Following our graduation from high school, Brad Fagerstrom and I stayed in touch regularly over the years right up until his untimely death on December 28th. As a matter of fact, I was called by his wife Mary Fagerstrom when he entered the hospital in Texas, where he and Mary moved to after spending many years living in California. Brad had a heart procedure done a few months before December, and no matter what he went through physically in his life, he always bounced back to work on his ranch style home just east of Dallas, and to take care of Mary, whom he always described as the "love of his life." However, this last time the former U.S. Marine, who served in Viet Nam and was decorated with a Purple Heart for injuries that he sustained in that conflict, had a health problem he could not bounce back from, as his hospitalization came during the time of Covid. His wife visited him every day during the over two week span of Brad's hospitalization, keeping me updated, but he started to go down hill as the pandemic Covid infection took its toll. Since Brad and I were both heavily involved in politics, and he was heavily involved in Veterans Affairs, I put in a call to a friend of mine, Retired Army Lt. Colonel Allen West, who was running for Governor of Texas at the time, to see if he could help intervene with Brad's medical situation. And, although Allen called Mary to speak with her about Brad's condition, there was nothing that could be done for the former E-Rab swimmer and military veteran who went on to graduate from his beloved Northern Illinois University, and also went on to earn a Law Degree.
Mary took Brad's passing very hard, not bringing herself to submit anything to the E-Rab website, so I told her that I would not write anything out of respect for her wishes. However, in my speaking with other classmates, word got out recently and into the E-Rab site about Brad's death, along with an obituary. I apologized to Mary, asking for her forgiveness for accidentally leaking the news before she was ready, but I also decided to write this memorial message while I still had the opportunity.
A couple of years ago, Brad introduced me to a very beautiful young lady, a longtime friend of his and Mary's whom I met, then struck up a relationship with, and even planned to marry. This after I had already been through two divorces, but I was willing to try again, given her "radiant" beauty. However, I eventually ruined that relationship by pushing the woman away. And, in his own inimitable way, Brad said that I messed the relationship up by... CONSTANTLY BEING GENE :-). Now, that's what real friends are for!
I will never forget the time when Brad and Mary invited me in 1984 to come to the Summer Olympics that were held in Los Angeles, and to stay with them "rent free." I would talk to Brad regularly for decades, quite often about the current political situation in the country, and he would call me over the years when my alma mater, THEE Ohio State University, was involved in a major football game, to check and see if I still had that "never say die" Buckeye Spirit. I am going to miss Brad, along with our lengthy discussions that always had Mary listening to us in the background, chiming in periodically, and we were both looking forward to coming to our 60th East High Class Reunion in 2023, so... IT IS WITH A VERY HEAVY HEART THAT I SAY GOOD BYE TO BRADLEY FAGERSTROM, A LONGTIME AND VERY TRUE FRIEND. GOD Bless, Gene Robinson
A fitting tribute by Paul & Eugene....Brad, Paul and Eugene were well respected by their classmates...they made our graduating class special...great classmates.
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Paul Knopp
Sad to hear.
He was a good swimmer and a fun guy.
Glad we got to see him at one of the last Reunions.
Paul Knopp
Eugene Robinson
To Class of 1963 E-Rabs from Gene Robinson:
Following our graduation from high school, Brad Fagerstrom and I stayed in touch regularly over the years right up until his untimely death on December 28th. As a matter of fact, I was called by his wife Mary Fagerstrom when he entered the hospital in Texas, where he and Mary moved to after spending many years living in California. Brad had a heart procedure done a few months before December, and no matter what he went through physically in his life, he always bounced back to work on his ranch style home just east of Dallas, and to take care of Mary, whom he always described as the "love of his life." However, this last time the former U.S. Marine, who served in Viet Nam and was decorated with a Purple Heart for injuries that he sustained in that conflict, had a health problem he could not bounce back from, as his hospitalization came during the time of Covid. His wife visited him every day during the over two week span of Brad's hospitalization, keeping me updated, but he started to go down hill as the pandemic Covid infection took its toll. Since Brad and I were both heavily involved in politics, and he was heavily involved in Veterans Affairs, I put in a call to a friend of mine, Retired Army Lt. Colonel Allen West, who was running for Governor of Texas at the time, to see if he could help intervene with Brad's medical situation. And, although Allen called Mary to speak with her about Brad's condition, there was nothing that could be done for the former E-Rab swimmer and military veteran who went on to graduate from his beloved Northern Illinois University, and also went on to earn a Law Degree.
Mary took Brad's passing very hard, not bringing herself to submit anything to the E-Rab website, so I told her that I would not write anything out of respect for her wishes. However, in my speaking with other classmates, word got out recently and into the E-Rab site about Brad's death, along with an obituary. I apologized to Mary, asking for her forgiveness for accidentally leaking the news before she was ready, but I also decided to write this memorial message while I still had the opportunity.
A couple of years ago, Brad introduced me to a very beautiful young lady, a longtime friend of his and Mary's whom I met, then struck up a relationship with, and even planned to marry. This after I had already been through two divorces, but I was willing to try again, given her "radiant" beauty. However, I eventually ruined that relationship by pushing the woman away. And, in his own inimitable way, Brad said that I messed the relationship up by... CONSTANTLY BEING GENE :-). Now, that's what real friends are for!
I will never forget the time when Brad and Mary invited me in 1984 to come to the Summer Olympics that were held in Los Angeles, and to stay with them "rent free." I would talk to Brad regularly for decades, quite often about the current political situation in the country, and he would call me over the years when my alma mater, THEE Ohio State University, was involved in a major football game, to check and see if I still had that "never say die" Buckeye Spirit. I am going to miss Brad, along with our lengthy discussions that always had Mary listening to us in the background, chiming in periodically, and we were both looking forward to coming to our 60th East High Class Reunion in 2023, so... IT IS WITH A VERY HEAVY HEART THAT I SAY GOOD BYE TO BRADLEY FAGERSTROM, A LONGTIME AND VERY TRUE FRIEND. GOD Bless, Gene Robinson
Jim Ramsey
A fitting tribute by Paul & Eugene....Brad, Paul and Eugene were well respected by their classmates...they made our graduating class special...great classmates.