Ever since Victor was 24 years old, he has never missed a WWE wrestling match on the television. He began gaining interest in wrestling due to his son’s interest in the sport. The two of them would watch the matches together on TV or drive to watch a live match— it quickly became a father-son hobby that they enjoyed together. Now at the age of 93, Victor still continues to religiously watch his favorite wrestlers on the television. Currently residing in Delaware, OH, Victor yearns to have the opportunity to once more see a live match since he has been unable to attend one for nearly 30 years. His Wish of a Lifetime would be to attend a WWE match in Columbus, OH in July of 2016.
Victor served in the US Army in WWII as a tail gunner in the 421st Bomb Squadron from 1943 to 1946. During his tenure with the US Army, he was awarded a ribbon with three bronze stars, in addition to a WWII Victory Medal. He was honorably discharged in February of 1946 at the rank of a Corporal. After his service, Victor became a lifetime member of the local VFW in OH. He then started working for Nippet, a Copper Company, as part of the maintenance crew. Due to current medical ailments, Victor is unable to enjoy most of his old favorite hobbies but continues to keep up with WWE. He also enjoys helping with gardening, collecting John Deere tractors, going to swap meets and spending time with his family.
Victor has always been a family oriented man and has devoted most of his life to ensure his loved ones were taken care of. At 16, he met the love of his life, Betty, when he worked on her father’s farm as a teenager. Even when Betty was around, she too took an interest in WWE— they each had their own favorite wrestlers and would have friendly competition to see whose guy would win. To this day, Victor carries around a picture of Betty from when she was 16 years old to have a constant reminder of his beautiful wife. They had nine children together, including one adopted daughter named Mercie—she and Richard remain as his primary providers. Its been at least 30 years since he was able to watch some of his favorite wrestlers in person with his son. To this day he never misses a fight and will become grumpy if Mercie or Richard do not wake him up to watch. “My dad is always talking about the wrestlers as if they were his personally buddies saying, “wonder what the boys are up to tonight,” says Richard.”
Wish of a Lifetime was excited to make Victor’s wish a reality by sending him, Mercie and Richard to Columbus, OH on July 4 when WWE Monday Night Raw was in town. WWE made Victor feel even more special by sending him a care-package that included John Cena’s infamous “Never Give Up” hat and t-shirt, along with an autographed photo. Victor stated, “I can’t believe someone I don’t even know would care this much about me.”
“I can’t pick one particular moment that I liked the most. The whole night was perfect, and I felt like a kid again,” said Victor.
