baby formula As I lifted the blanket that was over him he seemed to be passed out I was terrified that I had killed him My first reaction was thinking that they are never going to give us another baby Ryan would be just fine and Pam was thrilled to find out Catholic Charities would give them another one a girl on June 26 1978 They called me and said We have a little girl for you She s 72 hours old If you can make it to our offices before we close for the weekend I said We ll be there Megan ended up in a Snoopy nightgown because that was all I could find Both Ryan and Megan were easy babies and Richard was incredibly supportive One memorable moment when the children were young was when Pam and the kids decided to buy Richard a surprise present for his birthday a wheelbarrow for his gardening projects Ryan was about six and Megan was four We bought it and stored it at a friend s house Ryan goes up to his dad and says Your gift is a secret surprise And it s NOT a wheelbarrow At one point Pam and Dick considered adopting a third child It seemed a good idea to have a pair and a spare but the agency stressed that others were still waiting for their first child Ryan and Megan 1981 33
Reflecting on her role as a parent Pam offers Dick and I are very different in personality He is a ball of energy and I am not But when it comes to parenting we were on the same page We always asked ourselves what would be best for the kids Whether it was a vacation a sport building blocks vs Nintendo we were always in total agreement In 1985 the family left Deerfield for a larger home on Tanglewood Court in Lake Forest Similar to Pam s upbringing the Kehoe family was neither rich nor poor though living on Chicago s North Shore they were surrounded by neighbors in higher income brackets Thankfully neither of the kids ever asked for anything outlandish Ryan s best friend in Deerfield Matt lived next door and had every possible electronic game Megan s friend Nicole was from an incredibly wealthy family who eventually bought a mansion in East Lake Forest The kids went to Everett Elementary Deerpath Middle and Junior High Schools and for high school Ryan went to Loyola Academy and Megan went to Lake Forest High School While surrounded with friends driving brand new cars Ryan and Megan were just happy to have a set of wheels We had an Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser wagon that the kids drove through high school until we had to have it pulled away backwards because it would no longer go forward It became a donation to the American Lung Association and we cried when they towed it away Ryan and Megan called it The Green Porsche with a third seat that faced backwards If you sat there when it was raining your feet got wet Family 1993
Left Ryan swimming in a State Meet 1994 Right Megan as a senior at Boston College 2000 Both Ryan and Megan were good students and active in sports Eating dinner together when the children were little was important to Pam But once the kids were older swim Ryan and tennis Megan dictated when meals took place Ryan often struggled to stay awake thanks to early morning swim practice In the fall and winter he would come into class after an hour or more of swimming and the heat in the classroom would make him fall asleep He would open windows but the other students would yell at him Sister Megan was never tired partly thanks to her coffee drinking habit that she established early on At times her teenage years were full of angst but she always had a friend in her brother They got along great When Ryan would sign her cards he always wrote Your best friend Ryan Megan transferred to Loyola her senior year and thrived She and Ryan both ended up at Boston College together Ryan swam on the swim team competitively all four years and made lots of friends right off the bat While the kids were young family holidays and travel were important Carolyn and Bill are in Edwards Colorado up in the mountains and we d go out there for Thanksgiving for many years My sister Melinda and her husband Jake live in Muncie Indiana and we used to go down there for the holidays We would spend Christmas Eve there and then drive back here for Christmas morning and have dinner with Rich s family They also loved to travel We took the kids with us wherever we would go In 1978 it was a trip to Hawaii Ryan was two years old and we brought my mother too 35
