I have so many great memories of Dad that it’s hard to know where to begin.  Dad always put his family before career or personal considerations.  I remember when we were living in Fullerton and he would plan a “boy’s get-away” where he and I would motor over to Catalina Island in our 16’ Owens cabin cruiser, trolling for bonito along the way, then anchoring in Avalon harbor where I paddled around on my surf mat with my mask and snorkel looking at the fish below.  I also remember when I was in Indian Guides and we went on a camping trip where each family had to make a teepee for their accommodations that night.  All the dads assembled their teepees by wrapping butcher paper around their teepee poles, but Dad, being the engineer that he was, made our teepee out of canvas.  Needless to say when the winds started later that night we were the only “little piggies whose house didn’t blow down”.

When we moved to the Alamo we decided to get a dog.  I think Dad used his engineering problem solving skills to calculate the perfect dog for us; a dachshund we named Brandy.  Brandy was a great little dog but he had a bad habit of biting people.  I remember one incident in particular.  Dad was always doing some kind of home improvement project and after one of these he had some leftover concrete which he fashioned into a circular stepping stone.  He decided it could do with a bit of personalizing, so he decided to put the dog’s footprints in the wet concrete.  Brandy didn’t appreciate the gesture and bit him on the hand.  When Dad went to Kaiser for treatment he had to explain what happened…the doctor’s response was..”I would have bit you too.”

But my fondest memories were of spending summer weekends boating in the Delta.  We all used to marvel at how 30 minutes after leaving Lauritzen’s yacht harbor you felt like you had left the civilized world a million miles behind…like being on the African Queen.  We’d anchor the boat in Fisherman’s Cut or Potato Slough then go for a late afternoon swim; happy hour commenced promptly at 5:00.   Mornings usually started with a pre-breakfast water skiing session so we could have the water to ourselves when it was just like glass.  Afternoons were spent reading a good book, catching a little sun and cooling off with a jump in the Delta off the back of the boat.

I think I took these experiences for granted when I was a kid but have since come to appreciate how magical those times were and what a special person I had for a dad.  Dad will always hold a special place in our memories and our hearts and will be part of our Grandpa and great Grandpa stories for years to come.   He will be missed.