Steve and I think fondly of your dad as our great scout master who spent a lot of his vacation time making life fun for a bunch of young guys.  That photograph of the scouts you have in the photo gallery is one of our favorites.  It was taken at the beginning of our hike over (and sleep out on top of) Flat Top Mountain in Colorado.  In preparation for that trip, your dad and Sarg Hemphill had found old TV antennae had taught us how to make pack frames from them.  And the tube tents we slept in he helped us make from plastic sheeting and duct tape.  That thing served me well years later as a vagabond student in Europe.  He even helped us make those felt mountain hats.  We were well prepared, that’s for sure.  But, as I recall it, all that preparation didn’t prevent us from being passed by a bunch of girl scouts as we were rising from a stormy sleep atop Flat Top!  Many of our great memories were brought to us because of the energy, generosity, and kindness of your dad.  We and many others will miss him a great deal.  As for me, when I heard the news of his passing, I went and found my little green Heinz 57 pickle pin.  All the best to you.

Doug Blomgren

Our Mom always told me that I was the one most like my Dad. And just like the boys he spent a lot of one-on-one time with me.  I think it was uncommon for someone of his generation to include his daughter in traditional “boy” jobs but my Dad didn't care because if I wanted to learn something he would show me how to do it.  He taught me how to work with tools, how to do yard work and fix things around the house. It was great quality time with my Dad. When I got older and owned my own home I really appreciated everything he taught me. Thanks, Dad.

Our Dad loved to drive so when his two-week vacation came up every summer we were off in the car somewhere.  One trip Dad decided to rent a pop up tent that was housed in a trailer like base.  You would pull into a campsite, unhitch the trailer, secure the base and “pop up” the walls and ceiling of the tent.  We camped in that thing all the way to and from Yellowstone Park.  It was late in the summer and it actually snowed in several of the campgrounds.  Needless to say it was no vacation for our mother.  Dad might have had a good time, the kids might have had a good time, but my Mom had a terrible time, too much roughing it for her.  Needless to say  we never went camping again!

My parents always gave me great birthday parties. One in particular really stands out because my Dad allowed me to have a band.  The band was made up of kids from my class and I am sure they probably knew about 3 different songs, but who cared, no one else that year had a party with a band. They were redoing the carpet in the house and decided, what the heck, let her have a bunch of kids over because they won’t wreck anything.  The band/party was set up in our finished basement and a bunch of 13 year olds showed up to party. I remember my Dad telling the neighbors after it was all over that the music was so loud the carpet less floors were vibrating.  He thought that was pretty funny.

My Dad was amazing.  When I was 14 years old he decided it was time for me to learn to drive.  We had access to a cabin my Uncle Oscar built on Lake Mary near Central City, NE.  To get to the cabin you drove on dirt county roads and that is where Dad taught me how to drive.  It was so much fun to be steering a big, heavy car (no power steering) and actually driving before I was legally allowed.  That’s how they did it back then, kids drove on the farm way before they drove into town.  Dad taught me well and gave me the confidence to know that I could handle a car. Actually truth be told maybe too well because I did on several occasions sneak their second car out and go joy riding before I got my license.  Sorry Dad.

I first met Dale when I was working at Leon's Market in Lincoln, NE. Dale and Vi were regular customers at the store. We became friends, and Dale often asked if I had any thoughts about entering the sales profession. I said it had never been a goal of mine, but some years later, upon returning from a tour with the US Army, Dale told me about an opening with his employer, the HJ Heinz Company. After I expressed an interest, Dale suggested my name to his district manager and we arranged an interview. The three of us met in the Teepee Room at the Cornhusker Hotel. Dale vouched for my personal attributes and qualifications. It was there, because of Dale, that my thirty-three years of service with the HJ Heinz Company began. In 1967, my wife, Darlene, and I were living in Norfolk, NE. When Dale transferred to the food service division, Darlene and I moved back to Lincoln, and I took over Dale's former position with the Company. Darlene and I remained good friends with Dale and Vi throughout their lifetimes.  

When I was a child, dad and I spent a lot of time together. He would take me everywhere with him: to work, to the store, to coffee with his friends. No other dads did that. He would always introduce me "this is my son Jim." I felt so proud, like I belonged. Dad and I talked about everything. He was so easy to talk to. I always felt so comfortable in dad's presence. He was never critical or judgmental. I can't remember having single argument with dad. He let me find my own way, but he was always there if I needed him. Later in his life, he would apologize when I would do things for him that he could no longer do for himself. I would always say "dad, I am just paying you back for all the things you did for me." He liked that, because I think he realized that a little bit of him is in me. When the dads of the world were handed out, I got first choice.  

One of my fondest memories with dad, among many, was the summer he and i built a sailboat. I think I was 15 years old, and needed something to keep me busy. Dad bought a Sunfish sailboat kit. I recall the cost was around $250, a fair amount of money in those days. It was all wood; beautiful mahogany. Building a boat is quite a project. There are no nails, only brass screws. Once we got the shell assembled, we needed to sand the outside, which took forever. Never volunteer to sand a boat! Then came the six coats of paint. Finally, we were ready to sail. There was only one problem: dad and I didn't know how. The first time out, we kept flipping the boat over. Boy did we get wet. But eventually we got the hang of it.

Dad kept that boat for many years. When the wind was just right, he was always out on the lake tooling around. Because the boat was made of wood, it was very light weight, and was the fastest boat on the lake. Dad loved to brag how he passed so-and-so in his sailboat.  

Dad was a life-long republican and conservative.  When the Vietnam War started he submitted to the government's assessment that it was a winnable war.  He didn't appreciate the hippie movement and anti-war protests.  He used to grumble something under his breath about hippies.

Jim graduated from high school in 1968 at the height of the war. At that time, there was no "all volunteer army." Instead, all able bodied men were subject to being drafted into the army. Jim started college under a student deferment that exempted him from the draft. But after one year, student deferments were revoked, and all college students were submitted to a draft lottery. Who would go to war became luck of the draw. Jim's birthdate was finally called after midnight at number 289, virtually assuring that Jim wouldn't be drafted.  I remember Jim going to "celebrate" with his friends.  I also remember the great relief that dad felt knowing that his  oldest son would be spared from the horrors of war.    

Perhaps out of necessity growing upon on the farm, dad was very good with his hands. He loved to make things; and if something broke, he could fix it.  Even though he didn’t have an elaborate workshop, he made many items for our household. He made living room tables, a dining room table, ping pong table, and the couch in our the family room. When we wanted to play basketball, he built a basketball backboard and hung it the the perfect height on the garage. In the mid-‘70s mom and dad built a cabin on a lake near Ashland, NE.They hired a contractor to build the shell, and dad performed all the interior carpentry, plumbing and electrical work.  He had no formal training in these trades, but he knew how to get it done.  He never used plans or blueprints. He simply saw it, and built it.

In 2012, we visited our former home at 21st and A in Lincoln. The kitchen cabinets that dad built around 1950 are still there, just like he made them. Janet still has a dresser that dad built when mom and dad were first married in 1946. In more ways than one, dad's work has withstood the test of time.    

I remember running errands with my Dad and people would salute him when we walked into a store. This may have been 1960-61 and people still remembered him as a war hero. He would always smile, salute back, and then start a conversation. Dad talked to everybody. Trips to the store took an extra 15 minutes because he had to talk to at least two strangers and possibly make a new friend. I used to think I was shy because my dad forced me to talk to strangers. When I grew up I found myself talking to just about anybody when I went out. To this day my kids tell me before we go to a store, "please make this quick and don't talk to anybody." The worst thing you can do if you are in hurry is walk into a hardware store with a Nearhood.