Document Analysis:
Grandfather's Checkbook
What can an examination of a deceased person's checkbook tell us about their life?
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| The checkbook of my grandfather O. E. "Sug" Loessin who passed away March 29, 1969 |
In that month of March he recorded eight checks,
the final one only 8 days before his death.
These stubs in his checkbook speak volumes.
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| Stub 1, 3-5-69 : The Johns Clinic, $19 |
The discovery of his terminal cancer was "barely a month before he died," said my grandmother to me on many occasions. "It was so sudden." Was this the day he was told? At the John's Clinic by Dr. Leshikar? I wonder if he was alone that day or if Grandma accompanied him?
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| Stub 2, 3-7-69 : Tax-Assesor Jack Gillum, $44.60 (County Registration for 2 cars) |
Jack Gillum was Tax Assessor-Collector of Williamson County for at least three decades (based on the search results of documents bearing his name and office as early as 1942). I'm curious about the second vehicle being registered by Grandpa. I can recall he and Grandma sharing only one vehicle, a blue Ford.
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| Stub 3, 3-7-69 : Modern Electric Co., $171.59 |
This Austin-based company is no longer around. The monthly installment my Grandfather issued religiously for many years to Modern Electric who he contracted with to do a series of projects -- at the cotton gin, in their family homes, and for the construction in 1961 of the TV & Radio Repair Shop.
Sad that Grandpa and Dad would only be 8 years in that new business "one they'd always dreamed of and worked so hard to get certified in ..." said Grandma, "in order to get out of that damn ginning business." Grandma used to say Grandpa Sug couldn't wait to close down that gin "cuz he was so tired of breathing all that crap in that ginhouse." Yet he was never without one of his hand-rolled doobies or his pipe!
Could he have still been paying off this contractor for the electrical work on the Shop? Unlikely. Because they continued to crank the gin up each ginning season even after opening the TV Repair Shop, my guess is this was for yet more repairs down at the gin.
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| Stub 4, 3-10-69 : Bell Telephone Co., $4.40 |
Can you imagine a $4 monthly phone bill? For that matter, can you imagine being on a "party line" and often having your neighbors pick up their home receiver and intrude on your conversations? Well, I remember it even in my youth.
"Uh-oh, sorry neighbor, didn't know you were on the line.
Will try again later. Will you be long?"
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| Stub 5, 3-13-69 : The Assn. of Former A&M Students, $10 |
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| Stub 6, 3-17-69 : Electronic Servicing, $10 (3 yr. Subscription) |
He had to have had the diagnosis by this time. And yet he submits a check for another 3-yr subscription to Electronic Servicing. But, I'm sure he expected that his son, my dad, would continue the work in their TV & Radio Repair Shop and continue to find this publication informative.
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| Stub 7, 3-20-69 : Locksmithing Institute, $7.50 |
Grandpa was a life-long learner, always seeking out new knowledge and skills. The man had two high school diplomas - from Thrall (which only went to 10th grade) and Taylor (his parents insisted he make it 12).
When his parents first bought the cotton gin and home in Circleville, the telephone switchboard for the area (one that serviced a 15-mile radius that included the northern outskirts of Taylor and the community of Jonah) just happened to come along with the house. My Grandpa Sug, in his teens, became the Circleville phone operator - a position he held for many years. The contraption was wired from the house to a bell in the gin and when a call came through, "Sug went a runnin' to assist the caller in making their call!"
When my Dad became interested in studying electronics at Taylor High School, and then continued that learning in the Army, Grandpa decided to learn right along with him and signed up for a correspondence course through his old alma mater - Texas A&M.
A jack-of-all-trades, it surprises me not at all that at age 60 he had signed up with the Locksmithing Institute to learn yet another skill.
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| Stub 8, 3-21-69 : Texas Power & Light, $18.76 |
Well, he made certain to keep the lights on! The last check my grandfather wrote was eight days before his death. I believe only three days before he went into the hospital. And he dies with $571.06 in his checking account.
This was a proud man. A man who took care of his obligations until the end. He loved to read, he loved to learn, he loved his family and his community, he loved his hand-rolled cigarettes of Prince Albert tobacco and his pipe that smelled of berries, he loved his bowl of saltines with milk each evening before bedtime, and loved when the Aggies were tearing up the field.
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| Me and my grandfather |
Terry’s “Good Living” Guide:
Avoid the 3 PsBsSs
Processed Foods, Phthalates, Plastics;
Beef, Butter, Breads;
you’ll be feeling better in no time!
Avoid the 3 F’s
misinformation, fear, anger and hate!
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