Friday, April 2, 2010

Family Friday's 4-2-10 My Father


Our party is hosted by Lori @ the Peterson Family.  Check out all the other posts and read about their families.

Today I'm posting about my father Ralph Earnest born 2-5-1924 and passed away 6-7-1992.

Dad was born in Missouri and is the youngest of 8
 children.  The earliest picture is one of him taken around 1926, he is outside with his dog Jack.

This sibling picture shows Dad with his brothers and sisters taken in around 1931.  Dad is the youngest on the right.

My Dad worked on the farm and went  to school through the 8th grade.  He had to quit school the next year and help out on the farm.  This is a picture of him at age 8.
In 1943 he enlisted in the Army/Navy to fight in World War II.  He was going to be a pilot but was grounded because of a heart murmer.  He was so dissapointed but the military trained him to be a radio tower operator.  He served in Alaska most of his tour in Anchorage AFB.  The following pictures of him during the service.While he was in Alaska he got to ski, one thing you could never do in Missouri.

He met my Mom in 1946 after his tour.  It's so funny, he was dating my Aunt Ruby at the time and my Mom walked in and he thought she was beautiful.  He started dating my Mom and they were married only after a few months.  Guess who my Aunt Ruby married--my Dad's brother Uncle Floyd.

My Dad could build anything, this is a picture of him next to a barn he built on the farm.
Looks like Dad was taking a break and goin fishin in this pic.
My Mom and Dad left Missouri in 1951 and moved to Kansas City. I was born in 1947 and my sister Kathy was born in 1951.  Dad went to Electricans school and became an electrician and co-owned an Electric Company until he retired.  They also had 2 other children Debbie born in 1952 and Lori born in 1961.


This is a favorite pic of Dad and me.

Dad was always active in church as a deacon and loved the lake.  We had a cabin at a lake resort that he built in the late 1950's. 

He worked until he was 65 and retired from the electric company.  My parents retired and moved to the country.  This picture was taken in 1991 a year before he passed away from lung cancer.

He was a sweet soul and loved his girls (all of his children were girls).  He would loved to have lived much longer but  was  called home to Heaven at an early age of 69.  My Dad was given a full military funeral and I was given the flag that draped his casket, being the oldest child.  The case sits atop of my china cabinet.

Hope you all enjoyed the history of my Dad.

Ann

8 comments:

Lori said...

I love meeting your dad. What a wonderful tribute to him! The pics are fabulous! I think it is wonderful that you have the flag as a keepsake. What a special man. And I just love that it was love at first sight for him with your mom. How sweet!

Thanks for sharing! I loved your story!

Amy said...

Thanks for playing along with us. I am glad you joined in. I just wanted to let you know I really enjoyed your post about your Dad. Amazing pictures. I need to get the picture of my Dad with his goat and his brothers. Thanks for sharing and linking up with Lori and I.

Have a great Friday..

Christy said...

Awww, what a sweet post. It is amazing that still have all those photos from early on in your dad's life. He sounds like a wonderful father. Have a wonderful Friday!

Sue McPeak said...

Hi Ann...I've read every word of this wonderful post about your Dad, and I'm amazed again at our similar lives. My Dad died of Lung Cancer on April 1, 1988 at the age of 61. So many other things in this story that are like my story. Love the pictures and sentiment of this post. I posted about my parents meeting back in January of this year before I knew you. I think you will enjoy their story. Here's the link:

http://collectintexasgal.blogspot.com/2010/01/love-at-first-sightit-happened-in-texas.html

Thanks for introducing Family Friday...I linked to it today with my post 'It's A Family Circus...No Foolin. Thanks for visiting and commenting. My quiet Mama still has that fun sense of humor.

GwendolynKay said...

Love that picture of your Dad as an 8 year old.
Blessings!
Gwen

william manson said...

excellent historical pictures :)

Tammy said...

Thanks for sharing photos and history of your dad. How sad that he is gone. I lost my mother-in-law to cancer 1993...I still miss her.

♥ Kathy said...

This was the sweetest post! Wonderful pictures and wonderful memories..I'm sorry for your loss.

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