Family outside of Tanglewood Court 1992 However in 2016 there was a revival For Dick s 80th and Ryan s 40th birthdays we went to Hawaii again It was a large group and it included nieces and in laws all of us celebrating together There were other great trips through the years including Cayman Islands Belize Costa Rica Disney World and a trip all over the U K when Ryan and Megan were in junior high Pam s daughter Megan was bitten by the travel bug After graduating from Boston College she decided to spend a year in Fairbanks Alaska as a Jesuit volunteer She came home via the Alaskan Canadian Highway with her dog Sadie and her boyfriend at the time Pam worried about her the whole way home I begged her not to do it but Megan camped all the way back to Illinois The car that they drove was held together with just hope I have no idea how they made it back Megan was her adventurous child and after teaching for a while decided to go back to school to become a nurse She married Richard Oakford and they have two children Tripp b 2011 and Mabel named after Pam s mother b 2013 and live nearby in Lake Forest Megan has worked full time as manager of the ICU of Northwestern Memorial Hospital and soon will transfer to Northwestern Lake Forest It s a lot That s a hard job 36 Thankfully Pam Nana and Richard Pops are close by and love to help Of all the roles she s held through the years one of her favorites is that of Nana
We live about seven minutes away I go over there during the week and pack their lunches help them get dressed Her son Ryan works in industrial real estate He recently got married in May 2018 to Jenny Koski and also lives in Lake Forest They re about 12 minutes away I m very lucky to have them all so close Nowadays to pass the time Pam loves to read do crossword and jigsaw puzzles and stay active walking with Richard They can be outside more thanks to a second home in Naples Florida which they can escape to during Chicago s cold winters now that Richard has retired It s good for us as we get older to be outside and move around more But we do miss our family when we re gone Every now and again they will come down for a visit In January 2019 Pam and Richard will celebrate 48 years of marriage Everyone has their moments but we made commitments to each other My sister Melinda told me she took a vow when she married and she took it seriously I have remembered what she said and the words she has lived by Being a grandparent has also had its rewards I love being a grandparent You get to look back and be smarter this time around I m big on flossing this time Celebrating Ryan and Jenny s wedding 2018
Pam knows she s lucky just being around for them By contrast my dad was gone before Ryan and Megan came along and my mom was only alive for a bit Ryan was four and Megan was two I love that I ve been able to be with my grandchildren and have a lot of input help them with their spelling lists and give them pearls of wisdom In looking back on who had the biggest influence on her life Pam is quick to reply My parents They believed in hard work and that each generation should do better That s what we tell our kids that we expect them to do for theirs She also points to her spouse Richard has also had a big influence on me There were lots of things he was right about how to eat well and stay active He gets me up and gets me walking I wish I had listened to him earlier in life We ve have our disagreements but there s a lot he s right about Pam is proud of her children and perhaps most proud that she and Dick were together in total unison about what was good for them We always put the kids first probably because they came along later in life and we really wanted them 38 Rich and Pam 2014
Pam and Megan 2008 Pam has learned many lessons in life including the importance of getting to her point quickly I used to write my kids these long letters and would start them with ideas about life and nature At the bottom I would get down to business and tell them what I needed from them get me your ID number or whatever She was perplexed by their non response They never would do what I asked in the letters Finally I asked Ryan about it and he said Mom I don t read your letters all the way through That s when I realized that I should ve put the important stuff at the beginning It s funny now because I thought I was putting the important stuff first While she doesn t beat herself up over it Pam does hold a few regrets over poor choices and mistakes she s made There have been many times in my life where I wish I had chosen differently because I was doing something to please someone other than myself I wouldn t have been a Chemistry major I love history and I love reading I could ve set myself on a different path entirely I grew up very quiet and didn t like to cause waves Age has given Pam confidence to speak up more Now it doesn t bother me to say no I have a little more guts 39
Then there were flat out mistakes that Pam wishes she hadn t made like drag racing and driving without a license Just foolish things where I could have ended up in horrible situations poor decisions poor choices Thankfully no one was hurt The Cafferata girls were good at book learning but not so streetwise With the gift of maturity Pam would tell her young self a thing or two Think before you act look before you leap save your money all those simple little adages you ve heard a million times Some advice was even more simple I wish I had paid attention more to what was happening in my parents life I was really focused on me My dad was sick for such a long time but he always seemed to get back on his feet Then when he did die I was shocked I miss my parents and who they were Pam is just as human as the rest of us filled with talents flaws and lessons learned She also has the gift of gratitude I was given a very good life I was born healthy to loving parents Without realizing it I got gifts that I didn t understand or realize A lot of people don t get that Pam with her sisters Carrie and Melinda 2015
