Tuesday evening as I drove North through Texas, I received the call. My father had passed sometime between Nurses checks, at aproximately 6:30 pm PST.
He had suffered several small strokes and a couple of heart attacks , had Diabetes ,Type2 and although had developed Alzheimers over the past few years, He passed in his sleep, apparently without distress.
His wife was out with her friends that evening and it fell to me to tell her.
There is no good way for that to happen, btw. She had been there with him that afternoon and had taken them up on their offer for dinner, so she missed the phone calls and the drive- by notification by the local PD.
Dad was a ham radio operator (K4HQQ, then W6FAH) and had CQ'd every continent and almost every nation, even some that don't exist today. "Our "hobby, when I was a kid, was collecting flags from operators in those nations. I was pretty cool showing up for "Show & Tell" with hammers and sickles on flags when the topics of Governance would come up in grade school.
His Collins radio collection is pristine and in show room condition. He knew Joe Walsh from Ham Radio. He also CQ'd the late King of Jordan. He got around, so to speak.
Dad was a Electronics Engineer with an emphasis on Nuclear / Atomic Engineering in the 1155th Technical Research and Development Squadron . He was a member of the team that developed the hardware for atmospheric sampling for Atomic Weapons Testing Verification for the Air Force in the late 50's. As such, he was transferred to Japan from 1960 -1963 and flew several sorties near Soviet Airspace with "his" hardware, in order to insure it's successful deployment.
Even late into the 1980's he would get visits from guys in dark Federal sunglasses, and they would retire to his radio room for private discussions. If I were a more paranoid sort, There would be material there for some conspiracy theory to keep Government Secrets secret by nefarious people, but I'm not. yet. (j/k)
After leaving the Air Force, he turned his talents towards helping people and joined Picker Nuclear as a technician for Northern California and spent several years servicing various types of Nuclear Scanning and imaging equipment for Picker and then Raytheon.
He had receieved his Masters Degree in Hospital Administration, and served as Operations / Facilities Manager for Highland Hospital / Alameda County, as well as similar postions at St. Joesphs Hospital in Stockton and one in Napa / Sonoma whose name escapes me at the moment.
Dad encouraged my musical career by making me build my first Bass Guitar amplifier (Heathkit 30 watt RMS amp kit and our custom pre-amp) and design and build the speaker box. (single 12"tuned and ported Bass Reflex made of glued and screwed 1"Particle Board) when I was in the 7th grade.
I then went on to build a lighting system that I would haul around to the school dances and eventually sold to a local club band. They would come by the house, pick me and the gear up, and we would play at some local club ( I was 15) and be the only white person in the club. ( I speak Jive, fluently). When I sold the system to them a few years later, he knew that me becoming an X-Ray technician was not in the cards.
When I finally received my first Platinum Record for my work with JOURNEY, I gave it to him and it went on his office wall, right behind his head, so that everyone who walked into his office HAD to see it. I know it was a source of considerable pride for him.
I'm getting verklempt....just talk amongst yourselves.
I love you Dad, and am glad you are not suffering anymore.
Rest in Peace.
He had suffered several small strokes and a couple of heart attacks , had Diabetes ,Type2 and although had developed Alzheimers over the past few years, He passed in his sleep, apparently without distress.
His wife was out with her friends that evening and it fell to me to tell her.
There is no good way for that to happen, btw. She had been there with him that afternoon and had taken them up on their offer for dinner, so she missed the phone calls and the drive- by notification by the local PD.
Dad was a ham radio operator (K4HQQ, then W6FAH) and had CQ'd every continent and almost every nation, even some that don't exist today. "Our "hobby, when I was a kid, was collecting flags from operators in those nations. I was pretty cool showing up for "Show & Tell" with hammers and sickles on flags when the topics of Governance would come up in grade school.
His Collins radio collection is pristine and in show room condition. He knew Joe Walsh from Ham Radio. He also CQ'd the late King of Jordan. He got around, so to speak.
Dad was a Electronics Engineer with an emphasis on Nuclear / Atomic Engineering in the 1155th Technical Research and Development Squadron . He was a member of the team that developed the hardware for atmospheric sampling for Atomic Weapons Testing Verification for the Air Force in the late 50's. As such, he was transferred to Japan from 1960 -1963 and flew several sorties near Soviet Airspace with "his" hardware, in order to insure it's successful deployment.
Even late into the 1980's he would get visits from guys in dark Federal sunglasses, and they would retire to his radio room for private discussions. If I were a more paranoid sort, There would be material there for some conspiracy theory to keep Government Secrets secret by nefarious people, but I'm not. yet. (j/k)
After leaving the Air Force, he turned his talents towards helping people and joined Picker Nuclear as a technician for Northern California and spent several years servicing various types of Nuclear Scanning and imaging equipment for Picker and then Raytheon.
He had receieved his Masters Degree in Hospital Administration, and served as Operations / Facilities Manager for Highland Hospital / Alameda County, as well as similar postions at St. Joesphs Hospital in Stockton and one in Napa / Sonoma whose name escapes me at the moment.
Dad encouraged my musical career by making me build my first Bass Guitar amplifier (Heathkit 30 watt RMS amp kit and our custom pre-amp) and design and build the speaker box. (single 12"tuned and ported Bass Reflex made of glued and screwed 1"Particle Board) when I was in the 7th grade.
I then went on to build a lighting system that I would haul around to the school dances and eventually sold to a local club band. They would come by the house, pick me and the gear up, and we would play at some local club ( I was 15) and be the only white person in the club. ( I speak Jive, fluently). When I sold the system to them a few years later, he knew that me becoming an X-Ray technician was not in the cards.
When I finally received my first Platinum Record for my work with JOURNEY, I gave it to him and it went on his office wall, right behind his head, so that everyone who walked into his office HAD to see it. I know it was a source of considerable pride for him.
I'm getting verklempt....just talk amongst yourselves.
I love you Dad, and am glad you are not suffering anymore.
Rest in Peace.