I read the obits every morning, typically scanning them to make sure no friends in the area have passed on in the last day or two. It’s usually a pretty uneventful undertaking. However, it seems that Mary Mayou, of East Greenbush, New York, had to do a double take when she read the following obit in the March 29, 2009 edition of the Times Union:
Gene Rollin Poffahl
Poffahl, Gene Rollin (Ludbeck, Louis) SYRACUSE, N.Y. Originally named Gene R. Poffahl (Louis Ludbeck), 78, of Syracuse, died peacefully Thursday, March 5, 2009 at Francis House. He came to Syracuse from Northern N.Y. in the early 1970s and had been a member of the Unity Kitchen Community of the Catholic Worker ever since. For over almost 30 years, he lived with Ann O’Connor and Peter King at the community house, helping at Unity Kitchen. He worked tirelessly but very quietly and became indispensable to the kitchen and its work. Louie was one of the lowly people of the world who do not attract much attention, but he was dear to the Unity Kitchen Community and will be greatly missed. He served eight years in the US Army, being discharged in 1957. His original name, Gene R. Poffahl, was only discovered after his death; at this time, there are no known survivors. Funeral and burial were March 28 in Syracuse. There is reason to believe he was originally from the Albany area. Any surviving family are asked to contact (315) 475-6761 or (315) 478-5552 for further information. Arrangements by Whelan Bros. &Hulchanski Funeral Home, Syracuse.
Obituary published in the Albany Times Union on March 29, 2009.
And now, for the rest of the story, from the Times Union, Albany, NY – issued of Saturday, April 11, 2009
After 51 years, sister finds brother in obituary
East Greenbush woman: “Bob was running from an abusive and difficult past”
By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer
First published in print: Saturday, April 11, 2009
EAST GREENBUSH — Mary Mayou had not seen her brother for more than 50 years when her daughter handed her the Times Union last week.
“I saw his picture and said, ‘Holy crap, that’s Bob,”” said Mayou, 79, sitting at the kitchen table in her Newkirk Road home and staring at her brother’s picture on the front page April 4. “I tried for years to find him. I thought he was dead.”
Gene “Bob” Poffahl’s death at 78 last month began an odd quest by homeless shelter workers in Syracuse who thought they knew the quiet man who told them his name was Louie Ludbeck. In 1971, Louie walked into the Unity Kitchen Community of the Catholic Worker, a soup kitchen in downtown Syracuse, and never left. He died there March 5 of complications from a stroke.
After his death, operators of the shelter discovered that the tireless kitchen worker and chain smoker they knew for 38 years and called the “hermit” really was Gene Rollin Poffahl, who grew up in Rensselaer.
Read the full article in the April 11, 2009 edition of the Times Union.
Thanks to Pat Morrow for alerting me to the above story.
