Celebrating a Life

It's sad when you lose a family member and a hero. My dad passed away a week ago now and I miss his big character and great sense of humor. He was a wise man who put his family first because he did not have a father and mother to raise him. He and his two brothers Ed and Rob were raised by my old Dutch great grandfather, who had more stories for three life times. My grandfather hung around the family bar, in Walkers Point Milwaukee and left his three boys to fend for themselves. Family was everything to my dad.

He was a Great Dad:

He hammered home the importance of family and gaining the wisdom of God to make it through life. We were told over and over to love others like God loves us and leverage the skills God gave us. He loved his kids, grand kids and great grand kids. We were always safe and secure plus had shelter, food and love. His sense of humor permeated the rooms where he was at all times. My mom, Carol, and younger brother Mike were always laughing with him or at him.

Dad was a Great Employee:

Dad worked his tail off to keep us going and he put in lots of hours pursuing safe transport of passengers and freight. He would work many hours to keep us going and my mom held it all together with her upbeat attitude.

Dads Dreams:

He wanted to be a pilot and worked his way up to a multi-engine & instruments flight instructor from bringing home a surplus air trainer (BT13) like the one pictured below that his brothers timeshared together. For a while he had his own Beechcraft Musketeer, like the one pictured below, that he finally sold when he hit 74. After that he gave lessons and dragged gliders for a while.

Dad was a Sportsman:

He loved to shoot trap gun and fish for muskies. He was my fishing buddy from when I was age 5 to recently when his COPD caught up with him. He and my mom bought a cabin on a lake with seven acres and 500 ft of lake access. He pursued muskies with abandon and earned every one including a 30 pound trophy still hanging in the winterized cabin that my mom and dad kept going. Mom loved all the animals that came to the multiple feeders they kept fresh. My dad heated his house with wood until he hit the early 80s. We had to talk him into natural gas.

Bottom Line:

He was a good man who taught us all what it meant to strike the balance of family, fun and worshipping the God who made us and gave us plenty. So long Pops!! Say "hi" to Andy and the others that have gone on before us. Rest in peace now that you are free from a broken body.