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Members of Pam and Richard s family were asked to share some memories of their own Even when I was very young I always realized how lucky I was to be part of my family My Mom told me that when I was toddler I would cry incessantly when I was put in my crib As a last resort Mom put me in bed between my two sisters I was a happy camper My sisters always made me feel safe I remember my sister Pam coming to my rescue when as a schoolgirl a much larger bully started harassing me at the school playground He followed me home only to run into Pam standing there She let him know what could happen to him if he ever returned to our neighborhood and he swiftly ran away never to bother me again My sister was my protector Pam spent many many hours taming my unruly hair and bandaging my knees As a result this scruffy little girl always looked picture perfect for events Pam also spent countless hours chauffeuring me around and teaching me to drive to the beach to movies to friends homes to shop etc She even included me along with her friends little sisters when she spent time with her many teenage friends They were a group of a dozen special friends from grade school on through adulthood It was a sad day for me when Pam left for college I cried for a long time I was lucky then and am lucky now to have my sisters with me They are a blessing And to my fabulous brother in law Richard I admire your positive outlook on life your fearlessness and humor We would never have traveled to Africa but for your keen desire to witness the animal migration This was the trip of a lifetime for me Thank you and love you Carrie 42
My earliest memories revolve around our home at 2638 N Marmara Ave Chicago IL It was my world When we Pam and I ventured outside the perimeter of our house plus front and back yards we were in foreign territory The immediate foreign territory was our city block mostly the side of the block that faced Marmora Ave on our side of the street The other side of the street was totally alien I was told by mom and dad that I started our life together in Aunt Lottie and Uncle Ed Daumer s flat Aunt Nettie and Uncle John and their daughter Marilyn lived in the same house in an apartment upstairs Bobsha and Grandpa Belinski lived on the ground floor as did Aunt Lottie and Uncle Ed Yes it was crowded but I didn t know or care That was the way many people lived at that time My world was my bassinet and my relatives especially mom and dad s arms It must have been overcrowded for the adults because my parents and and me moved shortly afterwards to a home a few city blocks away That was when Pam made her entrance into our lives Although I went with Dad to Lutheran Deaconess Hospital to visit Mom I never met Pam there Children were not allowed above the first floor unless they were patients Instead I was watched by a Lutheran nun while Dad visited Mom Now I don t actually remember my first meeting with Pam but I have been told about it so many times it has become a memory for me When I first saw Pam I looked her over then told my mom and dad that they could bring her back to the hospital not an auspicious start Our relationship vastly improved since then Pam and I shared the back bedroom with Grandma Mary Pam and I slept in one bed and Grandma in another Cozy but as said before that s the way young families lived back then One incident that I was told about so many times it has become my own memory Mom was hanging laundry while infant Pam was sleeping in a hammock and I played nearby Suddenly the neighbor s big yellow shaggy dog Buster leapt over the fence into our yard He saw a rat creeping down the lines holding the hammock and my baby sister Pam Buster grabbed the rat without disturbing sleeping Pam and shook the rat to death Mom scooped up both of us and ran into the house From that day forward Buster never lacked for a meaty bone The family saying was save some meat on the bone for Buster As we grew up the house did get too crowded Dad Uncle John and Uncle Ed got together and expanded our living quarters upward The three of them built two bedrooms in the attic a larger room for Pam and me and a smaller back bedroom for Grandma Mary Now that we each had our own beds we could self decorate Pam filled her bed with so many dolls and stuffed animals it was hard to find her in the mix Carrie made her entrance into the family about this time and stayed in the downstairs bedroom to be close to Mom and Dad Pam Grandma Mary and I still had to go downstairs to use the bathroom after interrupting family visits and poker games I think we had more bathroom visits than were necessary just to see what the adults were doing Our lives were warm and loving From this point Pam probably remembers better than me so I will let her tell the rest Melinda 43
