give his children college educations. He and Ruth
encounteredtheirshareoflife’stroubles.Theirson,for
instance,hadseriousproblemswithdrugs,alcohol,and
moneyandprovedtohavebipolardisorder.Inhisforties,
hecommittedsuicide.Andtheappliancebusiness,which
haddone wellfor years,wentbelly-upwhenthechain
storescamealong.Atfiftyyearsold,Loufoundhimself
havingtostartover.Nonetheless,despitehisage,lackof
experience,andlackofacollegeeducation,hewasgiven
anewchanceasanelectronictechnicianatRaytheonand
endedupspendingtheremainderofhiscareerthere.He
retiredatsixty-seven,havingworkedtheadditionaltwo
years to get 3 percent extra on his Raytheon pension.
Meanwhile, Ruth developed health issues. A lifelong
smoker,shewasdiagnosedwithlungcancer,survivedit,
and kept smoking (which Lou couldn’t understand).
ThreeyearsafterLouretired,shehadastrokethatshe
neverwholly recoveredfrom. Shebecameincreasingly
dependentonhim—fortransportation,forshopping,for
managingthehouse,foreverything.Thenshedeveloped
alumpunderherarm,andabiopsyrevealedmetastatic
cancer. She died in October 1994, at the age of
seventy-three. Lou, at seventy-six, became a widower.
Shelleyworriedforhim.Shedidn’tknowhowhewould
get along without Ruth. Caring for Ruth through her
decline,however, had forcedhim to learn to fend for
himself,and, althoughhemourned,he graduallyfound
that he didn’t mind being on his own. For the next
decade,heledahappy,satisfyinglife.Hehadasimple
routine. He rose early in the morning, fixed himself
breakfast,andreadthenewspaper.He’dtakeawalk,buy