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Valentines Day

March 24, 2019

Norbert, as everyone knows, hated fish. Shortly after he joined us,we had a potential customer visit us. The customer was extremely important and we needed to take him for dinner on Valentines. Norb was upset as he could not spend Valentines night with his beloved wife.

The next order of business was to find a restaurant that had avalibility on Valentines. We found one restaurant that had availability, and they only served fish, no meat This we only ascertained when we sat down and saw the menu. Norb’s face told the whole story. Not only had he sacrificed having dinner with his beloved Valentine, but now there was nothing for him to eat. He did enjoy dessert 

Needless to say every Valentine’s Day he would make a point of coming past my office and asked if we could go for a fish dinner. 

Norb the void you left cannot ever be filled. The only way to fill a minute amount of that void is to remember your great sense of humour and the gentleman that you were. 

You are sadly missed my friend, but not forgotten.





Celebration of my father's life

April 16, 2013

On March 24th my father passed away.  At his request instead of mourning him, we had a ceremony to celebrate his life.  This was the speech I gave at the ceremony.  Hopefully it will give some of you a little insight at what a wonderful man he was.

Hello, my name is Victor Norbert Duepner, and besides my middle name there are a few thing I inherited from my father.  A slightly larger than average nose, a slightly smaller than average chin, that's why we are both fans of the beard, a receiding hairline.  Although, there we differ.  He looked good and made his work were I said "Oh, so you want to recede do you? Nyum nyum!"  (sound effect of electric razor)

 

He also had  two quirks.  My sister inherited one, which is when they clean their right ear with a Q-tip, they both cough.  The one I inherited, and both my children have, is that if we are somewhere were it is dark, and we come out to a bright light, like the sun, it makes us sneeze.  Not a bunch of times, just once.

 

The main thing I inherited from him, which my daughter Dulcinea can attest to is his "corny-ness gene".  Her father, just like mine, has a corny sense of humor. 

The first night we arrived here I saw her looking thru her suitcase.  "What are you looking for?" I asked.  "The charger to my phone".  Without hesitation I said "Now that we're here, I guess that makes it a San Diego Charger" and I realized that's the kind of thing Dad would have said .

I remember one time when we lived in Missouri, I was eating breakfast and my Dad was looking out our backdoor into the back yard.  "Come here son" he whispered.  "What is it Dad" "See over there?  That rabbit in the back yard?" "Yes" I said.  "Doesn't it look like he's eating something?"  "Yes" I said with intrigue.  Then he yelled out "Are you eating Bugs Bunny?" and we both proceeded to laugh our heads off.

 

Another thing I remember about growing up is that sometimes we would have a game night and many times we would play password.  It was usually boys against the girls, so the teams were my Mom and Julie against my Dad and me.  Many of you know my Dad was a man of few words, but he knew how to make them count.  I remember one particular game, the password was "canoe".  My mom gave the clue "boat' "ship" Julie guessed.  Now it was our turn.  My dad used the same clue, but he also used his fingers to make Indian feathers.  "Boat" he said, with the non-verbal Indian clue added, it was obvious it was canoe.  My mom and Julie accussed us of cheating, but we won.

 

The other thing about playing Password with my dad was that if I got the clue right, he would say "Yes" or "That's right" or something similar.  If I got the clue wrong, on the other hand, he wouldn't say anything.  He would just do what I came to describe as his "suck lemon face".  Say for example the password was "grape", if he said "purple" and I said "Pimpernel" he would go (demonstrate suck lemon face).

 

Many people claim to have memories of a being a baby in a crib.  Others claim to have memories from the womb.  From the time I was born, I don't remember anything prior to Kindergarden.  I do however have a memory from before I was born.  God came to me and told me I was to be blessed.  That I was to be born to wonderful parents, Norb and Leti Duepner who would be the best parents anyone could ask for, and that I would also have a fantastic sister named Julie who would look after me and protect me.  Then he said that he would like to give me a gift.  He said I could choose between having the most fantastic memory, to be able to remember everything having only seen it once,  or he could make me a terrific lover.  You know, I can't remember why I started telling you this story,

 

The one thing I didn't inherit from my dad was his genius as a metallurgist.  I couldn't tell you the difference between silver and platinum.  They both look the same to me.  I know gold, that's the yellow one.  I don't know anything about alloys except that if Iron Man and the Silver Surfer teamed up together, they would be alloys (allies).  That's the kind of joke my dad would like.

