52 Ancestors – 52 Weeks

“Blessed are the Mischief Makers for they shall always wear smiles.” Author unknown

The writing prompt this week is troublemaker. I am choosing to write about my brother Donald Joseph Fitzgerald. I changed my post title to Mischief Maker because Don was not a trouble maker, but he could be oh so mischievous! Don passed away suddenly January 21, 2015 from a “widow-maker” heart attack at age 63. I have been wanting to write about him as part of this project and I feel this is the week to do that. Some of the examples I will give are the type where you “had to be there” to get the real sentiment of the incidents. For me though, they are special memories of my brother Don.

Because Don died suddenly his death was a terrible shock. His wife Pam called me at 10 a.m. that morning and told me that Don had died. I couldn’t believe it. Pam was the one who was sick; she had terminal cancer and Don had just gotten a clean bill of health from his doctor.

Don was born the third child of John and Mary Flannery Fitzgerald October 17, 1952. I am the oldest child, followed by my sister Jean, then Don and the youngest Tim. I remember my mother telling my sister and me how proud Dad was to finally have a boy. Don held a special place in my dad’s heart.

Don enjoyed causing mischief. He and I were rivals in many ways. I was probably jealous of what to me seemed to be special treatment to him from our parents “because he was the first boy.” Let me give you some examples of the mischievous Don that was a part of the family.

We got our first two wheel bicycle when us three oldest ones could ride. Don couldn’t sit on the seat and peddle because his legs were too short, but boy could he ride that bike. He probably rode it more time than Jean and me combined. He liked to scoot around the yard teasing his siblings and doing a quick get-away on the bike. We lived on a farm and he had lots of room to make his escapes!

Don got to ride on the tractor with Dad and he had a few permanent injuries because of that. His third toe on the right foot was shorter than the others because he got it caught in the hydraulic on the tractor. One time he took a gouge out of his leg (I don’t recall how) and the leg was put in a cast. He was to stay in the house and rest. Well Don was not one to rest and he went to the milk house and got the cast wet and it fell off his leg. Mother took him back to the doctor and he refused to put another cast on the leg so Don was forced to stay in the house and rest until his leg properly healed. The doctor told my mother he knew Don couldn’t be still and rest unless he had to stay put without the cast.

Don loved to tease me. He was a little shrimp and very quick. He would do something to me, like pinch or punch me, and take off running. Of course I would react and chase after him but I could never catch him. However, one day we were in Mother’s garden and I caught him, got him to the ground and sat on him. I had finally won one over on him! I don’t recall if I got in trouble for that incident. I considered it a victory and hope that my parents did as well.

The family took a lot of Sunday drives. We would all pile in the car with Tim usually in the front seat between my parents. Of course Don would tease Jean and me in the back seat. His “punishment” would be that he and Tim would have to exchange places and Don would end up in the front seat next to the door, where he had the perfect view!

And then there were those Lenten prayers — our family is Catholic. One of the penances we did for Lent was to pray the rosary. I don’t recall if it was one day a week or six days a week. Sunday was always a “free day,” no penances on Sunday! All six of us would start out in the same room, on our knees. As the prayers progressed, Don would tease or poke at his siblings; we would react and by the end of the rosary my sister, youngest brother and I would be in separate rooms of the downstairs and Don would be in a room with my parents.

As my sibs and I got older Don’s mischievousness went to new heights. I was particularly irritated when he would turn on everything in the car, i.e., radio, wipers, and heater full blast so that when I started the car I would be met with all kinds of noise and wipers on full speed on the windshield. I don’t know when he would do this but I could bet if I was taking the car to school or work in the morning I would be met with a commotion in the car. (His stepson told me he would do the same thing to him.)

Don and I became closer when he married Pam Simmons. His wife had a seventeen year old son, Ron, when they got married. He treated Ron as his own. He loved having his own family and being single, I was included in their family. When Ron married his wife Maria and they eventually had three children Don was really in his glory. He loved those kids so much and used to tease and taunt them just like he did us at home. In fact, his obituary stated this fact, “Donald enjoyed gardening, going to Badger Hockey and Brewer games with his stepson and spending time with and teasing his grandchildren.”

Don was far more tender-hearted than he let on and that the family acknowledged when he was alive. Our parents died eleven months apart in 2000 and 2001. Don cried and cried after they died and at their funerals. I had never seen that side of him. I did not cry at the funerals and I remember him asking me at Dad’s funeral if I had “taken a pill.” I said I had.

Because Don died in January, the day of his funeral was as cold as January days in Wisconsin can be. Don had been a rural mail carrier for 39 years and he also worked for Keebler part-time putting cookies on the shelves in stores for a number of years. He did that because Pam worked at the post office at night and he didn’t want to be alone every night.

The funeral was sad, like all funerals. My siblings and I met people that we did not know from Don’s jobs and life. We were overwhelmed by the kind remarks we heard about Don. Even men were in tears. One young man told me that Don had had such a positive influence on his life and he credited him for his success. As you can see from his picture below, he had a great smile and I think he drew people in with that smile. My siblings and I left the funeral with warm hearts from what we learned about Don from others he knew.

We miss you Don and you will always have a warm spot in the hearts of your family and friends! I hope you aren’t creating too much mischief in heaven! We love you.