Father and son are roommates at Winchester House

Leslie Stahl and his son Gregg have always been close.

Whether it was watching Gregg play baseball or trumpet for the school band, Leslie has been there.

And now, in old and middle age, Leslie, 94, and Gregg, 54, find themselves roommates at a nursing home.

Their unlikely journey started 25 years ago when a freight train slammed into Gregg's car at crossing near their Round Lake home. After seven months in a coma and multiple surgeries, Gregg eventually moved into Winchester House.

Leslie missed his son and was determined to stay connected.

"I would come to see him every day," Leslie said.

Leslie visited his son not realizing that one day they would share a room at the Libertyville facility.

The daily meetings went on uninterrupted until Leslie had his own crash two years ago.

A type 2 diabetic, he passed out at the wheel.

His wrist was broken along with a number of his teeth.

Unable to care for himself, Leslie moved into Winchester House two years ago. His wife, Irene, died in 1997.

Arranging for father and son to share a room took longer than Leslie would have liked. "I think they moved me ten times before I ended up in here," he said.

The room isn't huge. A privacy curtain separates their beds. Living in such close quarters could cause some friction. But not with the Stahls.

"We try and get out of the room as much as we can," Gregg said. "That way, we don't get on each other's nerves."

The pair keeps current on daily news but also like the game shows. Jeopardy and The Price is Right are favorites.

Leslie likes to paint in watercolor and Gregg tends to his collection of nearly 2,000 movies on DVD.

"I rent them out for a dollar each," he said.

When they aren't busy with hobbies, the men reminisce about the old days. The growing-up years. The years before the accidents.

Leslie had different jobs over the decades. He worked at a hydraulic hose factory, drove a truck for a dry cleaner and assembled planes for Douglas Aircraft during World War II. "Those were prop planes in those days," he said.

Gregg played Little League Baseball and loved the Cubs. He played trumpet for the Round Lake High School band.

"We traveled to Washington, D.C. to play," Gregg said. "Dad was a chaperon on that trip."

One of Gregg's best memories is watching car races with his dad in Union Grove, Wis. The guys share a love for racing and classic cars, too.

"We've dreamed of getting a '68 Mustang," Gregg says.

The train accident left Gregg's arms partially immobile and he depends on his dad to help write labels for the DVD collection and to keep the room tidy.

"I live for him," Leslie said. "I do as much as I can for him."