You have to smile when thinking of Al Wade of St. Charles

The Cheshire Cat had nothing on Al Wade when it came to smiling. It was a trademark on the face of the 82-year-old St. Charles man, no matter what his mood.

"He was always smiling," Jim Wade said of his father, who died Aug. 15 after a long illness and years of coping with Alzheimer's disease. "He could get mad at you, but he was still smiling."

Wade's biggest smile may have come during a round of golf at Pottawatomie Golf Course one year in early December.

"One of his favorite stories was when he reached the green on hole No. 3 at Pottawatomie in one shot," Jim Wade said. "Anyone who has played at Pottawatomie knows how tough that is because the hole (a par 4) is protected by the pond and trees.

"But the funny part of it was, the tee shot bounced off the ice on the pond and went on the green."

Stories about athletic feats are prominent among reflections on Wade, who moved his family to St. Charles in 1965.

Wade excelled in nearly every sport he tried, starting with a horseshoe championship at age 11 in Connecticut.

"He played football, baseball, boxing and tennis," Jim Wade said. "He loved them all, and he eventually took up golf and played nearly every day."

His football prowess may have saved his life - or at least kept him out of harm's way - during the Korean War. After playing fullback and kicker for an undefeated team at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., in 1949, Wade joined the Army and played several sports.

"He was in the artillery unit and was being sent off to Korea, but his football coach complained that they were sending his fullback out, so they transferred him to military police duty," Jim Wade said.

His other love in life was his service club, the Tri-Cities Exchange Club, which friend Harold Warren introduced him to nearly 30 years ago.

"Al Wade was one of the best friends I ever had," Warren said. "I greatly enjoyed playing golf and bridge with him through the years, and our golfing buddies often joked that Al was the best golf ball finder there ever was.

"He always had a great sense of humor and a positive outlook, and he lived life to the fullest."

Like many other men of his era, Wade was transferred around the country for his jobs in clothing and food distribution, living in Connecticut, Kansas City and Indianapolis before moving to a St. Charles home on Ferson Creek Road in Wild Rose.

"From the kids' perspective, he was a good provider," Jim Wade said. "It was nothing extravagant, but if one of us needed a bike for our birthday, he got it for us.

"At his 50th wedding anniversary, I joked with him that he never did get us the ponies we wanted."

Six sons and several grandchildren survive Wade, but his wife of 55 years, Barbara, passed away three years ago.

To accommodate family travel plans, a memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 10 at the Congregational United Church of Christ, 40W451 Fox Mill Blvd., in St. Charles.