My father loved to be near water. In his youth, he would watch the ships sailing on Lake Superior near Duluth and daydream of a life filled with adventures sailing the seas and traveling the world. A dream that always kept a piece of his heart. You saw it in his paintings, and in this or that boat that always lived in or near our garage. I think he would have loved to be "Captain Lounsberry" of some great sailing vessel, but he chose a life with my Mom Joyce Lounsberry and his three children; Teresa, Mark, and Ken.
My Dad enjoyed being a family man and he loved my Mom, we all saw it. He honestly wanted to make her happy and support her dreams and the visions she held for life and their family. To his last breath, this was a truth. Dad was a very talented and accomplished man. He had a career as a "Quality Control Engineer" in the San Francisco Bay Area's budding computer industry. He helped to establish world standards for quality in computer chips, a position that allowed him and my Mom to travel the world. It also gave him the opportunity to provide very well for his family, a notion he took great pride in.
He was a fun Dad, I think his way of relating to us kids was through humor. He was the Dad on the block who turned the garage into Halloween fright night to scare the neighborhood kids, sound effects included. The garage was his man cave. When he wasn't working he was out there creating things. I always believed he should have been a professional artist, he was kissed by Venus. Everything he touched became beautiful. He worked in oil paints and acrylics and also made Native American drums and flutes, and countless other things. His ability to express beauty was magnificent, and one of the things I admired most about him. Dad loved to boat and we have many memories of camping by lakes in Northern California, boating and skiing, fishing and exploring. Our favorite spot was Whiskeytown Lake, such a beautiful forest and even in the searing heat of summer, those waters were ice cold.
My dad dreamed of spending his last days in a cabin overlooking a lake. Maybe it was full circle for the dreams of his youth. Dad please know I wanted to give you that, I wanted your dreams to come true. I could see us drinking coffee and smoking on the porch watching the water, creating art, writing, dreaming. I'm so sorry the tides were against us. When I get to the other side, I will meet you there, even if just to remind you that I love you and miss you and always believed in you.
With much love,
Teresa