We have camped from Wisconsin to Tanzania celebrated us from Oahu to DC enjoyed dinners from Edwards to Lake Forest tasted wine from Healdsburg to Cape Town and much much more Our time with you Aunt Pam and Uncle Richard has endless wonderful and comical stories We were never short on laughs fun food and love Camping in Wisconsin as a five year old with the cousins was the best As we ran ahead of the parents lollipops would fall from the trees up ahead of us truly magical If there was a water snake sunning itself on a rock on the waters bank Uncle Richard would have his hand gun ready again magical And who couldn t wait for tickle monster grateful we have a picture A more recent memory of camping is of course our time in Tanzania what were we thinking In our 10 days of camping we racked up a lifetime of stories At breakfast each morning Aunt Pam worked hard on her Swahili pronunciation of milk coffee and water with the locals while Uncle Richard worked hard handing out 1 bills to village children who we were led to believe by the Maasai storytellers lived in dung huts which we had the pleasure of touring Our tents were quite luxurious complete with an ensuite bath and whether they were set up in the Serengeti or up on the Ngorongoro Crater s ledge our toilets or our neighbors followed us into our tent we were never so happy to find Gibbs Farm We were given 10 gallons of water each for a hot daily shower sometimes you would borrow a bit more than your share and the second person was left soapy The interior of our tents was lit by solar lighting and when the solar lighting would go out you could confuse your sunscreen with your tsetse fly cream And the hot air balloon trip was breathtaking unless you were on the bottom of the basket on landing which left you wishing you brought your safety helmet in your size appropriate duffel as you were uncontrollably dragged through the thick brush of the Serengeti But truly the animals the sunsets the vast land the company and let s admit it us surviving were unbelievable We have sipped wine together in Healdsburg CA and Cape Town SA and everywhere in between We have celebrated birthdays in Oahu Southern California Edwards Chicago and more We have celebrated holidays ceremonies and of course bachelor bachelorette parties together We have skied the Rockies of Colorado and the landfills of the midwest and whether we were buttoned up for a formal affair or being pulled behind a power boat we have been blessed to have one another to stand with and lean against so often For the many blessings for all the love and for all the fun thank you Aunt Pam and Uncle Richard for the many memories you have shared in our lives we do have the Best Family Ever Love always Currin 44
What a wonderful privilege to contribute to this keepsake I have truthfully found it to be a challenge to find words adequate enough to express my deepest adoration for my beloved Aunt Pam and Uncle Richard I have many fond memories of them as they ve always been in my life As children we would each spend a couple of weeks of our Summer break at the idyllic home on Dimmydale Ryan and Megan were only dreams yet to come true Celia Tony and I always looked forward to and loved these visits I remember Uncle Richard teaching me how to maneuver a backyard hammock and Aunt Pam taking me shopping at Old Orchard so as to send me back to school in style But it was more than hammocks and shopping sprees Something intangible You made me feel valued providing me with a sense of confidence in having such positive and caring role models Holidays also stand out in my memory as being extraordinarily special magical even The house on Grove street searching the sky for Santa marzipan and tickle monsters It is a small window of time in childhood when you are truly carefree and the feeling of warmth and security in having a close knit family was and still is everything Eventually I grew up I will never forget my 40th surprise birthday party All Kehoes were in attendance even the dog You loaded up in the Suburban and made the long journey just for me I still get choked up remembering all of you coming through the front door at Celia s house Yet another example of the very many times that you ve touched my heart I am humbled and so grateful You look marvelous in a sombrero by the way For generations to come starting with you and likely those before you an example has been set For me personally it is the significance of the role of Aunt and Uncle You have taught me what it means to be a very special part of a child s life and how your impact is everlasting and far reaching I can only hope that I ve been even a fraction as amazing as both of you wth my nieces and nephew I aspire to emulate you I forever adore you I thank you and most of all I love you then now and always Love Moni 45
