Story as written by their daughter, Catherine (Dineen) Greaser....

Dad went through 11th grade at Mechanical Arts High School in Boston. It was a vocational school and sat next to St. Cecelia’s Church. He was very good in Math and precise in his drawings. He would draw some space ships for grandchildren and Janet (Law) said they looked so real. If he had money, I know he would have made a good draftsman. He was not of mechanical mind. He couldn’t do nothing in the way of fixing things around the house. If he had a boat, he would have sailed around the world. He had to know what was around the next bend.

One year he went to Times Square to see what it was like on New Year’s Eve. He had an inquisitive mind. He could quote to the grandchildren how far the earth was from the sun. Some author, he read all his 28 books. I think it was on travel. He took Mary & I every Sunday sightseeing. No money, we walked or 5 cent car ride. We went to Navy Yard, Bunker Hill, Boston Public Library (where he read Brownie Books to me while I was on his lap. Daddy couldn’t stand a lot of fooling around, so he’d say, "Sit down and read a book!" When he was in his late 70’s he’d walk to Fenway Park from Roxbury to see his Red Sox play and sit in bleachers in hot sun. He walked over to Aunt Jennie’s and Aunt Nancy’s one day in his 70’s carrying a bunch of pussy willows for them he picked in the Fenway....(probably illegal)

He went through about three papers a day - Globe, Record and Post, never got Herald, that was for Republicans or the rich. He could outwalk me when he was well into his middle 70’s. He was 6 foot or more, straight as an arrow - even into 80’s.  Beautiful pink and white skin, hardly a wrinkle.  Virginia (O’Meara) used to call him pink & white.  Hazel eyes, and snow white (hair) since his 30’s.  Silver, my mother always said...everyone knew him, they could spot hair.  He’d go on his jaunts.   He went to Duxbury one time when I was a teenager because he wanted to see a fair.  He took Donald for a walk and that is where they wound up.  He started a stamp collection for Donald.  He was 51 when Donald was born.  Took Donald & Janet Law fishing off Castle Island.   Now he was taking others sightseeing.

He worked at A&P as grocer, also at HP Hood. During World War II he worked up at Holtzer-Cabot, they made motors, Heath Street, Jamaica Plain as watchman. He worked two days days, oneshift, then two days midnights, and two days afternoons.

When he worked afternoons, I came home at 11 or 12 from Telephone Co work, and we’d sit and have coffee and talk till 2am.  Mom said he missed a lot that after I got married.

He fell and broke a hip in his 80’s. Also had scarlet fever and was hospitalized about 1935. Then I got it, also Mary. In fact, they put Dad back in contagious building when I went in, for a week, to make sure he wasn’t a carrier. He used to walk down to see me. What 9 year old could have her father as patient in same hospital building. Other than that, Dad was very healthy - no doctor’s, no hospitals. Hardly ever sick. He talked to everybody and anybody, so he probably built up an immunity to everything.

He would stop and have a couple beers at barroom - said he could talk to all his friends. Never saw my father feeling good, or drunk. He was very strict, you did not answer back. You got slapped. Mom had to intervene a lot of times.  Once he used a broom- stick handle (on legs) because one of us was out way too late at the age of 14.   He used to chastise me at age 21 when I’d come home from a dance at 1am with my girlfriends.  The dance nearby was over at 12, we’d have coffee and brownie and come home. My girlfriends, when I was in high school, would call for me down in yard. We lived on third floor.  He’d raise window and yell at them.  I hardly ever brought a boy home, I figured he’d yell.