Charles H. Wilkey

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          Madeline may have been a drinker in her youth, yet by the mid-1940’s she was a teetotaler.  Unfortunately, Bud still drank in excess, and by the time Walt and Caroline married in 1947, Bud’s drinking was out of control.  Madeline was on the brink of divorcing her second husband, yet Bud curbed his drinking and they stayed together. Although he still occasionally went on a binge, they occurred far less frequently.
       In later years, Bud and Madeline settled in Covina, California. They never owned a home, opting instead to rent apartments. Bud became an active Mason, and Madeline was an active member of Eastern Star.  Madeline’s father, Thomas Clint, had been a lifetime Mason.  They became very involved in the organization, and encouraged their granddaughter in Rainbow Girls.
       Bud was an imperfect character, an alcoholic who was an abusive drunk, cynical at times, yet over the years, he was a good step-grandfather to Walt’s daughters.  Only once did either of his granddaughters see his dark side – and that was the eldest, when she was in college and was an unfortunate witness to one of his binges.  Until that time, neither granddaughter had ever witnessed Bud intoxicated.
       Bud treated both girls as if they were his own granddaughters, and both he and Madeline were generous. When Caroline and Walt announced they were expecting their first child, the news was received with coolness from both Bud and Madeline.  Yet, after the baby was born, all of that changed.  Bud doted on the child, enjoying showing her off.
       On her second birthday, Bud was determined to buy her a red fire engine that the young toddler wanted,  and he insisted to be the one to take her to the store to purchase the gift.  The two went off to the department store, yet once there the fickle child found a tricycle that suddenly seemed far more interesting, and she plopped onto the trike. A bit disappointed by her obsession with the tricycle, Bud still returned home with a new red fire engine. 
        When the second granddaughter became ill as an infant, Bud often drove Caroline (who didn’t have her driver’s license at the time) to the hospital. During those drives to the hospital, Caroline recalled that Bud, who could be quite sarcastic and cynical, was very kind to her during those trips, and did not complain about the task.
       Bud also loved dogs, and would often sneak chewing tobacco to Caroline’s cocker spaniel, Rusty.  It annoyed Caroline how much Rusty, who rarely liked anyone, adored Bud. In later years, when the Johnson family would take vacations, Bud would come to their home and walk Fritzy, their Schnauzer.
       Christmas was a favorite season for Bud, who always seemed to enjoy the holiday.  One Christmas he talked the Johnson family into opening all of their gifts on Christmas Eve. The family frantically finished all of their wrapping, only to unwrapped a short time later.  When Christmas morning arrived, they regretted going along with Bud’s suggestion.
       When the Johnson family moved to Lske Havasu, Bud often was the one to write long interesting letters to the family.  And later, a mutual acquaintance told Walt and Caroline how Bud and Madeline had been bragging about Walt’s accomplishments in Havasu, commenting on how hard he and Caroline worked, and how proud they were of them.  It was a praise, one they never expressed directly to Walt.
       By the time both granddaughters were in college, Bud became ill, and for several years was in and out of the hospital, often staying at a Seven Day Adventist hospital.  During this time, birthday gifts for the granddaughters became minimal, and the family assumed the grandparent’s finances were tight, due to the frequent hospital stays.  Later they discovered that one of the nurses at the hospital was receiving very generous birthday checks from Bud.
       Eventually the family learned the reason for the generous gifts to the nurse.  One day a furious Madeline told her son, Walt, that she had “walked in” on Bud and the young nurse.  At the time, Bud was living back at home, and they had hired the nurse from the hospital to come and help care for Bud.  Apparently, the nurse took her duties very seriously, and went the extra mile in oral duties to Bud.  The nurse was banished from the apartment, and Madeline was especially annoyed because Bud had been disinterested in sex with his wife for some time.  The family was a bit bemused over the incident, and realized that during this time Bud had already become somewhat senile.
       When Bud did pass away, it was in their Glendora, California apartment.  Their youngest granddaughter was the only one living nearby, and so she went to her grandmother’s side. When she arrived at the apartment, Madeline asked her if she wanted to pay her last respects to Bud, who was still in the bedroom.  The granddaughter declined, uncomfortable with the idea.  Bud had donated his body to medical research, and she stayed in the kitchen with her grandmother, as they removed Bud’s body from the apartment.
       Over the years Bud had become a loving, respectful and doting grandfather to Walt’s daughters. In the last years of his life, he learned to be a far better person than he had been when a 15 year old Walt had first showed up on his doorstep.