I learned today with confimation of the passing into Ancestry of my boyhood friend and next door neighbor, Zollie Naki. Thanks for the website, Classmates.com, I was able to make contact with his sister.
Allow me to celebrate his life with a portion of her email to me and my response.
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R.,
What a joy to hear from you! We have all wondered from time to time about your family. It's been many years since anyone in our family lived in Flat Rock, so it is difficult to keep up.
I'm very sorry to tell you that Zollie died in April 2002. It was an unbelievable shock--one from which we are still recovering. As I write these words, I still find it hard to believe and miss him desperately. He suffered a brain aneurysm with no advanced warning. He was in the hospital for 6 days with his family and friends pulling for him. He tried to fight back but had a heart attack in the hospital. He donated his organs to help other families--it was a small comfort to us.
Zollie was very happy. He was working as a general foreman for a heavy equipment manufacturer. He was living in Monroe with his wife Sue and their five school-aged daughters. The oldest two have since graduated and are now in college. I don't know if you know their history. Let me just say that Zollie had a full load. His wife has had MS most of her adult life and is now dealing with cancer--making Zollie's death all the more dififcult and hard to comprehend. The girls take care of her now with lots of support from the family.
It warms my heart that he is remembered by others. He was a great guy.
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Dear E.,
I hesitated to open your email for fear of what I would read. I am so deeply sorry for your loss; and for his family, and for himself. Zollie was a good man, and his passing into Ancestry was way, way too soon. Please accept my heartfelt condolences and allow me to share with you my most vivid memory of your good brother.
It was an early autumn day before the leaves had begun to turn, and we were walking home together from High School. I can't remember whether anyone else was with us. We turned onto Evergreen Drive headed for Field Street. For some reason we were walking in the middle of the street. Within a couple of houses walking distance, we noticed a car headed toward us, and then we realized that it was K. V.'s car. At almost the same time the driver of the car gunned his engine and peeled out toward us. I ran to the curb, and when I looked back there was Zollie, standing smack dab in the middle of the street. He legs where locked his chest was thrust outward, his arms spread open like a "star", and his eyes fixed like steel upon the speeding car. I barely had time to scream, "Zollie, get out of the road!" when he shouted, "Come and get me, V.!!!" Suddenly, the air was ripped by the squeal of skidding tires, and I swear to you upon a stack of Bibles, that car wrenched and slid to stop only inches away from your brother! And he never even flinched.
And then he slammed his fist onto the hood of the car and cried out, "Screw you, V.!" (I think K. was vomitting onto his dashboard he was so shaken by Zollie's bravery.) The rest of the way home I felt like some silly puppy dog following his hero. I saw a man of integrity and courage that day. And that's how I will always remember Zollie.
Zolton Elik Naki, Jr. ~ May Light Perpetual shine upon you.
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