This memorial website was created in the memory of our loved one, Danford Post, 69, born on January 9, 1943 and passed away on August 18, 2012. We will remember him forever.  Please share thoughts, stories, remembrances and photos.  Any tributes left on this site will be read at his memorial service on Sunday, September 2nd, 2012.  Thanks for all your support.  --The Post Family


Obituary:

Danford Lester Post (Dan), 69, passed away after a long battle with cancer on Saturday, August 18, 2012 at his home in Phoenix, Arizona.  Dan was born January 9, 1943 to Kenneth and Barbara (Bodman) Post in Rockland, Maine, the older of two children.  He graduated from Skowhegan High School in Skowhegan, Maine in 1961.

Dan served in the Navy at the Weymouth Naval Air Station in Weymouth, Massachusetts where he met his bride and the love of his life, Nancy Elaine (MacKenzie) Post.  They were married in Avon, Massachusetts on May 3rd, 1966.

In 1966 Dan and Nancy moved to Maine where he began his long career working for AT&T.  In 1972, Dan and Nancy built a house in Hudson, Maine where they raised their four children.  While living in Hudson, Dan enjoyed hunting, gardening, blacksmithing and working on his farm.  In October, 1994, Dan moved his family to Phoenix, Arizona.  In 2005 Dan retired from the telephone company and started his own custom ironwork business, which he called “Turning Point”.  He created many beautiful works of art including many custom residential gates around the valley.  He also taught himself to paint and was a very prolific painter until his death in 2012.  Dan was also known for being a devoted husband and father and for his dry sense of humor and kindness.

Dan is survived by his father Kenneth Colby Post; wife, Nancy; Son, Kenneth (Chris) Post; Kellie (Christopher) Hebert; David Post; Brian Post; grandchildren, Cameron, Gabby, Alexis, Logan, Harper; cousins, Beverly Cantara, Dickie Miller; numerous nieces and nephews  and his brother Donald Post.

A memorial service and family visitation will be held on Sunday, September 2, 2012 from 10AM-4PM with the memorial tribute at 12:05PM (the time of his death) at his home in Phoenix, Arizona.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of the Valley or the American Cancer Society.  Those wishing to sign the guest book may do so online at www.danford-lester-post.forevermissed.com.


Eulogy:

Hello and welcome.  My name is Ken and I am Dan’s eldest son.  I would like to thank each of your for attending our celebration of my dad’s life today.  We have all been incredibly grateful for all of the love and support we have received in these difficult times.  It has helped to give us the strength we have needed to take the first steps forward in a life that is now changed and transformed in a way that is still difficult for us to imagine…a life without dad.

 As my siblings and I talked about what would be an appropriate ceremony for our Dad, we decided that since he was not a formal person, an informal ceremony would be the best.  We also thought that the most appropriate venue would be here at his home surrounded by all of his artwork and ironwork that he created as a way to leave a lasting legacy for those of us left behind.

For those of you that have been to his memorial website, you may remember that the song I chose on the site is Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”.  For those of you who knew my dad that choice of song probably made a lot of sense.  My dad certainly marched to the beat of his own drummer, hippy pony tail notwithstanding.  Because it was so important for him to live life on his terms, he also was generous enough to allow each of his children to do the same.  He loved us all for who we were even though each of us was so very different.  He didn’t care.  He celebrated our differences and allowed us to live the life that we wanted, not the life that he wanted for us.  For that and more, Dad, we are here today to honor and celebrate you.

When I think back on my childhood, I think of happy times.  We grew up in the country in Maine on 16 acres of land.  16 acres of land meant a great deal of space for my brothers and sisters and I to play.  16 acres of land also meant lots of work.  When I picture my dad in those days, I think of him as constantly busy.  My dad was one of those people who was always working on a project.  Building a barn, plowing the snow, cutting firewood, planting the garden, cutting the grass, working in his blacksmith shop.  This is how I remember my father.  He was always doing SOMETHING.  Those somethings were almost always motivated by wanting to provide the best upbringing and life he could for his kids.  He saw to it that we had everything we needed AND almost everything that we wanted.  He always did as much as he could and sacrificed many times for each of us.  For example, he sold his tractor which he used to garden with and to plow snow to help pay for my tuition while I was on college.  It was always about his family.  As a result of his generosity, he taught us to give and to be generous as well.  We also all learned about having a good work ethic.  For that dad, we are here to say thank you.

Our house was the house in the neighborhood that everyone always wanted to come to.  It wasn’t only because we had lots of fun things to do.  The reason so many people wanted to come to visit was the warm, welcoming and accepting environment that our parents created for us.  Ours was the party house.  The house for not only our family but for those that were not as lucky as we were to have such a loving environment.  As a result, my parents were always “adopting” someone or giving someone a temporary home.    That unconditional love, generosity and acceptance that we all received has been a wonderful gift that continues to give for all of us.  I can truly say that it has made my life much richer and more fufilling that it might otherwise have been.  Thanks Dad for showing us that example and for teaching us how to treat others.

I have so many wonderful memories of my father, it is difficult to narrow them down but here is one of my favorites that I think represents the kind of person he was.

One time, I remember getting in a fight with my parents right before a band concert.  I don’t remember what happened but I remember that they were so angry that they told me that I was not allowed to go to the concert.  Not to be daunted, I got into my band uniform, went in to the bathroom and locked the door.  I opened the window and jumped out and ran down to the road to my friend’s house to see if I could catch a ride with him.  Oh, did I mention that it was snowing pretty hard?  I caught my friend in time and got a ride to the concert.  Later in the evening as the performance progressed, I remember looking out into the audience.  There in the audience I saw my parents watching the concert with pride, anger forgotten.  I will always remember that.  Dad was always proud of his kids and always was supportive of everything that we did that love and support instilled in us a great confidence that has allowed us to accomplish many things.  I so appreciate that support.  It helped me to learn to believe in myself.  Thank you for that, dad.

When my father retired from the phone company he decided to take a leap of symbolize the transition from working for corporate America to finally working for himself and doing what he loved full time.  I thought that he was very brave for doing so and knew that it made him very happy even though the income from it was not always a certainty.  What was a certainty is that he was finally doing something that he loved.  Later in his life, he took up painting which remained his hobby right up until the end.  He was so very driven to continue to leave a legacy, to leave something tangible behind.  As each of you can see as you look around, his mission was a success.  Even in my own home, I can’t turn a corner without seeing something that he created: a coffee table, a painting, a candlestick.  Dad, you have seen to it that even if we wanted to forget you, it would be a tall order.  You have made the imprint that you wanted and we will always remember.   

For many years, I lived away from my family.  I remember many phone conversations with my dad talking through my problems and woes.  He was always willing to listen and gave me confidence to deal with the curve balls that life throws us sometimes.  I will always remember those talks.  I will miss getting his advice.  Luckily, I moved back to Phoenix three years ago with the desire to be closer to my family.  Even though his cancer diagnosis came only two months after I returned, I am very grateful that I did because I was able to have many wonderful times with my dad that I might not otherwise have had.  Life works in mysterious ways. 

Dad, thanks for being your own person.  Thanks for providing us all with such a great example of how to treat others.  Thanks for loving us and showing us how to love.  We will never forget you or the wonderful example that you provided to us.  I love you dad.

Thanks again to each of you for coming to our celebration.  On behalf of my family, we are so grateful for the wonderful people that we have in our life and for the love and support that you have provided to us.