Ed Vasecka

Ed Vasecka

Ed Vasecka loved to tell stories. All he needed was an audience. He told his last story Oct. 1, 2012, in Helena, Mont., at the age of 81. He died of congestive heart failure, his children beside him.

Edward George Vasecka Jr. was born Nov. 27, 1930, in Chicago, to Bohemian parents. He grew up back of the stock yards with his many Czech cousins, in the comforts of a middle-class working home during the Depression. He was an only child.

After graduating from high school in 1949, he surprised his folks by joining the United States Air Force. He had originally wanted to join the Army...