Well, I suppose "obsessive lawn enthusiast" wouldn't've sounded nearly as regal as "salesman" and "brutal paterfamilias" was a little too on the nose...
The timeline, at the time of his father's death, says the old man still owed $8000 on the house...which sold for $15,000 in 1958...meaning the old man kept borrowing against its appreciation I guess. Turns out the "I buy, pay off, & pass on 1 house in my lifetime" plan his Dad dreamed up had a few holes in it...
Good thing his father died before Buk "made it." Can you imagine the rage...hearing his son slapped $18K cash on the barrelhead for a brand new BMW? That would've killed him to see his screw-off writer son living the dream...(granted, that would've been 1979...but still)...
Anyhow, thanks for the interesting glimpse into the family, fainancially.