A Lost Friend

Casey was my Dad's closest friend since childhood. Dad and Casey went to high school together in Lithuania. They also attended college as fellow Displaced Persons, and they remained tight during the time the two men were in Germany.

After my Parents emigrated to the United States, Dad remained in touch with Casey for a time. Casey settled into a new life near Bogota, Columbia.

The two men saw each other only one more time after the war years. In 1955, Casey visited my Parents once my Parents had moved to Suburban Chicago. It was during that visit that Casey brought my mother the Colombian pocketbook that she carried for many years. Casey also gifted a small oil painting, depicting a typical Colombian village. You can see the framed piece here, behind the swell lamp and again here, behind my Dad's head.

My Dad and Casey lost touch after the mid-1950s, and we don't know what became of Casey.

 
Stuttgart, Germany, 1946. Casey and my Dad pose for a photo as fellow college students. My Dad had elegant hands.
 

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Suburban Chicago, Summer 1955. Casey stands near the door of my Parents' new apartment building during his last visit with my Dad.