Carl Leonard Breson 1915-2009

BRESON, LEONARD, BUOL, WILKE, JOZAITIS, KOZAITIS

Posted By: j.n. (email)
Date: 10/6/2009 at 13:03:52

Telegraph Herald
Dubuque, Iowa
Friday Oct 2, 2009

Carl L. Breson

Carl Leonard Breson, 94, of 2712 Parkview Lane, Bedford, Texas, formerly of Dubuque and Chicago, died Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, at Community Hospice of Texas, Fort Worth, Texas.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at Siegert-Casper Colonial Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 390 N. Grandview Ave., where friends may call after 9:30 a.m. Burial will be in Linwood Cemetery, where military rites will be accorded by the Dubuque Marine Corps League.

He was born on April 25, 1915, in Dubuque, son of Anthony Breson and Frances Leonard Breson Wortley. He graduated from Dubuque Senior High School in 1935.

He married Lucille Buol Wilke on July 7, 1951, in Chicago; she preceded him in death on Jan. 5, 2002, from lung cancer. They were married for 50 years.

Carl enlisted in the Army on Oct. 15, 1941. He was a World War II veteran who served in England as a crew chief for the Army Air Corps, which serviced the B17 Flying Fortress -- the backbone of the Mighty 8th Air Force.

He was awarded an honorary discharge on Dec. 20, 1943, as a staff sergeant in the 413th Bombardment Squadron (H) AFF, McCloskey General Hospital in Temple, Texas.

Carl worked as a torpedo man and electrical inspector for the Department of the Navy, Naval Ordnance Station, Department of Defense, and as a machinist for Chicago Northwestern Railroad.

He was a member of Disabled American Veterans and life member of 96th (H) Bomb Group Association and 8th Air Force Historical Society.

Songwriting was Carl's passion. He wrote the lyrics to a song called "Old Drifter," which was recorded by country music legend Tex Ritter. He also was a free-lance songwriter for Capitol Records for a time, mentoring under Johnny Mercer. Another of his songs, "Everyone's Sweetheart and Nobody's Gal" was recorded by Cliffy Stone. In 1949, he wrote a song called "Strange Kisses," which was handpicked by Mercer for Frank Sinatra. Unfortunately, Sinatra switched recording companies from Capitol to Columbia Records and "Strange Kisses" fell through the cracks.

But 55 years later in April of 2004, singer-songwriter Ken Nelson collaborated with him on some revisions, and along with an Italian translation "Strani Baci," "Strange Kisses" hit the airwaves and it continues to play even now on some stations across the country.

Surviving are a daughter, Susan Lee Breson (William J.) Jozaitis, of Bedford; grandchildren, Louis W. Breson, of London, England, Jessica N. Kozaitis, of Koloa, Kaua'i, Hawaii, and Matthew S. Jozaitis and Michael C. Jozaitis, both of Bedford, Texas; and a niece, Debra Breson, of Dubuque.

He also was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Howard A. Breson; and a niece, Betty A. Breson.

A special thank-you to Ken Nelson, John Daniels and Scott Nelson for making an old Iowa boy's dreams come true.