As usual, we always remember things that we should have said after the fact. We were a little overwhelmed with everything that needed to be done for the service, practicing music, and thinking about what we wanted to say. Of course, that is when your mind goes blank and you can't think. But I still want to share a few things of what we and some others remember about Dad.Friends of ours in our teen years and boyfriends were subjected to the 1/2 of a whitewall cleaning while he or she was in the house. Dad was famous for this prank. Dad loved his whitewalls and felt that everyone should keep them white like his. This was his gentle reminder to others that they were negligent in this area. He also collected quarters for whatever reason. As a result, he jokingly charged all of our friends and the neighborhood kids quarters for every little thing and they would reply "just put it on my tab." Rhonda Urban Smith reminded me of that one. Also, a note from Stacey Miller reflected on her memories of Dad and the Red Rider BB rifle and how he used to call her and Melissa the "gritchy girls." He loved jazz piano music, trumpet and brass. His favorite color was red. He had a red tie on for his final appearance and Mark, Jacob, Nick and my friend Ed all wore red ties. Alison and Hannah also wore red in honor of Dad and Hannah made a red friendship bracelet that she tied on his wrist before the viewing. There were many men that came to the viewing that worked for Dad at Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad. Every single one of them said what a man of integrity Dad was and what an honor it was to have him as their boss. They highly respected him. I wish I would have counted how many there were. What a testimony that was of Dad's character. That's just a few things for now. More will probably follow.
