A tribute to Albert Spradling Jr.

To the editor:

"A labor of love" is how the late Albert Spradling Jr. described the work involved when he took on the case of a 7-year-old boy who was found unconscious and suffering from smoke inhalation and malnutrition in the house where he lived with his mother and her boyfriend. He had been locked in the basement for several days -- the mother and friend left town -- when the house caught fire.

The boy's father traveled from overseas to take him home when legal obstacles of this highly publicized case made it essential for a lawyer to take over on behalf of the father. Retaining a an attorney, however, was unaffordable for the modest waiter from the former Yugoslavia. That did not prevent Spradling from stepping in quickly and offering his services free of charge.

It is impossible to estimate the countless hours he and his son, Albert Spradling III, spent sorting through red tape and contacting authorities both in this country as well as overseas in order to reunite the little boy with his father and grandparents. This was finally accomplished a number of months later. The joy of that reunion was overwhelming.

It was an honor and privilege for my husband and me to have played a minute part in these events. We could never fully express the respect and regard we had for the late state senator and still have for his son.

BRIGITTA TINSLEY, Cape Girardeau