Letters From Alcatraz - Michael Esslinger [209]
Ed Miller retired less than a year after the incident, and moved back to Leavenworth, where he had begun his career with the Bureau of Prisons. He died in March of 1967 at age seventy-seven. Robert Baker finished out his career at Alcatraz and later retired to Napa, California, in the heart of the wine country; he died in March of 1978 at age sixty-seven. Robert Bristow took a custodian job for a school district in Sacramento, where he lived throughout his retirement. Ernest Lageson became a schoolteacher in nearby Pittsburg, California, and died tragically of cancer at the young age of forty-two. Lieutenant Joe Simpson died on January 31, 1960, and was buried at Fort Leavenworth.
Cecil D. Corwin recovered from his wounds, and returned to work in the prison system. He continued to have medical problems as a result of his injuries, including blindness in his left eye, and was declared permanently disabled in May of 1948. Cecil and his wife Catheryn moved to Stockton, California, where he undertook studies in psychiatry. He later moved to Pomona, California, and worked as a psychiatric technician for the remainder of his career. He retired to Long Beach, California, and suffered a fatal heart attack in July of 1967. Joe Burdett retired to Woodland, California, and died in October of 1983 at age eighty-seven. Carl W. Sundstrom retired to Alameda, California, directly across the Bay from Alcatraz, and died in March of 1973 at age sixty-seven. Irving Levinson retired to Lake Ellsinore in Southern California, and died in 2002. Officer Elmus Besk remained in San Francisco following his career at Alcatraz, and passed away at the age of sixty-one, before reaching his retirement, in March of 1972. Ed Stucker remained in the Bay Area and retired to Palo Alto, California; he died on March 11, 1990, at age eighty-six. Isaac Faulk also remained in the Bay Area following his departure from Alcatraz, and sought other employment opportunities. He retired to Novato, California, and died in December of 1986 at age eighty-seven.
Henry H. Weinhold was classified as permanently disabled due to his injuries, and lived out his retirement across the Bay from Alcatraz in Marin; he died in April of 1967 at age seventy-six. Bert A. Burch moved to Arizona and retired in Coconino; he died in November of 1974 at seventy-three. Emil Rychner remained in San Francisco following his long career on The Rock and passed away in January of 1980 at age eighty-six. San Quentin Warden Clinton Duffy retired and successfully authored two books about his life as the Warden of San Quentin. Duffy and his wife Gladys retired to Walnut Creek, California, where he died in October of 1982 at eighty-four. Cretzer’s brother-in-law Arnold Kyle was paroled in his senior years and died in November of 1980 in Lynnwood, Washington at age seventy-one.
After a lifetime of rebellion, James Quillen changed course and began the long journey to bettering himself and preparing for his transition back to free society. He began taking extension courses through the University of California, and earned a trade certification as an X-ray technician, while working in the Alcatraz Prison Hospital. Once released from prison, he lived a quiet life, later retiring as the Chief of X-ray at the Rideout Hospital in Marysville, California. He later authored a compelling memoir of life on the Rock entitled Alcatraz from the Inside and appeared frequently as a guest author on Alcatraz following its opening as a National Park. Jim died on October 6, 1998, following a short illness and was buried at the Vacaville-Elmira Cemetery in Northern California.
Clifford Fish had one of the most prominent careers on Alcatraz, serving from August of 1938 until March of 1962. In total he worked for twenty-four years on the island, serving the majority of his time in the Control Center. Fish retired to Grass Valley, California, until his passing in November of 2002. He remained an extraordinary historian of 1946 events.
Phil Bergen led a remarkable