The story of my dad.....  

I loved my dad.  He was not a perfect man by any means and there were some years we got disconnected. He made mistakes (as we all do).   But I'm so thankful that we got to spend so many years visiting,  fishing and enjoying life together. He was a fun and loving grandpa to his grandchildren.  I am also so thankful he took me to Catholic Church when I was a kid, and introduced me to a belief in God.  He was not a religious man by any means, but dad told me that he never lost his faith.  He also took me camping, fishing and hunting where I gained a great appreciation for the great outdoors.   My faith and my love for trout fishing all started because of my dad.  And he always told me he loved me.  Always. 

He was born in Dover NH and after high school headed west to join the coast guard at Lake Mead in Las Vegas, NV.  He learned how to become a pretty good mechanic during his time in the coast guard, working on boat motors part time, and eventually as an appliance technician working at Sears.  While at Sears he met my mom, Barbara, and they started their married life together.  I was the first born and a year later, Julie came along.  When I turned 5, dad took me trout fishing up in Panguitch Utah, not far from Las Vegas.  I was "hooked"!  From then on, dad and I went on MANY fishing trips and we were still fishing together until about 5 years ago.  When I was 6 years old, dad introduced me to the game of tennis. It became a passion and I eventually went on to play competitively through high school and one year of college.  When I turned 10, we moved from Las Vegas to Merced, CA for one year.  Dad and I went fishing just about every weekend that year and had many fun trips to Yosemite National Park.  So many stories of catching fish, falling in the Merced River, camping and eating twinkies.  

From there we moved to Ventura where dad finished his career at Sears and eventually bought an appliance repair company.  A good friend of my dad's, Dick Allen, introduced us to ice fishing in the Sierras.  Man, did we have some fun and exciting years fishing and catching BIG trout on Lake Sabrina and South Lake just outside Bishop, Ca.  On our first ice fishing trip a guy caught a 15lb trout through the ice... biggest trout I've ever seen!   And it's a lake record that still stands today.  Those were some of the best times with my dad.  During this time my brother, Patrick, was born.  He came fishing with us and we enjoyed some fun trips together before his death many years later.  Those were some tough years...dad and mom divorced. Dad met Marybell and they eventually married a  few years later.  By this time I had already left home, graduated from college and was married to Tanya.  We had started our family and dad was "Grandpa Norman" to Tabitha, Trent and Tara.  This started the annual trips to visit dad and Marybell in Montana.  Dad had moved to the Yellowstone Valley where he built his dream home.  He hunted deer/elk and fished just about every day.  He met some WONDERFUL friends and I was blessed to get to know a few of them.  Floating and fly fishing on the Yellowstone River with dad during those years was a bucket list for me (thank you Terry).  Dad always cooked venison on those visits. We all enjoyed eating the venison "back straps" that dad would pan fry in flour and butter. It became his signature dish when we visited him or he came to visit us in San Diego.  

Dad was competitive.  He and I always competed in everything.  Tennis matches, fishing, playing board games.  It didn't matter. If there was a game of any sort, we were either placing bets or trying to out do the other. Yahtzee was a family favorite... we played that game for hours.  It was fun.  He taught me how to compete.  He taught me people skills.  He taught me about sales and eventually all that paid off in my insurance career.  Thanks dad. 

Dad was a jokester.  He loved pranks and so did I.  So you can imagine which day became a sacred holiday for us:  April Fools Day.   This went on for years where we tried to out do the other with a prank.  One year I got him real good one April Fools morning by driving his truck around the corner and then waking him up with "dad, someone stole your truck".  He ran outside in his underwear screaming and yelling.   LOL.    It was awesome.  Unfortunately that truck did get stolen some years later when I took it to college (dad was so bummed).  Dad got me a few times too.  In my first year of college, he arranged for my landlord to inform me my rent check had bounced.  That was a good one.  Well this fun tradition finally came to an end when we agreed to a truce and we no longer were allowed to call or text each on April 1. LOL.  It was so much fun while it lasted. 

In dad's later years, he became a tax preparer.  This allowed him to stay connected to people and work with numbers, both things he was passionate about.  He finally retired a few years ago.  He and Marybell moved from Pray, MT to Helena MT and eventually to Lake Havasu City, AZ where they enjoyed warmer weather and quiet evenings.   He experienced a micro-stroke in 2024 which began a slow decline in his health.  He enjoyed watching sports in his last few years of life and we shared texts and phone calls often.  Thankfully he received good care from his doctors and Marybell.  

Dad, thanks for introducing me to faith, fishing, the great outdoors, sales and making people laugh.  I'll miss our laughs and jokes together.  Rest in peace.  Love you.