January 1986, Dad Krieser Moved to Overland Park, Kansas

Mother K. had a stroke and then died on August 30, 1977.  Dad’s depression started with that.  On November 10, 1981, when Ruth had her attack of Guillain-Barre, he went into a deeper depression.  Rose took good care of him as long as she could, but she was in her eighties by then and it was really more than she could handle.  Neither would give the other one up, however, until Rose was almost hit by oncoming traffic backing out of her driveway.  Trying to get a meal to him, she couldn’t see past the snow bank which was higher than her car.  Joyce had previously given up her job so she could take care of him in Kansas, but then he wouldn’t come.  In January of 1986, after Rose’s near-mishap, Carl and Joyce were finally able to convince him to come live with them.  These two photos were taken at their house in Overland Park, during that time.  The top one was of Dad Krieser eating a piece of wedding cake when Kurt and Maria were married on April 26, 1986.  Fritzie moved to Kansas with him, and the bottom one is of Fritzie begging.  This was the second Fritzie, of course.  Photo taken August 1986.  Dad stayed in our home through the following spring when he went into a severe diabetic coma.  He then went into a nursing home.  He was a brittle diabetic but had excellent care in the Medicare section there.

Dad Krieser at Delmar Gardens Nursing Home

Dad K. was in and out of the hospital a number of times after he arrived to live with us.  The first week he came, he fell and broke several ribs.  Another time I woke up to hear him moaning and he was having an insulin reaction.  I couldn’t get a reading because his blood sugar count was down to 30.  911 got to know where we lived during those months.  He was also in the hospital for circulatory problems.  In fact, he had so many specialists that we had to categorize what belonged to whom:  The ribs belonged to one doctor, the left leg belonged to another one, etc.  When he had plastic surgery to remove an ulcer that wouldn’t heal from his foot, the plastic surgery didn’t take.  His foot cracked open around both sides to the bone and he went into a severe diabetic coma.  That was when he went into the nursing home.  He got the excellent care that he needed there--care that we couldn’t give him at home.  The photos are of Delmar Gardens and of his grandson, Eric Krieser, visiting him after he came home from his Brazilian mission.

Three Generation Photos

Dad Krieser was in the nursing home when his grandson, Eric, was released from his mission in Brazil.  He did not want for company at Delmar Gardens.  It was very convenient to our home and to where Carl worked.  I wasn’t working then and he always had at least one visit a day and usually two or even three of them.  I would usually see him during the day, Carl would usually go to see him on his lunch hour and often we’d both go to see him if we went out in the evening.  They had many special events there also and I’d always make sure to be with him for them.  The photos below show Eric, Dad and Carl enjoying the afternoon sun on the patio there.  It looks like Eric is showing him Brazilian money in the top one.  Eric also went to Green Bay with us to paint his house and see that any repairs were done.  That was a great help.  We got it all fixed up to sell but he died before it sold so Rose was able to move into it.  Our efforts were still appreciated.

Kurt and Maria Visit Dad Krieser at Delmar Gardens

Maria, Kurt’s wife took these photos about two months before Dad Krieser died.  He was 88 years old at that time and in very poor health.  Kurt and Maria had been working in Georgia the summer after their wedding and they stopped on their way back to Utah to see us.  Dad Krieser had given Kurt his car and that was a great blessing to them as their old car was on its “last wheels”, so to speak.  His old Oldsmobile served them well for a good many years during their early marriage.  Both photos were taken in late August of 1986.  The top one is a three-generation photo of Carl, Dad K. and Kurt taken August 29, 1986.  It was the last one taken of all of them together.  We’re grateful that both of his grandsons could spend a little time with him while he was in the nursing home.  The second one is of Joyce and Kurt with Dad Krieser taken August 24, 1986.

Gloria and Joe Schott Visit Dad Krieser

Gloria and Joe were neighbor-friends of Rose in Green Bay.  They had taken a trip west and stopped to see Dad Krieser on their way home.  It was good for Dad to see neighbors from Green Bay.  Joyce is behind Dad with Joe on the right.  Gloria took the photo.  The bottom photo is of Dad K. and Joyce.  There were a number of parties and special events that the nursing home put on and this was one of them.  Goodies to eat were always a special event for him.  He loved sweets--although he wasn’t supposed to have them.  He was a brittle diabetic so we had to watch his blood sugar very carefully, not that it ever did much good.  Being a brittle diabetic, the insulin would build up in his body and then all release at once.  Then he’d go into insulin shock.  Ugh!