Newbrew

Frank Youngblood, 78: Father of 3 and Grandfather of 3, Loved Life, Family and Music

Frank Youngblood, of Leesburg, Florida, sang in the Baptist church in Leesburg as a child.  He also sang in choral groups at Leesburg High School and at the University of Florida.  He even sang for the troops while serving in Japan with the U.S. Navy from 1951 to 1955.  And he continued to sing even in his last few years while living with his children in Atlanta.

Frank died from complications from Alzheimer's the morning of March 14 at Peachtree Christian Hospice in Duluth, Georgia.  He was 78 years old.

Frank was born in Vienna, Georgia on October 3, 1932, the youngest of seven children to Marion Jackson Youngblood and Mary Alice Thompson Youngblood.  His family moved to Leesburg, Florida in 1934.  Frank went on to graduate from Leesburg High School in 1950 and spent one year at Florida State University before entering the United States Navy in 1951.  Upon an honorable discharge from the Navy in 1955, he enrolled at the University of Florida graduating in 1958 with his bachelor's degree in advertising.  He married Judith Elaine Bischoff in 1961 in Jacksonville and they had three children, Steve, David and Mary Alice.

Frank worked for the State of Florida's Health and Rehabilitative Services from 1972 until retirement in 1997.  In 1998 he moved back to Leesburg.  In retirement, he traveled throughout Europe and as well to Mexico and Australia.  He spent time with his children and grandchildren in Atlanta and in Jacksonville.  In 2007, Frank moved in with his children in Atlanta. 

Frank is survived by his son Steve (49) in Alpharetta, Georgia, his son David (47) in Jacksonville, Florida and his daughter Mary Alice (42) in Snellville, Georgia.  He is also survived by sister Betty in Leesburg, Florida and grandchildren in Alpharetta, Georgia, Statesboro, Georgia and Jacksonville, Florida.

The family would like you to consider making a donation in honor of Frank to the Alzheimer's Association, http://alz.org.

Services will be held on Friday, March 18, 2011 at 11:30am at Byers Funeral Home in Leesburg, Florida.  Byers is located at 1123 West Main Street, Leesburg, FL, 34748.  Reception to follow.

Franklyn S. Youngblood

I started this post yesterday and did not finish.  I should have.  But, I had spent more than six hours indoors at a hospice on a very nice spring Sunday.  I stopped writing and headed home with the windows down in my car breathing in what was left of the day.

I received the word just 15 minutes ago (3:30am Eastern March 14, 2011) that my dad had passed away.  So, I guess now is a good time to finish.

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I'm sitting inside Peachtree Christian Hospice.  Nice place.  Wifi, cable TV and nice furniture.  My dad is not reactive anymore.  But, given his situation, I'm not shocked by this.  Many have wished us well and expressed concern for my dad.  I figured I'd share a bit about his life for those who don't know about him.

His full name is Franklyn Stephenson Youngblood, the same as mine.  He was born on October 3rd, 1932 in Vienna, Georgia in his family's house in the middle of town.  For those Europhiles out there, we don't say Vienna the right way.  The "i" is long, like in the English personal pronoun "I".  And the "enna" is said like "anna".  That's just the way we southerners say it.  Frankie was the youngest of seven born to Marion Jackson Youngblood and his wife, Mary Alice Thompson Youngblood.

When he was 2, his family moved to Leesburg, Florida.  My grandfather had a cotton gin and fruit trading business.  But, he killed somebody who "needed a killin" and the sherrif said "you best be gettin out of town".  Off they went.  Unfortunately, my grandmother died of a stroke when my dad was seven.  She was only 46.  After that my grandfather fell apart making my dad's childhood rough.  My grandfather became an alchoholic and was abusive.  My father did though find places to thrive.  He sang at the Baptist Church in Leesburg and was active in the choral groups at Leesburg High School.  Upon gradutation from Leesburg High School in 1950, he received a small scholarship in music to Florida State University. 

However, the money wasn't enough to carry him through so he joined the US Navy and spent 1951 to 1955 travelling the country and the world.  The Navy took him to San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles and then on to Japan.  And while stationed in Japan, he saw Hong Kong, Korea and the Philippines.  I think this must have been the most exciting time of his life.  He left the orange groves of Florida and for the first time heard other languages and saw other customs in places so far away from home.  All while working.  He sang in the Navy and also served in the legal services section.  This sparked his interest in writing.

Upon his honorable discharge in 1955, he headed back to Florida and enrolled at the University of Florida (the correct choice this time).  He majored in advertising.  He also continued his interest in singing and acting participating in a number of musicals on campus.  It was while performing he met my mom, Judy Bischoff Youngblood.   He graduated in 1958 and went to work in Jacksonville, my mom's hometown.  They married in February of 1961.  My dad went on to do what we all do.  Work and pay bills.  He worked for State Farm and my mom taught school.  Then came the children.

I was born in 1962, my brother in 1963 and my sister in 1969.  My dad went on to work for the State of Florida in 1972 and life just rolled on.  Those who have had children and have seen them move forward know the story (I have a sophomore in college myself.)  I graduated from high school in 1979 and headed to UF, my brother in 1981 headed to the Air Force and my sister in 1986 and headed to UF. 

