February 11th Would Have Been My Dad's 60th Birthday.

My dad died suddenly at home when he was just 56. As far as I know, he had a heart attack and went pretty quickly. (There was just never a good time to ask his wife about the final moments of his life. I don't think she was there when he went, and of course she was totally devastated.) I'll never forget how I felt when I heard the news. I wasn't expecting it at all, of course, but I just didn't know how emotional I would feel immediately after hearing about it. I was overcome with despair. I normally don't cry very easily, but this experience and my reaction to it proved to me how deeply I cared (and still care) about him. One of the hardest things about it was that I hadn't seen him in 4 years, and then my chance was permanently gone. He and Kathleen lived in Arizona, and it wasn't easy finding the money and time to visit there. Cora was 7 months old when we visited him last. My dad was actually in pretty poor health for many years. He dealt with frequent blinding headaches and was always exhausted, among other things. No diagnosis was ever decided. It shouldn't have been a huge surprise to me that he died so young, given all his health problems, but it really was. I just never prepared myself for the day he would go. I never really imagined it would happen, and especially so instantly that nobody got to say goodbye.

He was a brilliant man. The thing I loved most about him when I was growing up was his sense of humor. He would often make up impromptu little songs about things or people. I remember laughing so hard and thinking he was hilarious! And he was. He had quite a repertoire of silly voices. He played guitar and had a nice singing voice. I think that's where I got my love for choir. I also inherited the McCaleb belch. :) He had impeccable handwriting and enjoyed calligraphy. He wrote and published a couple of business related books. He served in the US Navy during the Vietnam War, and one of his good friends died when two missiles hit their ship. My parents divorced when I was about five, so after that we only saw him maybe once a year. I always looked up to him and loved him so much.

When he would come to town, he'd take us kids to Arby's, Flying Pie Pizzaria, or The Pantry to eat. (Those were the favorites, at least.) We'd go play frisbee or feed the ducks at Ann Morrison Park. I remember riding around town in the car and he was coming up with funny street names, like Barfbag Boulevard and Airsick Avenue. I love fun memories. I miss him.

After his funeral, my uncle gave each of us kids a CD with songs performed by his high school and college choirs. I love having that and I've listened to it several times. We also got discs with pictures from his life, some of which are posted below.




This is my Grandma McCaleb with her two little boys. Gary's on the left and my dad, Robert, is on the right.





This is a college photo of my dad, I think it was his Freshman year. He sure was handsome.









One time when he came to Boise for a visit he decided we needed a club house in our backyard. So we helped him build one. It was fun, and I have vivid memories of it. It lasted a lot of years.









This was him as a toddler. Such a cute picture. Little boys just don't look like that anymore.










I don't know when or where this pic was taken, but I love it. It really captures his personality.













This was taken around the time of my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary, I think.








That's me on the far left, then Erin, Dad, Megan and Gavin.

The gang again. Also pictured: Lori and Brian (the Cabbage Patch Preemies) and Ginger, the teddy bear.