Anyone who knows Pam and Richard knows that family means everything to them This is a lesson those of us who love them have gleaned through their example My wish for them is for good health and the blessing of time to spend with those they love and to do all that makes them happy Some people come from families with many aunts and uncles I have only one aunt and uncle but I am richly blessed because they are Pam and Richard No one could hope for a more loving pair than these two When my sisters and I were young my grandma great aunt and Richard lived with our family in Elmwood Park In many ways Richard was as much like a big brother as the fun uncle every kid hopes for We adored him and loved every minute spent with him Upon seeing his car approach the house we ran to greet him just like fans chasing after a rock star Hilarity reigned whenever Richard played with us tickled us and entertained us My Grandma could often be heard telling him Leave those girls alone But of course we begged him for more more more Richard would do anything for us including dressing as the youngest skinniest Santa ever I actually lost my belief in Santa when Karen recognized his army boots as part of his costume and exclaimed That s not Santa that s Richard When Richard brought Pam into our lives we finally had an aunt She was and still is beautiful smart and so put together She reminded me of Marlo Thomas in That Girl with her stylish clothes and gorgeous hair My sisters and I followed her around adoringly like little puppies She must have thought us very strange I always thought it extra cool that Pam and I share middleof three daughters status Any way to be like Pam was a bonus in my mind Time spent with Pam and Richard has always been extremely special to me Summer weekends at Lake Geneva were so much more fun when Pam and Richard came up Whether it was relaxing on the cottage porch or on the boat while docked we loved talking and goofing around as a family Richard always was and still is the life of the party quick with jokes and funny stories Many a quiet float on the raft just Pam and us girls would be enlivened by a surprise jostling courtesy of Richard arriving underneath us with a twinkle in his eye and a big laugh 46 Visiting Pam and Richard in their first apartment in Carol Stream was always a blast I clearly remember a special dinner when Pam at that time a novice cook made her grandma s homemade ravioli for us She worked so hard and the meal was so delicious When Pam hosted her first Kehoe Thanksgiving we all got a lesson in vegetable names The Kehoe traditional meal included turnips so Pam prepared turnips which looked very unfamiliar to all of us That s because what the Kehoes called turnips are actually rutabagas We now lovingly call the dish ruties Once as part of a school assignment Karen and I had the opportunity to stay with Pam and Richard and shadow them in their work Karen went with Richard to his store The Paper House while I spent the day with Pam and her fourth grade class Watching Pam teach no doubt influenced my own teaching desire Again anything to be more like Pam
Nothing could top the joy it was for me to live with Pam and Richard in their home in Deerfield during the first semester of my junior year of high school while our family house in Lincolnshire was still under construction How brave of them to have a teenager living with them before raising children of their own But it all felt so natural because we could and did talk about anything and everything often solving many a world problem After school Pam and I enjoyed watching movies especially Rock Hudson Doris Day comedies Because I was a new driver Pam and Richard allowed me to practice whenever possible One memorable morning I was driving as they took me to school and upon arrival I could not unfasten my jammed seatbelt When Richard also was unable to release it I was beginning to panic about being late Richard to the rescue He went to the trunk pulled out a knife and cut me free Richard my hero I ll bet the nuns had never heard that excuse for being late In the spring of 1976 our family experienced one of our greatest surprises ever Pam and Richard came over to our house with what looked like a bundle of laundry Karen opened the door and asked what that was all about only to discover that Richard was carrying our new baby cousin Ryan We were all truly jumping for joy Pam and Richard had managed to keep this exciting arrival secret and pulled off this incredible surprise Two years later they were blessed with a second bundle of joy named Megan and we again shared in their happiness The Kehoe family had grown in size and most certainly in love Throughout my whole life I was in awe of the incredibly close bond between Richard and my dad They seemed more like twins than brothers separated by six years I know that either would do anything for the other That became so clearly evident when my parents were experiencing serious health issues and Pam and Richard were always there with love support care and help every step of the way They exemplify the true meaning of family love It warms my heart to see the same close bond between Ryan and Megan and their families as was shared by Richard my dad and theirs Truly a beautiful legacy Kathy McBeath 47