My parents divorced in February of 1992 and my dad retired from the State of Florida in 1998.  Upon retirement, he sold our house in Jacksonville and moved to a small retirement park in Leesburg called "Hawthorne" located on US 27.  This might sound nice.  But, his sisters were getting older and there wasn't much to do in Leesburg.  He basically sat around a lot and smoked. 

In 2002 I took him on a trip with me to Australia.  He hated not being able to smoke for so long.  5 hours to San Francisco, then 15 hours to Sydney.  He seemed fine when we landed.  But, within 2 hours, I had him in a hospital in Sydney.  He had a fever, thought he was back home and was mumbling.  I though he had had a stroke.  But, the doctors said it was something else.

50 years of smoking caused him to develop COPD.  And the lack of oxygen from COPD is now known to accelerate Alzheimers.

For the next 5 years, he found himself in situations where he was either lost or had driven the wrong way down the road.  In early 2007, we received a call from Hawthorne management.  They said that if we didn't come down and help my dad, he may be asked to sell his house and move out.  So, we came down and brought him to Atlanta.  He never went back home.  My sister and I swapped him back and forth between our homes.  He hated it.  He kept saying that he wanted to go back home.  We could see his mind slipping away.  And Alzheimer's does a number on the body too.  Visits to the hospital were becoming a monthly affair.  In January of 2009, we moved him into an assisted living home.  By January of 2010, we begain to notice he was losing weight.  And by mid 2010, he was wheelchair bound. 

On January 10th of this year, we had to rush him to the hospital with the usual uninary tract infection.  But, this time it was different.  There had been a backup of urine due to an enlargement in his prostrate.  This caused renal failure and we all had to work hard to keep him alive.  He didn't recover from this episode.  He was back in again in February with an even worse infection and then again starting this month.  In February, we were able to get him to eat orally again.  But, just barely.  This time, we knew his body was shutting down. 

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I am fortunate to have been able to help my dad in his last few years.  It's amazing how many people just leave their parents to die off on their own.  We have been unbelievably inconvenienced these past few years.  And I am so glad we were.  Our kids saw how we all pulled together to ensure the safety and care of one of us.  I hope they do the same when called.

Dad and I, Summer of 2010

Love Your Parents

Love your parents for as long and as much as you can. You never know when you may lose them, and in a way, part of yourself. Cherish the burden they may place upon you. If you're fortunate, your children will model your actions when your old. And remember when they are old and frail, they are helpless, just as you were when you were a baby and they were there to keep you warm and safe

Dad Visited Home This Fall

My sister took my dad to his birthplace this past fall.  He was born on October 3rd of 1932 in Vienna, GA.  The family moved to Florida in 1934.  In 1940, his mom, my grandmother, died, when my dad was only 7.  She had a massive stroke at only 45.

Here's my dad in front of the house where he was born.

 

Here's my grandmother's grave.

A Celebration of Life

This week I attended the funeral of James Madison (JM) Hulme Jr.  JM was my wife's grandfather.  The father of Doug Hulme, my father-in-law.  JM died on his birthday this past September 27th at 96 years old.

He was also the father of Donald and Johnny. He was the husband to Hilda. He was the oldest brother to a large family (3 of which were at his funeral, Evelyn, Carolyn and Vic.)  He was the grandfather to 5 (Rena, Amy, Leann, Jim, Jake).  He was the great grandfather to even more!  He was the son of James Madison Hulme Sr.

He was a deacon, hymn leader, treasurer and more at Dewy Rose Baptist Church.  We even learned a new word they used to describe his song leading skills.  They called him the hymnheister.  I don't know how that word came to be.  But, it was truly a word of admiration.  JM loved to sing about Jesus.  He loved to help others do the same.  There is a pause in a number of hymns that, while not found in the music, the church continues to follow.  These pauses were there because JM had added them, because he felt the music needed them for emphasis.  The congregation calls this type of pause the "JM pause".  

He was a colleague at the mill he worked at.  He was the driver of a fuel oil truck.  He was a farmer.

But, here's what really mattered.  He was liked and he was loved.  He was admired.  He was the person people were happy to see.  In Elberton, GA this past Tuesday, I think I heard the nicest thing I've ever heard a man called. People described his as "sweet".  He was so nice, so caring and so loved, he was described as sweet.  By men and women.  His sweetness drew a packed house at the old chapel at Dewy Rose Baptist Church.  At 96 years old, he was still so missed that a large number of people came and sang his favorite hymns.  He was so sweet and in love with Jesus, his passing was a moment to celebrate his life, his new world in heaven and his reunion with his wife, friends and family members.  I didn't see many tears.  I saw lots of smiles.  Lots of fellowship.  Lots of singing.  In fact, and I know this sounds strange, his funeral had in many ways the feel of a wedding.  We were family members and friends who were going to miss one of our own, but really excited that he was heading to his next step in life.  In fact, I look forward to the day I can say hello to him again!

 

JM's marker (will be finished soon.)

 

JM's boys and their wives.  Johnny, Julie, Doug, Gail, Donald and Jean.