Jun 18, 2012

Remembering Dad

Charles Sylvester Strobel
My Dad.

My Dad was a great man in all aspects of his life.  He began life in poverty with his Mother trying to raise all her kids alone.  He and my uncles would try to get any jobs they could to help pay any little bit they could to make things easier on my Grandma.  My Grandpa was a blacksmith and became an alcoholic and abandon his family for "their own good" or so he thought.  

My dad was a hard worker, fought in WWII, came home and went back to school even though my sister and I were already born, to become a mortician and help people during the hardest time of their lives.  As life would have it he was given another opportunity to make more money for his growing family and took it working his way up to President of Sargento Cheese Company.  By now he had 9 children with the woman he loved.  

He always stayed true to his own self through all of his journeys in life and had the best sense of humor.  One day he came to my house from an auction he went to wearing this quilted coat.  He strolls in like nothing was going on eating plums from a bag that a friend had given him.  Of course he knew how much I loved quilts and gave me this coat and the sleeves which were not attached.  It is still like this in a drawer and everytime I look at it I remember this happy day.  

I miss him so much and always will.  He died at the young age of 70 from complications of bypass surgery, now 19 years ago.  He was a great man.

2 comments:

WoolenSails said...

You have to finish that coat. My dad is gone too, our dads lived in a time where they worked hard to achieve their goals and for their families.

Debbie

Libby Fife said...

What a wonderful story and tribute to your father. We just don't know these days how the older generations managed to begin from nothing to make such a wonderful and rich life for themselves and their families later on. Really nice, Barbara-thanks:)

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