It's sort of strange, in a way, to be mentioning it here except that a lot of you are my "friends" in a way. He was 88 and had a ton of friends, and was the kind of guy who plowed the neighbors' driveway because he was already on the tractor. He retired about 20 years ago, after a career with Mathy Paving. The folks at the local pub have said, only partially joking, that you could set your watch by Chet and when he showed up for his morning beers - never more than 2. He used to play a lot of Euchre, but he out lived most of the guys he used to play with. He and Mom raised 4 grads from the UW and 2 others who run their own businesses in rural Wisconsin. I can't think of anyone in the Melrose area who didn't like him, even when he was a curmdugeonly and opinionated ass. He was a helluva hunter. He's the kind of guy that folks like BES would have loved to hoist one with, and maybe he did somewhere along the way.
He died late on Saturday, and after a lot of tears, there was also a lot of laughter that ensued, sort of the Norwegian equivalent of an Irish wake except that we'll do it two more times after the viewing and the actual funeral. My wife calls my family a "Stepford" family because we all get along well, and the nieces and nephews are pretty much the same - they also laugh a lot and like each other, so maybe there's hope for us after all?
RIP Dad - you were loved and admired, and you never stopped sharing your efforts with anyone who needed help. We will all miss you, but lots of folks will never forget you!
He died late on Saturday, and after a lot of tears, there was also a lot of laughter that ensued, sort of the Norwegian equivalent of an Irish wake except that we'll do it two more times after the viewing and the actual funeral. My wife calls my family a "Stepford" family because we all get along well, and the nieces and nephews are pretty much the same - they also laugh a lot and like each other, so maybe there's hope for us after all?
RIP Dad - you were loved and admired, and you never stopped sharing your efforts with anyone who needed help. We will all miss you, but lots of folks will never forget you!
