It was two years ago on November 2, 2007 that my dad passed away. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about him and about my mom, but this month of November is especially tender when I think about my dad. He was such a charismatic and genuinely friendly man...everybody loved him. He was such a wonderful father and I miss him so much. I was with him when he passed away and he died just six days shy of his 90th birthday.
This is a photo that my cousin emailed me recently. In this photo my dad is holding Garry Rick, my cousin. It was taken in Lyle, Minnesota where my dad grew up. My dad was 100% Norwegian and we often heard him say, "ufdah," a Norwegian word that means pretty much whatever the speaker wants it to mean. I have always thought that my dad was a pretty handsome guy...notice that he has a full head of hair in this photo. He was a fighter pilot in WWII and flew in North Africa during the war. I learned that he had to bail out of his P38 plane three different times...once in Egypt in the dessert, once over the Mediterranean Sea and once over Three Sisters in Oregon. I guess we were lucky to have him around as long as we did, for he certainly had several close calls during the war. We didn't find out about his war experiences until a year before he died. I guess it wasn't something he had ever wanted to talk about before that time. I was grateful that he finally told us or we would never have known.
My parent's gravestone in Portland, Oregon. My mom passed away on January 10, 2005 and I was there to witness her passing as well. She will have been gone for five years this January. My mom and my dad were special parents and grandparents and we all miss them. My comfort is in knowing that they have gone on to a better place and that we can be together as an Eternal family after this life. I am grateful for this blessing from our Heavenly Father.
It was two years ago on November 2, 2007 that my dad passed away. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about him and about my mom, but this month of November is especially tender when I think about my dad. He was such a charismatic and genuinely friendly man...everybody loved him. He was such a wonderful father and I miss him so much. I was with him when he passed away and he died just six days shy of his 90th birthday. 
This is a photo that my cousin emailed me recently. In this photo my dad is holding Garry Rick, my cousin. It was taken in Lyle, Minnesota where my dad grew up. My dad was 100% Norwegian and we often heard him say, "ufdah," a Norwegian word that means pretty much whatever the speaker wants it to mean. I have always thought that my dad was a pretty handsome guy...notice that he has a full head of hair in this photo. He was a fighter pilot in WWII and flew in North Africa during the war. I learned that he had to bail out of his P38 plane three different times...once in Egypt in the dessert, once over the Mediterranean Sea and once over Three Sisters in Oregon. I guess we were lucky to have him around as long as we did, for he certainly had several close calls during the war. We didn't find out about his war experiences until a year before he died. I guess it wasn't something he had ever wanted to talk about before that time. I was grateful that he finally told us or we would never have known. 
My parent's gravestone in Portland, Oregon. My mom passed away on January 10, 2005 and I was there to witness her passing as well. She will have been gone for five years this January. My mom and my dad were special parents and grandparents and we all miss them. My comfort is in knowing that they have gone on to a better place and that we can be together as an Eternal family after this life. I am grateful for this blessing from our Heavenly Father.
