Ralph Kohlman Freudenberg (1937-1995)

Ralph Kohlman Freudenberg (1937-1995) aka Wimpy; Fell out a Window as an Infant and was Badly Burned in a Fire as a Youth (b. June 14, 1937, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, 07307, USA - d. November 22, 1995, 5:20 am, Jersey City Medical Center, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, 07307, USA) Social Security Number 153548384.

Birth
Ralph was the son of Eugene Freudenberg I (1900-1956) and Florence Catherine Skinner (1901-1986).

Siblings
His siblings include: Louis Julius Freudenberg II (1922-1986) who may have married Margaret Piatt; Eugene Freudenberg II (1924-1945) who died on Luzon in the Phillipines during World War II; and Arthur Oscar Freudenberg II (1929- ) who married Jane Gilliland (1935- ).

Fall from window
When Ralph was about a year old, he fell out a window and landed on a wrought iron fence and was hospitalized for a puncture wound to his lung. He was waiting to see his father coming home from work and he leaned against the screen and fell on the fence.

Fire
Around June of 1941, he was burned in a fire in Jersey City. There are three versions of this story:
 * Richard Charles Freudenberg II (1932- ) says that there was a bonfire and he was dressed in an Indian costume and was pushed into the fire.
 * Winifred McManus (1928- ) says he was tied to a tree and set on fire.
 * Arthur Oscar Freudenberg II (1929- ), his brother, says that Ralph was locked in a shed and the shed was set on fire. Arthur says the vandals were John Smith and Frank Smith and they lived at 233 Central Avenue in Jersey City.

Hospitalization
Ralph was hospitalized from the burns for almost three years and the event was reported in the Jersey Journal, but the article has not been located yet.

A. Harry Moore School
Arthur also says: "He was at the A. Harry Moore School in Jersey City for disabled children. The school couldn't even take care of him and he was sent home, my mom would care for him. Ralph was later in the the Pollak Nursing Home on Clifton Place in Jersey City, New Jersey."

Wimpy
Marilyn Heyny (1936- ) says that: "He was called Wimpy, after the character in the Popeye cartoons. He had gangrene on his leg when we visited him in Jersey City in the late 1950s. The smell of the gangrene was awful. The leg was probably damaged from the fire. He never married or had children."

Declared incompetent
In 1993 Ralph Freudenberg needed surgery and they looked for his next-of-kin to give consent. They tried to find his brother Arthur in Keansburg, New Jersey but Arthur had already moved to Florida. They contacted other Freudenbergs in New Jersey including the family of Richard Freudenberg. Ralph had a cytoscopy performed on November 26, 1993. The court declared Ralph an incompetent on November 29, 1993 and had it made retroactive to November 24, 1993, 12:25 pm. On February 25, 1994 an arterial venous shunt was inserted and Ralph was on dialysis with renal failure.

Death
Ralph died on November 22, 1995 at Pollack Hospital at 100 Clifton Place in Jersey City.

Burial
He was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave in Grave 102, Row K, Section H, Block 3, Holy Cross Cemetery, 340 Ridge Road, North Arlington, New Jersey. The funeral was arranged by Alvarez-Marshello Funeral Home.

Name
Ralph Freudenberg was named for Ralph Kohlman (1885-1957) who married his aunt, Ada Augusta Freudenberg (1884-1957). Ralph left him $3,000 in his will when he died in 1957.

Uncompleted task
When the Jersey Journal is scanned and converted into text in the future, someone must look for the articles on the fire.