Aunts Laura and Francie contacted us to say that Vernon Tietjen, their uncle and our granduncle, had passed away at the wonderfully old age of 98.
Laura writes: Uncle Vernon was really different from ACT, your grandfather. He was
not overly burdened with feeling dutiful, responsible, or serious, the
way your Grandfather was. He was really into enjoying life, and from
all appearances, he really did! Some of the great loves of his life
were jazz music, reading and writing and conversing, the fine art of
making and enjoying martinis, driving fast sports cars, especially
Porsches, playing sports such as golf and tennis and table tennis,
traveling the world, and WOMEN WOMEN WOMEN. Early on he worked as a
sportswriter, first with the St. Louis papers, later on with NY's
Herald Tribune. Then he went to Saudi Arabia to work in public
relations for Aramco, his lucky family in tow, and we would see them on
their stateside vacations, full of exotic stories about visiting places
like Beirut and Bali, and bringing us the most wondrous gifts from
Europe and the Middle East. [See his business card here.] I guess that's what I'm most grateful
for---that Uncle Vernon's life opened my eyes to the Big Wide World and
all the marvels it contained. And his own newspaper columns would tell you more too. Until just a few
years ago, he wrote a weekly column in the local newspaper in The
Dalles called "Et cetera, et cetera" in which remembered and mused
about his life, the people in it, and mostly about how lucky he was.
They make fun and interesting reading, especially the tributes to his
wonderful wife and best friend Edna (his "partner in crime," as
daughter Lynne puts it), and his son Jim, who died on Valentine's Day
in 1999.
Uncle Vernon really loved jazz, and told Laura that his very favorite song was "Skating in Central Park." You can listen to it here ;)