My father Grover Raymond Kehoe is Richard s oldest and only brother Richard was only 20 years old when I was born and because of that we did not call him Uncle Richard lived with us along with his mother Carolyn Josephine Dullard Kehoe and her sister our Aunt Florence Dullard Wise for five years of my life Richard is no ordinary uncle he was more like a big brother playmate and always someone to look up to He was not the uncle that we just saw on birthdays and holidays I was lucky enough to have a very special bond with Richard and my Dad In summer the three of us would go to Lake Geneva with the whole family Our family would rent this little house in Fontana Wisconsin Country Club Estates every year The best part of the house was the large screen porch where a lot of family bonding went on We had two boats a motorboat for water skiing and a sailboat We would sit on the porch in the morning trying to check the wind to see if we should bring the sails down to the beach to sail If Richard and Grover went waterskiing I came along too My sisters Kathleen Kathy Mary Kehoe McBeath and Sheila Marie Kehoe Lamp would stay back at the beach with my Mom Mary Ann Marion Catherine Walsh Kehoe As years went on Richard would date a lot of girls but no one was as special as Pamela Pam Cecelia Cafferata Kehoe Our opportunity to get to know Pam was at the lake We would go out on the boat and dock somewhere and play in the water or lay in the sun This was time the time when we got to do our girl talk On April 1st April Fools Day Richard asked Pam to marry him Pam was smart and asked him to ask again the next day That is when she said YES They got married January 16 1971 After several years they decided to adopt a child One day Pam and Richard came over to our house in early May 1976 with a bunch of what looked like laundry That laundry ended up being my first cousin I was 20 years old at the time It was so exciting Ryan Edward Kehoe was born April 29th 1976 Two years later Ryan got a sister Megan Amanda Kehoe Oakford Ryan s initials R E K are also the initials of his grandfather Raymond Edward Kehoe Megan s initials are M A K are the same as my mom her aunt Mary Ann Kehoe As Ryan and Megan were growing up I was in college working and then got married to William Nicholas Kashul Jr and had four children of my own William Nicholas III Kristen Mary Peter William and Katelyn Katie Mary Kashul Both my parents and Pam and Richard have been great influences in my life They gave me a love for Lake Geneva My husband Bill and I have a home there where a lot of family bonding with our four children daughter in law and two grandchildren has been going on What great memories of my time as a child and now Thank you for that it will never be forgotten Love you both so very much Karen Frances Kehoe Kashul 48
When we were little girls Moni and I were in a big dance recital Fancy costumes stage makeup dress rehearsals the works At the grand finale of the recital awards were given out to some of the outstanding dancers I waited patiently for my name to be called It wasn t However a girl from our class received an award and a trophy I was green with envy I related this story to Aunt Pam knowing that she would surely agree that a great injustice had occurred Her response She simply said That girl worked harder than you and that s why she got the trophy If you want a trophy next time you should work harder The straight unvarnished truth No judgment no reduction in her love for me just the fact of the matter plain and simple As a little girl I was stung by this outrageous betrayal But in retrospect she gave me a great and valuable gift the truth When our Omi passed away we all gathered in Chicago to say goodbye Moni and I went to Aunt Pam and Uncle Richard s house where we worked on a eulogy on their computer Mon and I talked typed laughed cried and edited until we were certain we had the eulogy just right Our Mom arrived She and Aunt Pam joined us around the computer I said Please give us your honest opinions Aunt Pam smiled wryly touched my hand reassuringly and said Honey trust me I read what we had prepared and both Aunt Pam s and Mom s eyes were a little misty when they both said It s perfect Now my Mom thinks all things her children create are wonderful But having Aunt Pam s stamp of approval meant that we were also getting the objective truth Sometimes the truth that stung me after the dance recital is also the same truth that confirms when something is good This is why so many of us cherish and sometimes benignly fear Aunt Pam s opinion And that s the truth If Aunt Pam can be relied upon to give the unvarnished truth then Uncle Richard can be relied upon to brush it aside tell a joke and have a cocktail instead This is only one of the many endearing characteristics that make him such a beloved member of our family He is the master of not sweating the small stuff or the big stuff Full of good