b'VII son, brother and advisorThe Wentcher kids should thank you for all the things youhave given themgood father firstmoney, second.Ernie WentcherE rnie Wentcher took after his father Otto in many ways including his business acumen and love of horses. For them there was always much to talk about. The two maintained a close relationship and they would exchange advice as well as confidences in both professional and personal matters. It was Otto who urged his son to enlist in the Navy before the draft became law. He also helped him get on his feet when he returned to Chicago and started working at The Equitable, closely monitoring his finances. As Otto aged, the scales tipped.After his mother Pauline died in 1945, Ernie was disgruntled somewhat when a woman from his agency, Hester Bone, began to show interest in Otto, now age sixty-five. She also may have been Ernies nemesis at the company. Hester Bone let Ernie know how she was performing, and he was lacking. If she did not outsell him, she met her quota every month, explained nephew John Chamberlain. Edith Phelan, Hesters daughter-in-law and a family friend, thought the budding romance was good for Ernies father. She described Otto as a delightful man who wore a monocle and a beret and spoke French. When he was in town hed come over to the house and he and my husband Dick would sit in the back yard and reminisce about their war years. I told Otto that if he didnt take my mother-in-law off our hands, Dick and I would not remain married!Ernie was not fond of Hester Bone, who was some fifteen years younger than his father, and he had much to say on the matter. In a letter to his father on the subject of their relationship, he said,'