All the good ideas I’ve ever had came from Bobby.
Yeah, he was fabulous guy. He wanted me to be his partner. He already had, at that time, a real estate business, an insurance business, and he wanted me to be his partner. His old buddy 20 days younger than him. And, huh, I was at hist first birthday party, and he was at mine, we didn’t know that, but we were there, I heard. So … I said, “I don’t want to work 24 hours a day, Bobby, and weekends for the rest of my life.” And, he enjoyed that, see, and it was perfect for him. Well, when he died here, 2-3 years ago, he owned a shopping mall, a travel agency, a radio station – 3 radio stations – and a TV station, an airport. He had a company that build in Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, through the Dakotas, and someplace else. Senior assisted living places. And that’s not all.
Then he got tired of the insurance business, which was a booming business … he gave it to his secretary, who was a peach, and smart, and she knew more about the business than he did. She’s worked for him since he started, and so, he gave that to her, signed everything over to her, and said (clap, clap), “there”.
He was just a going son-of-a-gun, and great guy, and very charitable .. big donor to St. Johns … and he used to write to me when I was in the Army, “Dear Flag Waver”.
He was a great guy. And then he married Carol Mouldy, who was his secretary in the real estate business.
Chevvy was a bunch. Oh. People used to, because he was such a character, people would, huh, tease him … not really tease him, but … he used to get things in the mail that sombody had ordered, you know, for him. And, this one time I went to St. Johns before I went to the Army, and he and Hanlin were roomates, and I ended up in that room one year, same room, somebody sent him a model airplane, (and) he was putting this model airplane together, and I said, “I didn’t know you did model airplanes.”, and he said, “Well, I don’t.” “But I said, “You are.” “Oh yeah, I do … but I don’t!” So I said, “Well what are you doing with that one?” He said, “Well, came in the mail. Came in the mail.” And I said, “Well, that’s interesting.” So, I saw Hanlin about 6 months later, someplace … I said, “When did Chevalier start making model airplanes?” “Oh.”, he said. “He doesn’t do model airplanes.” I said, “Well, he wasdoing one when I saw him, in your room.”
“Yeah. Oh that one, yeah. ” He started getting bills for that, and so finally he said he wrote “Deceased” on the invoice, and mailed it back.
Oh, God.
And, he was a terrible golfer. A non-golfer. But, he would go to tournaments with us. So, Chev and Kenward and I would go to Mass, say at Willmar, and Dave Engleson, and Hollenbeck, and whoever else went . . Bubber Paulson, Timmy Thursdby … they would register us, and they’d registert Chevalier as “Slugger Malone”. So, he was known as Slugger Malone. He’d get out there and fan his first tee shot. Oh, God, he was terrible.
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