Happy 95th Birthday Dad!

It's hard for me to believe, but if my Dad were still on this earth, he would have been 95 years old today! It's hard to also believe he has been gone almost 13 years. Dad saw so many changes to this world in his lifetime. He was a good man, with a kind and generous heart. He knew no enemies, and had a community of friends.
This is the earliest picture I have of my dad, taken when he was 4 years old in 1915. The baby next to him is his brother, Ned. My Dad was born on a farm in Northwestern Illinois in 1911. His parents were farmers as where their parents before them. He went to a one room school house for his education and only went as far as 8th grade. I still have his report cards, on which he earned all A's and A+'s. You never would have guessed he only had an 8th grade education.
The picture below is of him and Ned again. The are a little older and my dad is still the taller one. They also had an older sister and brother, but I don't have a picture of them together as children. My Dad loved the outdoors and sports. He was a tall and lanky young man who was quite a ball player and runner. He loved to hunt and fish and always had a garden.

This is my dad and I at my High School Graduation. I always looked up to him. He was always busy puttering with something, and never turned down a request I had to fix or build something for me. He took us hunting and fishing. He took us to the ballpark. He played Hide and Seek. Many nights he would read to us at bedtime mostly "The Happy Hollisters" mystery stories. On rainy days we would gather on the front porch and he would tell us stories of his childhood and Navy days. He loved to talk about his first car, a 1929 Model A. He would sing us the craziest songs. Many nights we would pile in the car for a trip to Bimm's for Ice cream, the real, handdipped kind.
All the kids in the neighborhood would gather in our backyard after dinner to play baseball. My Dad would pitch to each and everyone of us. He taught us to play fair and to play with together as a team. He was the greatest Cubs fan in the world.


Sorry I don't know how to do pictures right. This is a photo of my Dad and Mom with my boys. Many of my Dad's grandsons carried his name, Owen, as their middle name. He had 10 grandsons, 8 granddaughters and two great grandchildren.
I miss my Dad. I miss his smile, his jokes, his guidance and even his snoring. He was a great man, well respected by everyone who knew him. I see parts of him in my brother, my sons, and even my husband. His legacy lives on in all of us.
Happy Birthday Dad. You said it yourself when you told me you were dying of cancer, "I have lived a long, wonderful life."

:J