Miles Victor Albright (1922-2013)

ALBRIGHT, SQUIRES, KRUSCHWITZ, CAKERICE, WILCOX

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 7/4/2013 at 13:32:53

From Adams & Soderstrum Funeral Home obituary, Story County, Iowa:

Miles Victor Albright
June 14, 1922 - April 4, 2013

Miles Victor Albright June 14, 1922—April 4, 2013 Ames, Iowa. Miles Albright was a typical member of the Greatest Generation. He was born in the 1920s, lived through the Great Depression, served in the United States Army during World War II, married his sweetheart Gwen, fathered their beautiful daughter Vicki, owned a dog, sang a beautiful tenor harmony, worked hard all his life in jobs demanding skill and attention to detail, lived within his means until his death, and loved to make people laugh.. Miles enjoyed life to full measure. He loved putting and keeping things in order—tools, screws, rubber bands, pencils, nails, numbers and accounts. He was a man of order in all things and believed others should be the same. He loved Iowa State wrestling and followed it faithfully until he almost had a stroke during a tournament. He loved listening to well-harmonized music and singing with his four brothers, his church choir, and the Songbirds. He loved bowling, golf and cribbage, playing all three amazingly well after being declared legally blind. Cribbage remained an integral part of his life until last Christmas, when he participated in a four-generation game with his daughter, granddaughter and great granddaughter. Technical cribbage terms like “stink hole” and “getting skunked” will forever be linked to the old cribbage master, Miles. Hitting a hole-in-one on the last hole of the Homewood Golf Course shortly into retirement remained one of the highlights of his sporting career. While he often watched professional golf on his gigantic television, using the occasion to nap in his recliner between holes, it was the only professional sport he tolerated or savored. Flexing his populist muscles, Miles believed most professional sports figures were paid too much. So he refused to watch baseball, basketball and football, and he believed others should do the same. He loved fine dining at low-cost no-frill restaurants with his family and friends and took pride in picking up the tab and paying in cash. (He did have a credit card but used it only once a year to keep it active.) He loved being on the water in a sail boat, row boat, fishing boat, speed boat or ferry boat. He even decided, at one point, if he couldn’t become a farmer he would become a tug boat captain. Complicating this was the fact that he actually hated being in water above his waist because, although he learned to do many things in life, swimming was not one of them. Miles took great pleasure traveling with his family throughout the United States to visit far-flung brothers, cousins, nieces, nephews, and old friends (of which he had many). If he saw some snow-capped mountains or scenic desert vistas or a beautiful river valley along the way, so much the better. His visits to Victoria Island, Vancouver, and seeking out the fall colors of New England with Gwen plus a 2011 trip from La Plata, Missouri, to Los Angeles by train with Vicki were travel dreams come true. With all that beauty out there, he never understood why anyone would travel outside the United States. His Vancouver visit aside, he never left the country and believed Americans would be better off if they followed his lead.Miles lived by the adage, “It makes little difference in life what you do, as long as you do it well.” He learned the value of hard work on the family farm and went on to work hard at a variety of jobs, from serving farmers at Crosley Feed Store to sexing chickens for regional hatcheries, finally settling down into a career as inspector par excellence of new highways for the Iowa DOT and of new buildings for ISU. Of all his joys in life, family was his greatest love. Born at his Aunt Isla’s home on a farm in Grundy County, Iowa, Miles was the third of five country boys. Etta Squires Albright, his mother, died when he was eight years old. His father, Galen, later married Gertrude Albright, who raised the boys to maturity. Miles especially loved his Aunt Wilma Kruschwitz, who cared for the boys while they were motherless. He always considered her his second mother. His life’s great love was Gwendolyn Cakerice, whose eye he caught growing up in the Ivester Church of the Brethren community. Their life together in marriage lasted sixty-four years until Gwen died in 2007. Gwen proved a savvy bridge partner for life and always kept Miles’ more cantankerous side in check. Their daughter, Vicki, was the apple crisp of their eyes from the moment she was born. Her marriage to David Wilcox produced two beloved granddaughters, Sarah and Katharine, who adored their “Po” in return. Through them, Miles and Gwen got to go to Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Medieval Times and many other wonderful adventures. In later years, Sarah and Katie rewarded Mo and Po with memorable vocal performances in their honor. Then came Kaia, Etta and Isla, Mile’s great granddaughters, by whom he asked to be called “PoPo.” They all will miss this wonderful man who created a quality model for fathers and grandfathers everywhere. A memorial service for Miles will take place on Monday, April 8, at Northcrest Retirement Community, 1801 20th Street. Miles’ family wishes to thank the Northcrest staff for the many kindnesses extended to them and to Gwen and Miles over the past thirteen years. They created a community of security, steadfastness and love. Should friends of Miles wish to honor his memory, a gift to Iowa Public Television is requested in lieu of flowers.

April 8, 2013 Funeral Service 10:00AM - 11:00AM

Northcrest Community
1801 20th Street
Ames, IA, US

http://www.adamssoderstrum.com/
 

Story Obituaries maintained by Mark Christian.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen