sorry to see hubert is gone. he was a very sweet fellow, always fair and kind. his daddy was a long haul trucker, and if we were lucky to be invited to a dinner when he came home, it was a jackpot. ox's mama was a mean cook. will lazier tried to make him a ferocious football player, and for his hulking size, violence just didnt seem to be apart of his make up. i would love to say hello to him and smoke a camel or 2.
Howard "Howie" Engstrom must have been "Hughie" 's best friend in school. Or, certainly one of his best. They were like the original odd couple. Hubert was a huge guy. Howie, in body mass, about a third of his size. Hubert was a gentle giant. And, perhaps knowing that, there were some that liked to "poke the bear". I had to admire Hugh's restraint. Sometimes his face would flush read - but I never saw him hurt or take a swing at anybody. About the maddest I ever saw him is with school work - mad from fustration. I heard Howie died in Viet Nam, and I always wondered, both of them being good friends, if that is how Hubert ended his trail as well. Anyhow, God's Peace to both of them.
I knew Hugh from basketball. He played only our freshman year. At 6' 5" I was (and still am) tall, but Hugh was even taller than I was. I weighed about 180 lbs. back then and Hugh weighed more. I was able to dunk the ball my senior year, but not until then. Hugh, on the other hand, dunked the ball as a freshman.
We were in the girls' gym (since converted into the library/media center at GW) where the freshman teams (A and B) practiced. Hugh decided to try to dunk. He was successful, but one problem: he forgot to let go of the rim following the dunk. It bent downward, unable to withstand Hugh's bulk. This was before the spring-loaded rims were installed at GW that compensated for players who hung onto the rim. The coaches banned us from further dunk attempts for a year or two thereafter.
Hugh is pictured below in the top row between Tom Clegg and me (from the Freshman Basketball team photo). Sadly, Tom, Hugh, Wayne Stephens (in front of me), and Jeff Bonfield (lower left corner) have all since passed on.
What a gentle giant Hughie was. Thanks for those memories Ted, Larry and Scott. How can one forget Hughie's sincere nature. Never judged anyone and was always there to be a help in any situation. Rest in Peace Hughie.
Didn't see much of Hughie at Glenbard, but remember him well from Glen Crest. Quite a character! Hanging out in the gym after lunch, Steve Larson, Mike Leman and I would make a show of dragging one or the other of us over to Hughie as "a sacrified to the giant god!" He got a kick out of it.
Ted Wass
sorry to see hubert is gone. he was a very sweet fellow, always fair and kind. his daddy was a long haul trucker, and if we were lucky to be invited to a dinner when he came home, it was a jackpot. ox's mama was a mean cook. will lazier tried to make him a ferocious football player, and for his hulking size, violence just didnt seem to be apart of his make up. i would love to say hello to him and smoke a camel or 2.
rest in peace big man
Lawrence "Larry" Ewing
Howard "Howie" Engstrom must have been "Hughie" 's best friend in school. Or, certainly one of his best. They were like the original odd couple. Hubert was a huge guy. Howie, in body mass, about a third of his size. Hubert was a gentle giant. And, perhaps knowing that, there were some that liked to "poke the bear". I had to admire Hugh's restraint. Sometimes his face would flush read - but I never saw him hurt or take a swing at anybody. About the maddest I ever saw him is with school work - mad from fustration. I heard Howie died in Viet Nam, and I always wondered, both of them being good friends, if that is how Hubert ended his trail as well. Anyhow, God's Peace to both of them.
Scott Zapel
I knew Hugh from basketball. He played only our freshman year. At 6' 5" I was (and still am) tall, but Hugh was even taller than I was. I weighed about 180 lbs. back then and Hugh weighed more. I was able to dunk the ball my senior year, but not until then. Hugh, on the other hand, dunked the ball as a freshman.
We were in the girls' gym (since converted into the library/media center at GW) where the freshman teams (A and B) practiced. Hugh decided to try to dunk. He was successful, but one problem: he forgot to let go of the rim following the dunk. It bent downward, unable to withstand Hugh's bulk. This was before the spring-loaded rims were installed at GW that compensated for players who hung onto the rim. The coaches banned us from further dunk attempts for a year or two thereafter.
Hugh is pictured below in the top row between Tom Clegg and me (from the Freshman Basketball team photo). Sadly, Tom, Hugh, Wayne Stephens (in front of me), and Jeff Bonfield (lower left corner) have all since passed on.
Anthony Capps
What a gentle giant Hughie was. Thanks for those memories Ted, Larry and Scott. How can one forget Hughie's sincere nature. Never judged anyone and was always there to be a help in any situation. Rest in Peace Hughie.
John Simanton
Didn't see much of Hughie at Glenbard, but remember him well from Glen Crest. Quite a character! Hanging out in the gym after lunch, Steve Larson, Mike Leman and I would make a show of dragging one or the other of us over to Hughie as "a sacrified to the giant god!" He got a kick out of it.