Gone on before
I recently made this video with windows movie maker as a memorial.
Every time the phone rings these days I cringe.
Seems like every week I lose another friend or family member.
My Memorials to those gone on are spread out over the internet, here I shall add these few.
The latest loss our family experienced was that of Carole Marie Abrams of Oklahoma city, in the summer of 2010. She was my first cousin and we had many a good times when we were young. Shown here at a visit in Chicago around 1956 or so..
She was the widow of David Abrams. He passed in his sleep on the 2nd. of July 2008. He is the one shown setting behind me in this picture.
David and I knew each other since around 1957-58 when he first started dating my cousin Carole in Oklahoma city. We never really got together over the years and that is my loss indeed. David played the Dobro and was an accomplished musician, often playing at various bluegrass festivals, he also was part of a four part gospel singers group for many years releasing multiple recorded albums.We did get to sit down together at the family reunion in 2005 where we played music for my Mom, she had never heard the two of us together so that was a good feeling on my part.. David was a sincere good-natured guy who will be missed by all of us, and surely be remembered by all that knew him.
On the left is Joyce, my first wife mentioned in the 60s portion of my story. This was the lady in the restaurant in Norfolk.
Ours was a stormy relationship lasting some 10 years or so until our divorce in the early 70s.I will be covering this portion in my Life Story at a later date She passed away in 2005 but before she did we had put away all the animosity between us.
In the middle is Paul Wallen, my ex- Son-in-law.
He was married to my Daughter Kim (at right) from 1986 till 1997 (I think), and gave me my first Grandson Larry, followed by my Granddaughter Bonnie.
Larry gave me my first Great Granddaughter, Hannah Ann in Jan 2008.
This is Paul and Larry at Larry’s wedding in Jume of 2007
Paul and I shared a lot of good times both in the real world, and at rendezvous where he was known as “One Mock”.
We camped at the old Mattoon rendezvous before it moved to Ringle, and stayed in a homemade Baker type tent that was made out of cotton bed sheets sewn together. That worked fine till the dew started coming through in the morning, then it got a tad wet. Thank God it didn’t rain ALL weekend, just the one day. I had made him a pair of Moccasins, and somehow one got lost, hence his buckskinner name.
| In 2006 I lost My Mother to a long illness in Oklahoma She is buried in a small country cemetary on hiway 3 just east of Lane Ok. |
 Mom in 2005 |
Mom’s marker In butler Cemetary |
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| Recently I took a trip to the veterans cemetery in Ft. Gibson Oklahoma and visited the gravesite of my Dad. His headstone is shown here. |  |
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My Stepmother Phyllis is buried on the other side of my Dad. |
| I met Norb (Walks with bear) from Crandon, at one of my very first rendezvous back in the early 90s. We remained friends untill his passing and shared many a camp over the years.. Every time I hear in my head that old Hamms beer commercial “From the land of sky blue waters”, I think of Norb. |
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| Brother Bruce, a Trekker from southern WI. also passed away a few years ago. I got my little baker tent from him. He was an ordained minister and married Smurf and Bluelips. |
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A feller that used to come to our rendezvous, usually hitching rides, was Little John, He portrayed a French “Voyaguer” and made canoe paddles. He camped primitive style with just a tripod, and the bare essentials to cook with. |
| “Old Chief”… He was in his 100s when he passed. Old Chief used to do pewter smelting and made wooden stuff at different events. |
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Larry Fisher. He was a club member and a woodworker who made tons of wooden items. Larry Loved a trade, pictured here in a round robin trade. |
