My Dad

I knew we would be leaving Hood River soon when I took this picture of Steel and my dad. Dad was holding Steel when I realized that they looked very much alike. I always wanted a child that had eyes the color of my dad's. They are a deep, deep blue all the way through. They are mesmerizing. I think Steel probably looks exactly like Dad's baby pictures. I know he looked just like mine.

We miss Grandpa like crazy.

Whenever I bring up my dad in conversation, the people that know him always comment, "Your dad is so great." or "Your dad's awesome." Stuff like that. I kid you not. Every time. I can only say it's true. He is great. They just don't make men like him anymore.

We are so grateful to the Lord for letting us keep our Dad and Grandpa when he beat cancer 2 1/2 years ago. Interesting note: Dad called to say he had cancer the day that I found out that I was pregnant with Steel. When he called to say it was not the typical prostate cancer, but the "killer kind," that's the day that I got morning sickness and it lasted until 22 weeks.

How can anyone describe my dad?

He's definitely a good ole boy. He's as masculine as they come. When I was little, the only time he would cry was when he watched Little House on the Prairie.

My dad did it all. He worked tons of hours doing construction to pay for his 7 kids. He ran a little dairy farm for a while. We never had anyone come in to do any work around the house. He maintained all the cars, appliances, did all the remodeling, trimmed the horses hooves, you name it. He's a self-proclaimed, "Jack of all Trades, Master of None."

He's a friend to everyone he meets. I can't say that he likes everyone because he is a very good judge of character. But he doesn't pass judgement on people very often. Sometimes his redneck tendencies surface. {Seriously, my sister gave him a "You might be a redneck if...." calender for Christmas one year. It got to where it wasn't funny because they all fit Dad.}

The greatest thing I would like my sons to learn from their Grandpa Dennis is his love for his fellowmen. He lives to serve. He is never too tired, never too busy, never disinclined to help anyone in need. He always listens and only rarely gives advice when not asked.

My dad traveled all over the state of Oregon watching me play softball and then basketball. He coached all of us kids for years in either sport. He would take me to the gym and rebound forever or to the baseball diamond and hit grounders forever. Only a couple of time did he drill me during batting practice. ( I didn't realize it was on purpose until he couldn't control the giggles anymore.) He was always the best fan in the stands. I am grateful for the time he took to support me even if he was wearing a green turtleneck and red suspenders or an orange plaid shirt and rainbow suspenders. I could always pick him out in a crowd.

My dad has always been a lady killer. All my friends talked about how good looking he was. Wherever we went women flirted and he flirted back. But as kids, we always knew his loyalties lay with my mom and it was just good, clean fun.

But he wasn't only about sports, he stressed education for us. He expected us to be the smartest and to get the best grades. I always did because I didn't want to disappoint him.

My dad has a great voice. He sings bass in the choir. He is always asked to emcee church events and narrate programs. We dubbed it his "church voice" because it would drop an octave. We loved it.

My dad didn't come from a great, supportive family. He had a loving mom who did all she could to take care of her kids. He had always made sure we would never judge her. But his father was behaved atrociously towards him family. I am in awe that my dad could be raised like that and still give his children a stable home and a loving environment to grow up in with no cares in the world. Truly a testament to his character.

My dad has tons of sayings that he repeats repetitiously. He says things like, "age before beauty, but I got you beat both ways," when you talk about getting old, "better that the alternative." when you say what's up? "sun, moon, stars...." How are you doing? "About 5'9" (a lie, maybe in cowboy boots). "First I wished I could sing, then I wished you could." When he passes gas, "Works pretty good since I got it fixed." During pinochle when you don't know what to play, "this is where the cheese gets binding." "Diamonds are a gorilla's best friend (to tune)." The list goes on and on...

It has been hard for my family to be far away from Grandpa Dennis. Normandy, in particular, felt the loss the hardest. We love him and are grateful for getting the chance to have him as our family patriarch for as long as the Lord sees fit.