 

Besides being funny, he was a great dad.  Many boys when they are little have teddy bears.  My son still kept his, his name is Rudolph.  The bear, not my son.  My son's name is Darian.  My favorite stuffed animal growing up was a lion.  His name was Lion.  I'm not sure how I came up with the name.  Of course being little, I called him "my liron".  One day when I was in Kindergarden, they had show and tell in school.  What a treat it was for me, I could bring my liron, my buddy to school and tell everyone how he was my friend and protector.  So I did.  Then it came time to go out and play, time to go home,  time for dinner, watch TV and then time for bed.  Where's my liron?  Oh no, Ieft him at school!  How could I sleep without my liron?  He guarded me while I slept.  He made sure the monsters stayed under the bed and in the closet so I could sleep safely.  I felt afraid, so I started to cry.  My mom and dad asked what was wrong, so i told them.  My dad asked me if I knew where in the school I had left him.  I told him I did, so at night, in the dark, when the school was closed, my dad took me to that school, and convinced the night watchman, who only spoke Spanish because this happened in Mexico, to let us in so I could get my liron.  I went home and was able to sleep well knowing I had my protector.  Years later I realized that I had many nights of restful sleep because I had my protector, but it wasn't my liron...it was my dad.  Love you Dad!

April 10, 2013

This might be one of the most difficult thing I’ve had to do here at Argen, but I feel I owe it to the man who I’ve spent half of my entire life with.

 

November 21st, 1988 will be a date that will never be forgotten.  Jackie and Juanita both approached me with joy and said that I would be working with a

“Dear Old Man”, the Argen family knows him as Norbert, but here in the lab he was simply “Norb” (well at least that’s what his casting glasses say).  Little did I know that the next 25 years to come this “Dear Old Man” was not going to be a Supervisor but would rather become my 2nd father.

 

Daddy, you filled the lab with rays of sunshine and memories of a lifetime.  There is a huge void here at Argen, here in the lab, and most of all in our hearts.

 

You will never ever have to worry about your computer and keyboard not working right!!!

 

Your daughter

Usha

Norbert! You were such a class act!

March 29, 2013

Always offering to help me when I was in customer service! (You always took my transfer calls when I was training – even when they weren’t supposed to go to you and you never got angry with me) You invited me to come to your department so you could educate me a little about the alloys and solder...I learned a lot from you and thank you so much for that. 

Norbert was one of the most hard-working people I have ever met and as busy as he was, he always had time for everyone. It never mattered what time of the day, or what time of the month it was at Argen…Norbert was always there to help or educate.

I loved the fact that I saw you every morning and that you had a piece of gum for me…I never was a gum person, but chewed it with you anyways. You were so happy when I bought you a box of gum! Our favorite was the fruit-striped kind (I forget the brand-name) I enjoyed our chats together about our favorite country (France) and I am so happy that you and your wife got to go last year.
Even though I am no longer at Argen I wanted to come here and write to you and write about you. 
Norbert you are a force of positive energy that this world could learn from! What a sweet and caring man!  Everyone's friend…how blessed and honored I am to have known you!
Thank you for being such a great colleague, and my friend.

My thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to your family and everyone at Argen

Norbert, I will always remember you! RIP XO  <3 Tina Montgomery

 

Patience

March 28, 2013

......And Norbert, your patience with me was impressive!  Again and again I would ask you the same things and you would respond as if it were the first time I ever asked.   I always told you when you retired I would have to retire because I would not be able to function without you.  I SAID RETIRE.  

You are so missed, I know I do!
   