humor great stories and conversations a ready joke and an irreverent sense of humor he is always the life of the party It is hard to conjure up his image in my mind with anything other than a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye Usually the twinkle is related to sentimental tears building the kind of which are produced only by a full and happy heart Add to all this his love for his family and his country and he is truly a model of joy and fulfillment Uncle Richard has a knack for making each of us feel special as if each of us is his very favorite and beloved niece or nephew Literal case in point about a week after my 50th birthday I visited Lake Forest for Jenny and Ryan s wedding shower The beautiful lunch sparkling crystal festive Chambord mimosas and gorgeous flowers were amazing But just for me Uncle Richard had a hidden stash of fancy champagne our little secret set aside as my special birthday gift from him He like my Mom thinks everything we do is wonderful even turning 50 Even at my ripe old age he made me feel the same special way he did when I was a little girl conspiring with him over some fun little plan I m looking forward to 60 already I ll meet you behind the bar wink wink May God Bless Aunt Pam and Uncle Richard on the occasion of this gift and always My love and respect for them is boundless enduring and true With love Celia 49
Thanks to Pam and Richard our family has so many wonderful memories Picking just a few is extremely hard Growing up Richard he was more like a big brother uncle to me He was always so much fun to play around with When we were young and playing outside with our friends and we saw Richard drive down the street he would have all of us chasing him down the street We would all be yelling U ncle Wee Wee He would get out of the car and throw us up in the air and thankfully he always caught us It was not just the three of us but all our friends too We would scream for him to do it again Obviously we loved when he would come over When our family was lucky enough to be graced with Pam everything became complete We spent weekends in the summer at Lake Geneva Friday night fish fries at the Sterlingworth the big debate the next morning of do we bring the sails or not then heading down to the lake to dock at Black Pointe and swim and relax Pam Karen Kathy and I would be relaxing on the rafts talking until Richard would sneak up and tip us out of the rafts Richard also taught me how to dive off the sailboat and to waterski with him on his skis screaming all the time but loving it when it was over Then we would head up to the house to clean up sit on the porch until the usual Saturday night steak dinner was served So many great times One of my other memories is of all the walks we would go on after dinner When we were in Elmwood Park we would walk down the street telling Pam the names of the people that lived in the homes She had them all memorized and could repeat them to us year after year She knew more about our neighbors than my Dad did Sometimes we even would walk a little farther and go to Johnnie s for an Italian Lemonade Walking was not limited to Elmwood Park We would also take long walks around Fontana One day on our walk around the block we saw a sign for free puppies They were so adorable some of them were sound asleep next to a tree that had a board propped up against it We went back home and talked my parents into coming to see them Pam wanted this cute little cream colored female dog and Richard wanted a lanky tri colored male dog We found a very cute tri colored fluff ball of a male dog Seeing they could not agree on one they got both sweet Lucy and Linus Thanks to Pam and Richard my parents gave in and let us get the cute little fluffy male that became my first dog Duke The three of them were such a wonderful part of our lives for many years I always wanted a dog and thanks to Pam and Richard I finally got one I am so grateful that Pam and Richard purchased a summer home at the lake It meant so much to me that I was able to share the great times that I had growing up at the lake with my husband and children Cory loved the early morning waterskiing outings with Richard and Grovie then back to the house for a Bloody Mary before taking a nap on the porch until we all arrived Michael and Kelly loved their boat rides swimming in the lake playing around on the porch with Uncle Wee Wee and the wonderful food Pam would prepared for us 50
Every time we have had together and will have in the future is the best time ever If it is a wedding birthday graduation or just out to dinner it means so very much to me The times I get to spend with the two of you are times that I will treasure forever Thank you for always being there for us and for giving us so many great memories too many to even mention I love you both more than you will ever know Thank you for always being there for us and the wonderful memories we have because of you You have taught us family first which is how I try to live my life With all my love always Sheila 51