My Dad, My Hero

My dad, Jerry Eneau Modrell, was born April 27, 1928 in St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri.  He is the son of Harry House Modrell and Maxine W. Eneau.

My dad’s middle name (Eneau) was the maiden name of his mother.  My Grandpa Modrell’s middle name (House) was the maiden name of his mother.  I have not been able to discover if this pattern continues back in time or not.

He graduated from Raytown High School, Raytown, Jackson County, Missouri in 1946.

I was told he ran away from home when he was around 16 years old but I do not have confirmation of that story and I do not have any documentation showing my grandparents living in Raytown, Missouri, which is where my dad graduated high school.  He had always said things were not good while he was growing up, but would never elaborate.  He just said he wanted to forget, therefore, I have no information about my Grandpa and Grandma Modrell (Harry House Modrell and Maxine W. Eneau) other than the few memories I have of them.

My dad was an only child and both his father and mother were only children as well.  That is another reason that makes researching this family difficult.  I will need to go back several generations, then work forward to find any living relatives that may be able to provide answers.

My dad raised me since my mother passed away when I was five (5) years old and he didn’t remarry until I was 24 years old (more about my mother in a future post).  I was an extremely bad child and put him through the worst agonizing time of his life, but somewhere I grew up (early 20’s) and spent the rest of his life making it up to him.  I once asked him what kept him from literally killing me and my brother, and he just simply said, “because you are my children”.  I relied on him so much over the years until he passed that I was totally incapable of making a decision in life without his input.  Since he passed, every decision I have made was the wrong decision.  To this day, I miss him so much it hurts.

He passed away December 25, 1999.

Jerry Eneau Modrell Senior Picture 1928-1999