Grandfather's past led him to Cubs, seminary

While strolling in a Vernon Hills park, Jasmine and Sabrina Seiwert sink their hands into Grandpa's windbreaker.

Hiding deep in the pockets of his jacket, the treats are always there.

The girls know right where Grandpa keeps the candy. They know he's a sucker for sweets and spoils them rotten.

But what they don't know is that he was born Mathias John Seiwert II on Chicago's north side in 1917.

They don't know that Grandpa ran a multi-million-dollar cartage company for nearly 70 years. More than 165 trucks hauling everything from whiskey to chewing gum traversed the city.

They don't know that he attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary hoping to become a Catholic priest until he got tired of the daily three-hour choir practices and opted out.

They don't know the Chicago Cubs scouted him in the mid-1930s. The 5-foot-10-inch left-handed pitcher struck fear into batters.

They don't know that he turned the Cubs down to focus on the family business. The company was hanging on for life during the Great Depression. Not the best time to follow your dream, he says.

They don't know that he met a pretty woman named Louise in the spring of 1943. He bought her a bourbon and Coke and a romance was born. They were married for 33 years before she died of cancer.

They don't know that skyrocketing insurance rates after the Sept. 11 attacks forced him out of business in 2002.

They don't know that at 90 years old, he's outlived all eight of his siblings.

They don't know that the doctors suspect he had a mild stroke recently. He didn't even notice it.

But they do know Grandpa loves them. The candy in his pockets proves it.