The Other Reimers

9:20:00 AM judyo53 0 Comments

My closest cousins were those on my Dad's side. We ended up both living in Oak Lawn (Dad was actually born in Oak Lawn, in the same house his brother Ed lived in up until his death).

Cousin Donald Reimer was a teenager when I was young and I thought he was the greatest! His Mom, Aunt Adeline, always let him have parties and I remember one where they were all dancing (including line dancing) and I remember them playing The Twist by Chubby Checker. He was a popular kid and always had girlfriends.

Donald was actually Ed & Adeline's nephew but his mother was an alcoholic. Story goes that she would always drop him off at Adeline's and Adeline said the next time and she's keeping him. And she did! Uncle Ed & Auntie Adeline adopted Dale.

Cousin Billy was a year younger than me so he was my buddy. He was funny and fun and I always loved going over to their house.

My Grampa Reimer lived in a little apartment in the basement. I didn't get to know him that well. He wasn't sociable and I don't even know when he died. I never met my Dad's Mom as she died before I was born.

My Dad's brother Uncle Ed (picture at left) was tall and slim with a quiet demeanor. Auntie Adeline was short and fat with the loudest voice that spurted out swear words. I always remember her yelling, "If you don't eat your God damn dinner you're not getting any God damn dessert!" But I loved her the best. She was a riot - funny and laughing a lot. A true character.

Uncle Ed and Auntie Adeline were such opposites. Ed was always in the background while Adeline was front and center. She was the president of the local VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) and we kids went there with our folks sometimes. Uncle Ed would be drinking pop while Adeline had her beers and shots.

I remember one time going to their house and Adeline told us to go outside and choose any of the "hot" (stolen) shoes she had in the trunk of her car. They were brand new and in boxes.

My cousin Donald Reimer was active in the Vietnam War when his fiancee broke up with him while he was overseas. I think he had one girlfriend after that and then there was Glen. He and Donald were "roommates."

Donald always had that whiny flare about him. I'm still not sure if he was a closeted gay or bi-sexual. Glen was even more gay acting. I remember them having us over for Thanksgiving dinner and they were proudly displaying their professionally framed photos of their poodle and their lace curtains.

Glen showed my Dad some pictures of Donald and him at a dress-up party where Glen was dressed as a woman. Instead of flinching, my Dad said, "Glen, you're beautiful!"

Both the Reimers and the Ganzers liked playing cards. Whenever Glen would play he would sit next to Donald and Donald would dole out the coins to Glen. One time at a VFW event Glen was sitting by himself, looking forlorn. We asked him where Donald was and he whined, "He's playing Bingo with the women." At my first wedding Dad told Mom to make sure to sit Donald next to his girlfriend. I asked, "Donald has a girlfriend?!" Dad replied, "Yeah, Glen!"

I can't remember how long that romance lasted but then Donald met another older guy that I can't remember his name. I truly think Auntie Adeline was in denial as she bragged about this guy taking Donald to Las Vegas and buying him a diamond ring. She never admitted that he was gay.

Donald and his new love opened a 7 Eleven store together and then retired to Arizona or somewhere west. My Mom never heard from him after my Aunt Adeline died.

Uncle Ed was a garbage collector. There were always car tires and other junk around his house. He died while hauling his newspapers up his steep basement stairs. He fell and broke his neck.

At that time, Aunt Adeline was wheelchair bound and had suffered a massive stroke. She died after but I can't remember when. Always an obese woman, she had thinned out a lot and actually looked very nice in her casket.

We kept in touch with Cousin Billy for a few years since his wife's family had some connection to my parents. But Billy and his wife ended up divorcing and no one has heard from them since. Funny how cousins that were once so close lose touch completely.