Karen "Shordy" Ramsey remembers Fats

Karen Ramsey, who used to live behind Fats in Dowell, sent in this photo. She writes that there was a small street and an empty lot in between their homes. She recalls once in the early 1980s hearing a noise and going outside to see what it was. "Fats was doing some kind of hollering," she writes. "He was coming toward my house down the street and I walked over to him and he said that he was looking for his dog." Then he added: "well, not MY dog, but one that I've taken in and I can't find him."

Karen, who goes by the nickname Shordy, said she remembers walking with Fats looking for that dog.

"I use to live in DuQuoin in my years before that. When I was little I used to see him in the grocery store and he would always give me a dime."

Shordy's uncle and Minnesota Fats

The uncle of Karen "Shordy" Ramsey stands with Fats in the Fatman's driveway with one of his famous Cadillacs. "It had "MF1" on the plates," said Shordy

Karen "Shordy" Ramsey remembers Fats

My sister married a guy also from Dowell, which she's still married to, and I was best friends with his sister Laurie. One night we were riding around & made the turn in front of (Fats') house. He lived on the corner of his block, so we made the stop and turned left, it was at night, and he had the lights on in what a person would think would be a living room, it had a big picture window and his pool table in great view. There he stood in between the pool table & the window...counting his money! We thought it was a hoot.
One more thing which was just something everyone in the area was use to seeing, was his big white Cadillac parked in front of the KFC every evening, getting any left over food for his dogs.