Paul William Breitsprecher

Birthday Greetings

Favorite uncle ever, interested and interesting, distinguished, witty and wise,
It's an honor to know you.

HAPPY 80TH!

With love,

"Diva" McSwain

Greetings, cousins and others. I understand a tribute is in the works to my distinguished uncle, and I thought I might add a few words.

My wise and warm senior Breitsprecher Uncle has, from earliest memory, made an enormous and formative impression on me, for which I will always be grateful. Before I was school-aged, I grew aware that this attentive, well-spoken young man of our clan was different from the rest. Later I would learn the words for it: "intellect," "intellectual." Uncle Paul was never intellectual in an affected or aloof way; he was simply, to me, the person in the family mix who had ideas, who thought about things in a different way, who brought up matters for consideration of an altogether grander order than what might typically be under discussion at birthdays or cookouts or other family outings. 

Moreover, there was always substance to Paul's utterance. Walking home with me from a movie matinee one Saturday when I was about six, he beheld me as I suddenly stopped walking to step an some ants who had massed on the sidewalk. He took my arm and looked into my eyes. He invited me to consider what I was doing from the ants' perspective. No one had ever raised such a notion with me before. I mentally did just as he asked--and was both devastated and illuminated; I was behaving like my own worst nightmare. I also remember warmly his particular brand of good humor--and, for some reason, the charm he found in the odd but endearing mannerisms of the TV puppets Kukla, Fran, and Ollie.

He was also a reader--not a dominant trait in our extended family mix--and this quality impressed me and went deep with me. I somehow came to associate this bent for reading with the breadth and liveliness of his mind. Inevitably, politics come to be discussed when families assemble for holidays and other state occasions. Paul always stood forth boldly, often in principled opposition to the prevailing view. I now realize those prevailing views were largely reflexive, not always very well informed, and
conventionally conservative; thus, Paul's was the first left-of-center (and by miles the most considered and thoughtful) political thinking I ever heard. And like so much of my other experience of him, this tended to widen and enliven my world more than you might imagine. 

To know Paul is to know he will stand his moral and political ground, but while I can remember impassioned stances he took both in writing and in speech, I cannot remember a cruelly personal or uncivil word passing from his lips. In sum, my Uncle Paul is one of the handful of souls without whom I cannot imagine being. It is said that "it takes a village" to raise a child; I think it takes only a few luminous souls. How fortunate indeed if there is an Uncle Paul.

Much love, Nephew Richard

Dear Uncle Paul-

Greg, Geoffrey and I wish you a very, very happy 80th and many happy returns. I'll be thinking about you on Monday and remembering our great times, including:

M is for the many things you gave me
O is for the other things you gave me
T is for the thousand things you gave me
H is for the hundred things you gave me
E is for everything you gave me
R is for the rest of the things you gave me
P is for the presents that you gave me

Put them all together, they spell MOTHERP!!!

Let's make some more memories soon! Love to you and the whole family

"Kimmy Kay"

From Texas

Dear DOD,

You’ve been a hidden inspiration… I remember when I first learned to read wanting to use inflection. Those late autumn nights by pumpkin light and the holiday renderings of A Christmas Carol made their mark (not to mention that man who was terribly rattled by banks…) Last month I found myself giving a public presentation that I’d only found time to read out loud once in advance… that Breitsprecher stage presence carried me through.

And in 1985 when a headhunter told me about a job opening at General Railway Signal, I said to myself “I have to get that job.” I called you and Mom up to tell I’d be working for the railroad, all the live long day… Must have been all those picnics overlooking freight yards, because I felt right at home working in that concrete bungalow alongside the tracks of Toronto Terminal Railway.

And in late 1992 when you received that really strange phone call from me asking for help in discerning whether Eric was the one God would have me marry, you rose to the occasion and took up establishing a long distance relationship. You were the first to verbalize that it was time for me to move into a different stage of life.

And so now there’s three more descendants to wish you a Happy Birthday with many more.

The Lord bless you and keep you and may His face shine upon you, Love,

Nan

Dear Paul,

How does it feel to have reached middle age? Are you planning a mid life crisis? Are you going to buy a motorcycle?

I hope I am as mellow and as enjoyable as you are when I get there. May you be filled with joy and peace and be surrounded with the love of family at this special time.

Happy 80th, and many more, I love you,

Big Eric

Dear Grandpa, Happy Birthday!!!! And many more! You are the best Grandfather I’ve ever had. I love you very very very much. I hope you have a blessed birthday filled with sweet, happy things. God bless you and keep you and shine his light upon you and give you peace.  Your loving Granddaughter 

Elizabeth Anne Wesson

"The only way to be sure of catching a train is to miss the one before it." (Gilbert K. Chesterton)

I missed your birthday last year, so I was just in time this year…Happy Birthday

Eric IV (aka “Fred”)

Dear Grandpa,

Iukjuytrre hope that you will have a good birthday!!! Kjordklt logfdsaq lkmnkopk fdergfdr kjuyjtruk cxxzaop kijulk nhtrolkurkrjkuyopi? rfdewsaq loikjmjhuyg450917gfr ikopilkikjuloi Love, 

Samuel

Dear Grandpa,

Happy Birthday. We should go to a ‘tore and buy a present. I will wrap it. I should get a present, too. Really.

Susanna

Cultured and droll,
sage and kind,
the bestest Dad
you'll ever find.
(and an octogenarian
to boot!!)
lots of love,

Daughter #1

Happy Birthday Grandpa! Thinking of you and sending love,  

Evan

Happy Birthday! Please share any stories that come to mind when you read this. Love, 

The  Schuelers.

Wishing you the best on your special day -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY and thanks for the good times.  Love,

Bill

Happy Birthday.  Come back to Chicago anytime.

Tom

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