Blog 1 – MY Journey: A Brother’s Legacy
Denise and Pat, Lewis’s sisters reviewing the hand-written instructions Lewis gave Denise two years before his death.
The call came about mid evening on October 10, 2012. My sisters and I were aware that our brother Lewis had been missing for a few weeks according to his neighbors. My brother Lewis Lanza Rudolph was what you would call reclusive. Definitely a private person. Words I use to describe Louie; witty, funny, intelligent, interesting, quirkey, awkward, he was my big brother and I loved him.
The phone rang, I remember where I was sitting, what I was doing like it was yesterday. “Are you Denise Ecenroad the sister of Lewis Rudolph “ the doctor at the end of the phone line asked? “You’ve found him! You know where my brother is ! Yes I am Lewis’s sister, I replied. My relief was short lived.
I do not have good news for you Mrs Ecenroad, I am sorry but your brother passed away during open heart surgery today…
I was stunned … devastated. Tearful I asked why had no one called me? Why did Lewis not let me know where he was in the hospital? Why did he choose to die alone? Privacy rights explain why the doctor never called.
Several years ago my unmarried brother gave me a key to his home saying “ Dolly, someday when I die I want you to use this key and take care of things for me.” Louie explained he would have directions in our dining room buffet for me along with his will…. When he went missing I was tempted to use the key to go into his home. Since he never invited me inside before I felt it would be invading his privacy. Which would annoy him upon his return home.
A few days after that phone call my journey of honoring My brother Lewis’s legacy began. Not only was Lewis reclusive and socially awkward but he was a hoarder, a collector of many things and most importantly an abstract artist.
My husband Bruce and I had the daunting task of settling his estate. This included cleaning out our childhood home in Red Bank New Jersey , now Lewis’s home. We live 3 hours away in Pennsylvania.
The estate was settled in the usual year but the ART is an ongoing adventure. A learning experience fo sure . A desire to see my brother recognized for his talent as an abstract artist and his memory cheer me forward. I had no idea what to do with the art. Prolific is one word to describe its vastness. Hundreds of Large Abstract Oils on Massonite, Pencil and Charcoal drawings, years of sketch diaries.
Settling an estate, cleaning out a house is a huge undertaking. But introducting a brothers four decades of art? That is a journey. It is My journey. Follow my journey in honoring Louie. My Brothers Legacy.