Memorial Day Memory .....of my Dad

Wesley, my Dad...

5/6/1921 - 1/20/2000

I still miss him.

Some things I remember about my Dad...

He was a very strong personality.. and was the head of our house.

My parents were not perfect, far from it. But when you look back in hindsight, the things that may have been painful fade, and the strengths are more obvious.

My father was of that "Great Generation" ...who did not hesitate to sign up during WWII. He lost many good friends during that war, and remembered them, they were great Americans.

He wrote many letters during the war time, and we have them secure in a precious wood box, to someday be put in a book for us siblings.




When we were young, he knew how to put the fear of dad in you.
You did not want to cross him!

He did not waste materials, he recycled... before it was in to be green!

He also did not waste money, having grown up in the depression, and seeing his father lose everything...he understood how important it was not to waste your money. (For those of you who know who Dave Ramsey is... this was my dad!)

Save up for something you want, don't spend more than you earn, live within your means, save your money!

He and my mother were good with money, and he had made some smart real estate investments.

In the second picture, notice the little sign that said "If you want to retire rich, start raising Rabbits". He had this on his shelf at home, and I scooped it up after he was gone. In our house his rental houses were the "rabbits", some year the rabbits were thin, others they were fat!

He was District Manager for a large typewriter company (remember typewriters??!), that he had been with for many years. When it was bought out by a larger Corporate company, and he was fifty, he was told to let go of some long time employees. He told them it was wrong, and quit.

This ended up beginning his new chapter in life, as he was able to call this "retirement" ( I told you he had been smart with his money!), and was able to change his life direction. They still had a small "late comer" child named Jill, at home when this happened.

Time flew by and as Jill was older and was gone on her own, my parents became world travelers, they were definitely not tourists.

They could fly off to London, or France, or Scandinavia or China, or wherever... at the drop of a good bargain airfare. We would not have a clue where they were on any certain day!




My dad made bread. When he was older he would make bread every Sunday morning, very clever marketing of himself! He would call and say.. fresh bread, right out of the oven.. first come first served..come get your loaf of dad's homemade bread. What he would do to get his kids to come by!

My dad was an eloquent writer, and had beautiful handwriting. He dabbled with painting, he raised guppies, until my daughter Tamis ( the age of 2) turned the heat up on the aquarium..oops sorry dad!

He grew African Violets for a while, they were everywhere in the house!

He dabbled with things in the garden, and to this day there are plants such as Peonies, Poppies and Peach tree's that always make me think of him. I grow most of them in his honor, this keeps him alive for me.

In the picture you will see the funny little glass salt and pepper shakers. When he was a little boy he bought those for his mother. My father loved his mother, and she loved him, he was the youngest of 3.

My father loved his 5 children, and his family. The Holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas, were very important to him, as we would all be together. I have not missed a Christmas Eve with my complete family... ever! Thanks to dad!

If any of us talked of moving away... well that did not sit right with him at all!

He loved our country, and he flew the Flag...proudly. I also fly the Flag proudly, and learned this from my father.

Our Nation is the most wonderful Nation in the World. My father started with nothing and died blessed beyond words, in more ways than one.

Only in America!