

She remembers him reciting Bible verses to her. He helped her move into a new home in Des Moines and would phone her or even stop by and knock on her door each morning to make sure she was getting up and going to work. In the wake of her bitter 2004 divorce, Oglesbee helped her get back on her feet as a single mom with two young kids, ages 1 and 3. She grew up with Oglesbee and now lives in Kansas City, Mo. “He might not even know how many lives he’s touched.” Oglesbee was the only person who visited her while in treatment. She’s been clean for nine years and is engaged to be married. Whether through his letters to her while he was in prison or his help on the outside, she credits him and her Christian faith with her rehabilitation. She’s a former meth addict who was good friends with Oglesbee for decades. Just ask Angie Brammer from Cedar Rapids. But he also was a hero in ways that those of us who gazed on that famous photo never realized, ways that didn’t lead to a Pulitzer or a handshake with the governor and a grip-and-grin award at the Iowa State Fair. Yes, he had a checkered past on the police blotter. I want to pay Oglesbee a proper tribute that also rings true. They describe him as selfless, always willing to help.Īfter our first conversation, Ralph-Neely called me back to make sure what I was writing didn’t leave her guardian angel buried beneath his lifetime of problems. These friends mourn him as a genuine hero in their everyday lives - with all his flaws intact.
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Oglesbee's life was full of struggles, such as drug addiction and time in prison, and like any grieving mother, Steward isn’t keen to dwell on them.īut I spoke with numerous people who praised Oglesbee, not as some remote hero spotted in a fleeting glimpse of international news coverage, attached to a feel-good story line.
