Alfred Addicks

Alfred Addicks was born on Aug. 3, 1927, in the Wonder Hill community of Washington County, Texas. The oldest of two sons born to Henry and Ida Mae Urech Addicks, Alfred was baptized in St. Paul Lutheran Church at Phillipsburg on Oct. 9, 1927, by Pastor J. Holman and was later confirmed there by Pastor A.T. Kluge on March 29, 1942. He attended the Wonder Hill public school. Alfred, his brother, Gene and their neighbors spent most of their free time hunting in every wooded spot and fishing in every creek in the Wonder Hill-Phillipsburg area. The group regularly stole watermelons from select gardens. Alfred looked forward to his family s weekly trips to Brenham, where he sold arrowheads and watched cowboy movies in the Rex Theatre. He often recalled a particular Saturday matinee during which a member of the audience felt the need to assist the movie s hero by producing a pistol and shooting the screen! His love for cowboy movies never faded. Alfred s tales of adventure included jumping out of trees and onto calves, sometimes missing; assisting a friend in search of a missing shoe by lowering his comrade into the pit under the school outhouse; and driving a pair of mules into town with a load of cotton only to have the mules take off and knock over a Coca-Cola delivery truck. In 1953, Alfred was drafted into the United States Army and served in the Korean Conflict. He noted that he only had to fire his weapon once and that was to make a drunken officer recall his password. After his honorable discharge, Alfred returned to Brenham and attended Blinn Junior College. He began courting a longtime friend of the family, Gertrude Stegent. On Nov. 18, 1956, Alfred and Gertrude were married in St. Mary s Catholic Church in Brenham by Rev. Charles Wiesnerowski. A convert to Roman Catholicism, Alfred received catechetical instructions from Rev. Fred Nachtigall and was confirmed in St. Mary s Catholic Church by Bishop Louis J. Reicher. Alfred was a longtime employee of Maddox Furniture Manufacturing Co. in Brenham, managing the cushion department for the greater part of his time with the firm. In 1982, he joined the housekeeping staff at the Brenham State School, retiring in 1993. Alfred looked forward to retirement for most of his working life. He had always wanted a vintage Ford Mustang and gave himself one as a retirement present. He delighted, daily in heading to his special little place just outside of town where he could plant a garden every spring and fall, where he could make whirligigs, where he could plant roses, trees, grapevines and anything else that looked capable of growing. At his little place, he could tinker with cast-off lawnmowers, tack additions onto his collection of sheds, raise chickens when he felt like it, and, most importantly, he could provide a safe haven for cottontail rabbits, squirrels, quail and stray guinea fowl. When confronted with the likelihood of honey-do chores around the house, he was never at a loss for projects in dire need of completion elsewhere. He truly reveled in his retirement! In mid-March of 2003, it was discovered that Alfred s left lung was cancerous. After a brief, valiant struggle, he fell peacefully asleep, in his own home, on the morning of Thursday, June 12, 2003, at the age of 75. A blessing to a man who never spoke ill of anyone and got along with everyone he ever knew. His immediate family includes his wife of 46 years, Gertrude; their daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Steve Fletcher; their son, Michael Addicks; and their grandson, Joey Ham. Also surviving are his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Esther and Wilbert Krause; his niece and her husband, Pam & Gerald Braun; his nephew and his wife, Steven and Theresa Krause; three great-nieces, Paige and Juliann Braun and Meredith Krause; two aunts, Lonie Addicks and Kitty Schkade and a number of first cousins, relatives and friends. Alfred s loss has also disrupted the world of his two special fuzzy friends, Samantha the dog and KeyKatt, who prayed with Alfred nightly. Alfred is preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Ida Addicks; his brother, Gene; his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Steve and Stella Stegent, along with a number of aunts, uncles and other relatives. The family will be present to receive callers in Memorial Oaks Chapel on Friday evening, beginning at 6 o clock. A prayer service will begin at 7 o clock. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered for the repose of Alfred s soul and the consolation of his family on Saturday afternoon, June 14, 2003, at 2 o clock in St. Mary s Catholic Church in Brenham by Rev. Richard Tijerina, assisted by Deacon Bill Januszewski, Burial will follow in Prairie Lea Cemetery. Serving as pallbearers will be Steven Krause, Gerald Braun, Gilbert Eimann, Floyd Addicks, Kenneth Renner, Allen Dale Schultz, Travis Pilchiek and Raymond Kenjura. Honorary pallbearers will be Garnet Eimann, Alfred Schwettmann, Clifford Klingsporn and John Magee. The family suggests that donations in Alfred s name and memory be given to either Hospice-Brenham or to St. Mary s Catholic Church. The Addicks family has entrusted funeral arrangements to the care of Memorial Oaks Chapel, 1306 W. Main St., Brenham. 979-836-4564.