Memories of Frederick Houston Wynn | Ever Loved

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In memory of

Frederick Houston Wynn

Springfield, Virginia

November 7, 1916 - November 6, 2018

Nov 7, 1916 - Nov 6, 2018

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Kelly Wynn Keef

I’ve always known my father loved me and all his kids. He was quiet about it, but would hug us tight, look lovingly upon us and say kind words to us. He was super responsible and dependable, always in the background making sure we were all taken care of. Once he retired, it seemed to me that he became more talkative. He would tell stories about the past and what it was like for him growing up. He was widely read and highly intelligent and could converse on many subjects, like science and engineering, in a way that made them interesting. He traveled all over the world and had many stories about the different places he’d been. He had a wonderful sense of humor and I can hear his chuckle in my head even now. He wrote a comic strip for his retirement village which was a big hit. He was a loving man and opened his heart to my husband, spending hours in conversation with him whenever we visited. He was a gentle man who wanted a peaceful and interesting life, and I believe and I hope that he had some of that.

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Kathryn Wynn

Susan Haydel

Dad was incredibly intelligent. He read Scientific American every month. He read stacks of thick, dense books about science, history, biographies, etc., and enjoyed occasional science fiction. He could hold his own with astrophysicists. And he had an amazing memory! He remembered back to being in a crib, and he remembered the name of every classmate and teacher he had growing up. I remember in Hamden, when he still smoked a pipe, Dad retiring to his chair in the living room evenings with his reading and his pipe, like the Yale professor he had been for a while.
What I loved best about being with Dad, though, were his stories about growing up on the farms in Oregon. I have internalized many, many images from stories he told us around the dinner table throughout the years, so that I feel I know what it was like to be a farm boy in Oregon during the Depression, getting up in the frozen mornings when the only heat was a woodstove in another part of the house, his pants stiff with cold. He told us about riding a pony to school for several years, and the little girl who sometimes had to ride with him. He told us about witnessing, along with his schoolmates, the first scheduled airplane flight in the country, which flew over his little school. He and his brothers got to be real cowboys, riding their ponies to round up livestock, and riding to visit their mountain-man neighbor, Charlie, who told them tales of surviving in the mountains with the wild animals. Dad and his brothers collected arrowheads and other artifacts, which were especially plentiful on a knoll overlooking the lake valley at Drew’s Ranch. I learned how his mother had to cook for many farm hands during harvest season, and how one year his father lost his entire cash crop of clover seed to grasshoppers, which made Dad decide against being a farmer himself. And Dad told us, somberly and melodramatically, about how he was almost killed by a falling implement in the barn. There were lovely images, too, like how, at Christmas, in the snow, they and their neighbors would be riding their horse-drawn sleighs to church on Christmas Eve, and how it was all quiet except the sleigh bells jingling across the hillsides, all other sounds muffled by the falling snow.
He had other stories, too, about living in a rooming house during college and the bombing of Pearl Harbor, but this glimpse into his childhood past, when he lived before they used cars much, is such a precious gift. When he was in his 60s or 70s, he took a course in autobiographical writing, and wrote many of his stories down for his children and grandchildren, which we treasure today.

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Kathryn Wynn

Comments:

Kathryn Wynn

Thank you, Susie! I can really picture him in his storytelling mood. Thank you, Susie! I can really picture him in his storytelling mood. Thank you, Susie! I can really picture him in his storytelling... Read more

Frederick Houston Wynn, Jr.

My father was a man of integrity. To him, honesty and fairness always came first. His work ethic was old school. Work hard, be respectful of everyone, especially your elders, and fulfill your responsibilities. He loved his family dearly and was always there for us. At one point, I realized that my father was a great man. Thank you Dad. You're the best!

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Kathryn Wynn

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Susan Haydel

Dad when younger, before I knew him

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Susan Haydel

2000, Botanical Garden in DC

Mom & Dad around the time they moved into Greenspring

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Emily Pyne

1986, Falls Church, VA, USA

I am Hugh's granddaughter. I remember he once babysat me for an afternoon when I must have been about four years old. We had pears for a snack and he taught me that the brown parts are the sweetest and he also told me I could eat the whole thing, leaving only the stem. This was news to me and I still to this day think of him every time I eat a pear. Even now, as I watch my almost 2 year old daughter eating apples, I trust that her inclination to eat the entire fruit will bring her no harm.

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Kathryn Wynn

Comments:

Kathryn Wynn

He told me the same thing! Except I was eating an apple at the time. He told me the same thing! Except I was eating an apple at the time. He told me the same thing! Except I was eating an apple... Read more

Louise Wynn

He used to eat apples in bed as a boy, against his mother's wishes. So he ate the entire apple, seeds and... Read more He used to eat apples in bed as a boy, against his mother's wishes. So he ate the entire apple, seeds and all, to avoid discovery!... Read more He used to eat apples in bed as a boy, against his ... Read more

Kathryn Wynn

2014, Springfield, VA, USA

Helen, Hugh's wife on her 95th birthday!

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Kathryn Wynn

2014, Springfield, VA, USA

Hugh's living room with some of his kids and grandchildren

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Kathryn Wynn

2005, Virginia

Aaron's wedding

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Kathryn Wynn

2005, Virginia

Aaron's wedding

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Kathryn Wynn

1960, Oregon, USA

Hugh, his brother Clinton and wife Oda with Kathy and Kelly

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Kathryn Wynn

1960, Oregon, USA

Hugh with his kids and their cousins

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Kathryn Wynn

1960, Oregon, USA

Arriving for a visit!

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Kathryn Wynn

Fred, Louise, Kathy and Kelly Fred, Louise, Kathy and Kelly Fred, Louise, Kathy and Kelly

Kathryn Wynn

1949, Clearlake, CA, USA

Hugh's first wife, Martha

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Susan Haydel

Comments:

Susan Haydel

I love this picture! Your mom was so pretty, and the composition and colors are amazing. Great coat, too!... Read more I love this picture! Your mom was so pretty, and the composition and colors are amazing. Great coat, too! I love this picture! Your mom was so pretty, and the... Read more

Anonymous Person

1980

Hugh and I met through our love of stamps, especially those of the Australian States. I was a dealer in those issues, he was a notable collector, to the point that in Australia, a stamp is more valuable being ex-Wynn. But most importantly he was a father figure to me, and an inspiration. I worked in the darker side of government and the 80s was a very hard time for me, both from physical injuries suffered in duty as well as psychological ones, including a divorce. In 1989 I was confined to the Psychiatric wing of Fairfax County Hospital for over a month. High was the only visitor I had, visiting several times a week. The staff assumed he was my father. I was forced to leave the DC area and suffered a major stroke and lost touch with Hugh. But I will always remember his kindness, gentleness and good humor. He lived a very long and full life. I still have a picture of Helen and Hugh on top of an elephant from one of their many Asian trips. Happy stamping Hugh, and enjoy eternal rest.

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Kathryn Wynn

Susan Haydel

Comments:

Kathryn Wynn

Thank you so much for sharing this with us! Thank you so much for sharing this with us! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!

Emily Pyne

This is such a heart-warming story. Thank you for sharing! This is such a heart-warming story. Thank you for sharing! This is such a heart-warming story. Thank you for ... Read more

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Created with love by Kathryn Wynn.

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