Note from Anton Woolf

March 27, 2013

March 25, 2013
Dear Argen Family,

Today is a very sad day for our Argen Family.  Yesterday evening, our friend and colleague, Norbert Duepner passed away. 

I am very saddened by this sudden loss, but I am so thankful for the 26 years I had the honor and privilege of knowing and working with Norb.  Norb was literally a giant in the dental industry and respected by everyone who knew him. After joining the Argen Family on August 5, 1986, he played a significant part in building up one of the strongest Technical Support Departments in the industry. This in turn was a major part of Argen’s overall success in the United States.  We are so grateful to Norb for his incredible passion, care, and loyalty!

Norb first took me under his wing when I was in Junior High School doing my first Science Fair Project. He took great care and pride in showing me how alloys formed an oxide to bond with porcelain.  When I officially joined the company in 2001, he presented me with the pictures he had kept from 1990 telling me that he was “very proud of me.”  He had a way of making everyone feel great!

In 2010, Norb was named 2010 CDT (Certified Dental Technician) of the Year.  This was an amazing honor for Norb and for the entire Argen Family.  We were so thrilled and proud that the entire Dental Lab Industry was able to recognize Norb for being such a positive influence on the lives of so many people.  Norb actually entered the dental lab profession at the age of 13. He was a 50 Year CDT (1 of only 8 in the USA) and a Master CDT (one of only 56 in the USA).

Norb’s wife Letti called me this morning to share the sad news.  She said that Norb truly loved the entire Argen Family and was so thankful for everything we have done for him and his family.  I had the honor of telling her, “no, we are so grateful for everything Norb has done for my family, our company, our colleagues, and the entire dental community.” 

Norb, thank you and we will miss you!

Anton Woolf 

Norbert Duepner

March 27, 2013

I was heartbroken today when learning of the passing of Norbert.

I had the honor and privilege to interview Norbert more than 25 years ago in San Diego.

I was immediately impressed with his openness, honesty and charm. Hiring Norb was one of the best, and certainly the easiest decisions I have had to make.

Norbert built our technical department into the standard of excellence that every competitor tried to copy, but were not able to achieve, because they lacked the magic ingredient, Norb.

Norbert had a unique way of having the customers tell him what they were doing wrong. He was never adversarial and the customers adored him. He was known and respected by the dental industry worldwide. He was an incredible ambassador for Argen. He carried the flag with pride and  enthusiasm.

Norbert was always upbeat, polite, warm and caring. We are all better people having known and learned from him.

Norb you will be sorely missed. And the legacy that you created in the dental industry for yourself will endure for many, many  years.

Our sincerest condolences to the family on this irreplaceable loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this sad time.

Goodbye Norb you will be sorely missed.

Selwyn

Thank you For Being You

March 27, 2013

Grandpa!

*I’m sorry that I never got to give you the big portrait of me for your desk, hopefully the mini one will be sufficient. I just searched through my email reminders and yep there it is with the subject line: “Find Big Picture for Norbert’s Desk!” I was just trying to find the perfect photo for you and really you would have been happy with ANY photo. Why couldn’t I just have gotten this done.

*I’m sorry the dry cleaners lost the gold tooth pin you gave me (that everyone was jealous of in the lab!) This pin meant so much to me, you really have no idea.

*I’m sorry I never got to finish organizing ALL of your files (you wanted this done so badly in order to clear the clutter and I just never had enough time to really get it all done).

I’ll never chew another gum without thinking of you. As it is I still have a bag full of gum from you because I only chewed a little piece at a time so that it would last longer.

Thank you for the purse you gave me, honestly one of the most beautiful gifts I’ve ever received! It’s my favorite and my favorite color… how did you even know!?”
Thank you for taking the impromtu picture with me in your office and smiling so big, even though others were frowning upon it!

This has taught me to never let things just slip away, there is always time if one makes the time. I don’t want to live with regrets. I would rather fill my memories with “I’m glad I got to do this for you, I’m glad I spent so much time with you…” Thank you for teaching me this valuble life lesson. I hope I can make you proud.  

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