MY BIG BROTHER JOHN DULICK, REST IN PEACE

My brother John, first-born of the family, died suddenly of a heart attack July 21, 2012.

My sister Barb and nephew Dan went to the Muny the night before and had promised to tell John all about "Dreamgirls," a show he loved, when the call came early Saturday morning from Page Manor, where John
was a resident. He really made our whole family sing! As kids, John and I shared a bedroom, and Broadway musicals were always on the record player. Because of him, the first record I ever bought was "West Side Story" in 1957 (NOT the movie, please, the original cast), when I was 10 years old! He quit all jobs to help take care of our mother Alice (better known as Gaga, a name the grandkids gave her), from 1979 when she had a stroke, till her death in 1999, at Barb's house, who cleared out the dining room for a hospital bed. Now, to tell the truth, they were both "strong" personalities, so they'd clash sometimes, but it kept both of them "in shape," you might say! And he'd take her everywhere, in her wheelchair, especially to the Muny, which she loved as much as he did. And to Church's Chicken, which I think John was a fan of maybe a little more than my mother....
My sister Nancy is out in California with her daughter Bec and new baby Isaiah; she was already planning to come back this week, and, according to Barb, all she kept talking about was taking John to the Muny. My brother Bob, the "baby" of the family, 54, texted me in Honduras with all that anyone could say. "I'm very sad. How are you doing?"
Our family is shrinking. My father in 1976 (heart attack), my mother 1999, my sister Mary Anne 2009, now John. We kids were 3 and 3, three boys, three girls; now we're 2 and 2. I never did like math.

I just posted on FACEBOOK:
MY BIG BROTHER JOHN DULICK, 69, died Saturday morning (July 21, 2012) of a heart attack at Page Manor, a group home in St. Louis. Indigent himself, he had an active ministry to the homeless in “Bum Park” downtown, even including puppet shows with a grocery cart for a stage. Never married, his legacy shines in “the lights on Broadway” of the musicals he loved, including “Dreamgirls,” playing at the Muny. Memorial plans have yet to be made. Meanwhile, find him in the Free Seats.
I will be in St. Louis July 25--August 21. Cell 314-210-5303.
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As I write this, the "notifications," are pouring in from Facebook in the corner of my computer screen,
one kind note after another. I never loved FACEBOOK so much till just now!

I was so lucky to see John just a few weeks ago, and now I return to St. Louis for the final
curtain. But I will extend my time, to visit with as many of you as possible, because you are
"family," too!

Love, Miguel