2019 Life Logs, Day 117: In Memory . . .
Date: Saturday, April 27, 2019
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 58, Low 42 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
This log is written in memory of my brother-in-law, Joe Kerwood. He has been battling multiple health issues for a number of years now and died instantly today as a result of a fall. Joe was 85 years-old. Our relationship goes back many years. I was in fourth grade when he was dating my sister Patsy. Either in the summer of 1956 just before my 4th grade year or in 1957 just after my 4th grade year, Joe decided it was time for me to be introduced to the world of sports. All of my brothers and sisters were much older than me, and I had grown up to this point unaware of sports other than Wednesday night boxing on TV sponsored by Gillette. Joe bought me a whiffle ball set which looks just the same today, yellow plastic bat with a white plastic ball with holes in it. He tried desperately to get me to be able to hit the ball. I was hopeless, but still, I will forever have that memory. Joe was a chemist at Monsanto who worked his way into international rubber sales by patenting an agent that goes into rubber to make tires last longer. As a result, he was transferred from West Virginia to Akron, Ohio, the home of Goodyear Tire & Rubber. He traveled the world selling rubber products for Monsanto. He became a die-hard Cleveland Browns fan and when daughter Janet went to Ohio State, he became a die-hard Buckeye fan. And he loved to play golf. He shared his love of sports with his family—his daughters and all of his nieces and nephews. Many of them loved him not only as an uncle, but as a second father. He loved his family and they loved him. I have more than 50 years of wonderful memories with Joe and my sister Patsy. He will be missed by all of us, but always remembered with much love.
