Fr. Dreiling spearheaded the lst reunion of the 92nd. Evac. Hospital, in 1974. It was such a huge success that plans for the next reunion started immediately. Since we had a daughter, who’s wedding was a week after that reunion, I didn’t get to go. It wasn’t long until I got to meet that special person, Fr. Dreiling.
Fr. was living at the Seminary at Carthagena, Ohio. It was close enough to Indianapolis, that he could visit us frequently. That was the beginning of a life long friendship. He was famous for his meatballs and rolls and often insisted that we invite all the family over for his special meal he would cook for us.
I don’t know how many times father retired. He would get to feeling better and off he would go on another assignment. Failing health would bring him back to the seminary. One operation we were afraid he wouldn’t survive. They had to remove all of his stomach. That slowed him down for sometime but he still had a lot of years ahead. There were times he would call us and say, “I’m exhausted, can I come over and rest for a couple days?” After a meal we knew he wanted to rest for awhile. A half hour or hour later, here he comes out looking very refreshed.
Dr. Dreiling was a dear friend. He was an inspiration to our family. I’m so very pleased that our son, Joe, had this great desire to write this “Our Padre”, so that others can appreciate our special friend.
Author : Marcella Smith