One evening, when we lived in Russell,  Lon went outside after dinner to work on a project, as he did many evenings. I was standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes,  where there was a window above the sink, and I happened to look up to see Lon with a full sheet of plywood over his head. Our back yard had a small hill which sloped down to the shed and to my amazement,  there he is taking a running start down the hill with the plywood over his head and he eventually stopped by the shed. Upon him coming into the house, I asked him what he was doing outside.  He replied...not too much. I started laughing. He said don't tell me you saw what I did. I said what were you trying to do. He responded...trying to fly. 

My family and I have many wonderful memories of Lon. Our memories go back about 35 to 40 years ago when he lived in NY. We always had so much fun when our families were camping together! My sister and her husband at the time (the late Jeff Miller) always camped in a park on the St. Lawrence River. Some of time I would go along and join them. At that time Lon was married to Sharon and they had theirthree girls. His sense of humor and story telling would just have everyone laughing so hard! We all like drinking a good Bloody Mary.......I remember one time we were making a big batch ahead of time, wondering what we were going to mix them in....so we had a new small garbage can and that is what we used! We often referred to Lon and Jeff as “ Tim the tool man and Al” from the show Home Improvement! His 3 daughters and my niece Amy were always picking on him getting him wound up. Heather, Heidi and Hillary were his pride and joy. Great times that I will never forget. RIP Lon.

I got to meet Lon only after his health battle, but it was very special since I am engaged to his youngest daughter. To say I was nervous is an understatement. He shook my hand and looked me in the eye when I met him, and welcomed me into his home. He gave me his blessing to marry his daughter, and I am forever grateful for that. He had a great sense of humor and made me feel at ease when we spoke. He is dearly missed, and I promised him that I would always be good to his daughter and grandson. Our baby boy will be named in his honor. Rest easy Lon, see you on the other side!

Lori, Lon, Leland , my husband and I really had good times when we got together. His love for Lori was fun to see when we were hanging out. 
He did a fabulous job on our shower and we chatted every morning when he was working on it. He was both fun and funny and like me loved to swear! We both loved the same morning radio show, Dave, Shelly, Chainsaw, which he listened to as he worked. The show had been on for years and we both listened for years so had much to talk about.
 Lon had excellent work ethics and like our job he really took pride in all his jobs. 
I so loved helping prep for their wedding and being there for their long awaited day! It was truly an intimate, heart warming, very special day❣️Leland and I were so happy to have been there. It was a day to remember! 

Lon had this amazingly big heart. When asked if he would do something he would always complain with many colorful words but never did he refuse.  When Justin and Yasmin got married, Yasmin wanted the dance floor put together.  It was a cold, wet, rainy day and Lon very clearly said, “I’m not putting that f’ing thing together”. But he did just for Yasmin.

Lori and I started dating Lon and Ed around the same time.  When we decided to have a double date, Lon and Ed looked at one another and said “I know you”.  It’s funny how life can bring us together.  They knew each other from childhood and their bond was instantaneous.  They were brothers and loved each other unconditionally.

In the fall of 2017, just a few months before finding out about his cancer, Lon spent 6 weeks with Ed and I renovating our house.  It was a ton of work and the man worked diligently every single day!  We were so grateful to have him do this for us and everyday he kept us in stitches with his jokes and stories.  What an absolute blessing it was to have him!

We were very blessed to be part of Lon’s life.  He left footprints on many people’s lives.  He will always be with us and never forgotten!  We love you Lon and you will be missed horribly!  We know you are in heaven, telling jokes, laughing, and having a good time.