Memories of my brother-in-law Peter Abresch, by Toni Lang
September 2, 2021
by Toni Abresch
Where do I
begin? Why not on
the day I first met
Pete? Sometime back
in 1959, on arriving
home from college
for the summer, I
was surprised to see
a red Chevy Corvette
parked in front of
my parent’s
house. On entering
our home, one of my
older sisters,
Annemarie,
introduced me to her
(“new” to me at
least) boyfriend,
the owner of said
vehicle, Peter
Abresch. First
impression? Cool guy
! Later when I
asked my sister to
borrow her car for a
date that evening,
Pete scored ultimate
brownie points by
offering me the use
of his Corvette
! (What ? You’re
kidding ! Really ?
! ? ) Of course I
accepted the offer
!
(There was
an unfortunate
footnote to that
story: no – I did
not harm that
beautiful car! Less
than a mile down the
road, a DC cop
pulled me over and
presented me with a
speeding ticket (10
mph over Washington
DC’s 25 mph speed
limit). No radar –
I am sure it was
this cop’s take on a
20-year-old guy in a
red sports car !)
During that
summer I came to
know Pete who had
met several of my
sisters through
their affiliation
with a social group
(The Catholic Club
of Georgetown (CCG))
where, besides his
involvement with the
group’s governing
board, he shared his
Arthur Murray Dance
Studio experience by
conducting dance
classes for the club
members. He and my
sister Annemarie
made a great dance
couple! (I learned
his sophisticated
“Washington Swing”
routine which I
subsequently taught
several of my dance
partners over the
years.)
And
suddenly, in the
Fall of ’60, Pete
became my second
brother-in-law – a
welcome addition to
the family.
From then
on it became
snapshots in time,
mainly due to my
travels out of the
country as well as
Pete’s job involving
extended
data-gathering ocean
voyages. And then in
1971, after my
family’s return from
our four-year,
work-related
residences in
Germany and Italy,
we permanently
relocated to
Colorado.
And so,
from afar, I admired
Pete’s foresight in
purchasing that
waterfront property
somewhere southeast
of DC near a town
called Prince
Frederick (What
? Where ? ! ?
Why?????). That
became and still is
the Abresch Family
Base of
Operations. Then
came an interesting
parade of rentals –
from that
pseudo-Victorian
“mansion” on Prince
Frederick’s main
street and others in
town, to that big
farmhouse
overlooking the
river which was home
to “farmers” Pete,
Annemarie and sons,
and also home to a
herd (?) of Irish
Wolfhounds. Then
suddenly there was
this custom-built
home on that
waterfront property
bought decades
before. And throw
in a home-built
trimaran for
sailing/camping
weekends on the
river or bay. W O W
! ! !
Since both
Pete and I tended
towards an “alpha
male personality”,
we did manage to
occasionally lock
horns and didn’t
hesitate to tell
each other when we
thought the other
was full of it. I
would like to think
that I was less
abrasive than Pete
could occasionally
be. One of my best
remembered
“confrontation” took
place during a
family game of
Monopoly. With both
of us fueled by a
few beers, when I
took issue with an
“illegal” move Pete
wanted to make, we
went back-and-forth
until he invited me
to step outside to
settle the
argument. I refused
with an excuse that
I didn’t want
Annemarie to be mad
at me for beating
him up. Years later
we’ve laughed at
that and wondered
who would’ve come
out of that more or
less bloodied!
I imagine
that Pete’s writing
avocation started
when he took his
typewriter along on
his extended,
work-related ocean
voyages. It
certainly blossomed
in his retirement
where his creativity
proved to be
boundless ! ! I
looked forward to
his insightful,
weekly, free-versed
“Burnt
Offerings”. And I
was flattered when
he solicited my help
in editing and doing
some research for
his various
published works.
Perhaps
what really
impressed me about
my “bro” Pete was
his having to step
up as Annemarie
started to
fade. Having been
exposed to the
travails of
Alzheimer with our
own Mother we all
knew the challenges
involved.
This “Burnt
Offering” really
helped me feel
Pete’s pain at
watching Annemarie,
the love of his
life, disappearing
before his eyes with
no recourse or
solace other than
his strong faith in
God.
Caregiver
For many years
I
had a partner, a
helpmate
and while I didn't
always
appreciate it then,
I
surely miss it now.
Today I make all
decisions,
keep all our
appointments,
sort all our pills,
cook all our meals,
clean our house,
and try to keep
our outlook upright.
While it is my love,
my privilege to do
so,
the task is often
daunting,
the journey wearing.
Without your solace,
Lord,
Your arm upon my
shoulder,
I
would have crashed
long ago.
Thank you for Your
rod
and Your staff.
Peter E. Abresch
January 22, 2019
Over the
years these “Burnt
Offerings” have
quite creatively
shown how ready and
comfortable Pete was
to meet his Maker.
† Rest
in Peace - Peter
Abresch †
With love
and condolences to
the family,
Toni Lang