By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
When Abelin Conde died two years ago, he left behind little worldly wealth. But the man known as “Texas,” who traversed Bowling Green on his flag adorned bicycle, left behind rich relationships throughout the community.
Along his way, he encountered people who were touched by his kindness and warmth. When he died at age 80, friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers found a common goal of giving Conde a final resting place.
The unlikely team of an attorney, a cemetery sexton, a gravestone maker, city employees, and friends Conde met on store benches came together to give the local legend a burial.
For decades Conde was a rolling landmark in Bowling Green, pedaling his bike with a plate reading “Don’t Mess with Texas,” flags waving, trinkets bobbing, and four large flashlights zip-tied to the frame.
He was born July 8, 1940, in San Benito, Texas, and died June 13, 2021, in Bowling Green.
It was a year later, when Brenda Bachman, the daughter of long-time Bowling Green attorneys James and Evelyn Bachman, was in her parents’ law office sorting through files after her mother passed away, when she got an unusual phone call.
“Your mother has the ashes of Abe Conde,” said the voice of a stranger on the other end.
Bachman had found some personal items of clients at the law office – hearing aids and family photos – but no ashes.
The caller, Scotty Huntington, said she wasn’t aware if Evelyn Bachman even knew Conde. But that didn’t matter.
“Evelyn would have been the type to take this on,” she said.
So the quest began for Conde’s ashes and for a resting place for them to be interred. And like Conde’s ability to foster friendships in unusual places – the search brought together an odd combination of amateur sleuths.
Bachman found that her mom was handling Conde’s estate pro-bono, working with two of his friends, Marie DeWitt and Linda Reynolds. After some dead-ends, it was discovered that DeWitt had the ashes in safe keeping.
“That was a relief,” said Bachman, who lives in Bethesda, Maryland, but has been coming home to Bowling Green a couple weeks each month winding up her mom’s law practice.
“We had to figure out with the little money in his estate, would it be possible to bury Abe?” Bachman said.
Bowling Green attorney Diane Huffman said she would continue researching Conde’s estate pro-bono, with the help of Amanda Eckert.
“She graciously agreed,” Bachman said.
Jim Bachman agreed to pay any court costs. Kathy Konrad, whose friendship with Conde began in a dentist office waiting room, helped contact existing relatives. And Dawn Griffin at Huntington Bank handled what was left in the estate.
“There was just enough to cover his burial,” Bachman said.
Scotty Huntington, who knew Conde from his visits to the First Presbyterian Church Deacons Shop, where he would help translate for Spanish-speaking visitors, donated a burial plot at Oak Grove Cemetery.
“But it turned out another person had already offered a burial plot,” Bachman said of Marilyn Pahl, a friend of her mother’s. That plot was in Memory Gardens.
Crystal Devore, from Hanneman’s funeral home which handled Conde’s memorial service two years before, informed Bachman that burial at Oak Grove would be less expensive.
“So we graciously accepted Scotty’s offer of the plot,” Bachman said.
From there, Bachman and Huntington met with city employees, Jill Campbell and Kathy Coombs, who walked them through the transfer of the burial plot. Then they met with Denny Guyer at the cemetery to view the location.
Along the way, Scott Domer, with Delphos Granite Works, agreed to provide “a headstone within our budget,” Bachman said. What started out as a basic headstone with his name and dates of birth and death, became a symbol of Conde’s life. His friends – Huntington, DeWitt and Reynolds – asked Domer to add etchings of a bicycle, a flag, and “Tex” which was Conde’s nickname.
“He was fantastic,” Bachman said of Domer. “It was something they thought would really honor Abe.”
Conde’s remains will be buried during a public graveside service at Oak Grove Cemetery on Aug. 14, at 11 a.m., with Rev. Elaine Bast volunteering to officiate. The headstone will be installed in October.
Huntington has suggested that each person attending bring a small flag for Conde, similar to the flags that adorned his bicycle.
“It’s really such an amazing example of a small town coming together to honor a local legend,” Bachman said.
Though Bachman never met the man, she was glad to be a part of finding Conde a place to rest. She plans to return to Bowling Green to attend the graveside service.
“I really wish I could have known him,” she said. “So many people have these amazing memories of him.”
Huntington said her motivation to help was simple.
“Everyone needs a proper burial. He was so beloved by this whole town,” she said.
As a young man, Conde reportedly worked as a truck driver out of Chicago. He labored as a migrant worker in Florida and Michigan, and worked at a cotton mill until a work accident took four fingers of his left hand.
When he first moved to Wood County, he lived in Dunbridge and would pedal his way to Bowling Green nearly every day. For his last 22 years, Conde lived in the Arbors apartment complex near Walmart in Bowling Green.
A silhouette of Conde riding his bike was included in the community mural at the corner of East Poe Road and North College Avenue.
After riding his bike to destinations around the city, Conde enjoyed sitting watching people at Walmart, Big Lots, Arby’s, and Goodwill.
Many at the memorial service met Conde through happenstance, but remained friends with him for years.
Ray Ybanes, of Bowling Green, first met Conde in 2007. “He was outside sitting on the bench at Walmart,” Ybanes said. “He used to go to McDonald’s to have breakfast every morning,” and quite often Ybanes would join him.
Kathy Konrad also met Conde when he was sitting, waiting for a dentist appointment. Her children, very young at that point, asked Conde about his missing fingers. “We just kind of hit it off,” Konrad said, recalling that her dad often helped Conde with bike repairs.
Linda Reynolds met Conde at the senior center. “He’s been a friend of mine ever since,” she said.
Jean Ladd met him at Walmart. “He would sit in Walmart and watch people going by,” Ladd said. “We called him an angel in disguise.”
Maria DeWitt met Conde at McDonald’s. “I was coming in for a quick lunch,” and found a friend for the next 15 years. “He was just family,” DeWitt said. “We became good friends. He would come over for Christmas and Easter dinners.”
Conde could also be found sitting during his weekly stops at the First Presbyterian Church Deacons’ Shop, where he acted as a translator for many who could not speak English. Janet DeLong, who organized the Deacons’ Shop, said Conde had his regular chair to sit in as he chatted with the men while the women shopped.
“He kept track of the farm community and knew just when to expect workers to arrive in the area,” DeLong said. “He shopped for several people, who were not able to come into the shop.”
Then, “he would pack things onto his bike and off he would go,” DeLong said.
