Sometimes I miss my dad

Sometimes I miss my dad. 

 

I hear colleagues talk about picking their dad up from the airport or having dinner with their dad.  Pretty mundane stuff, but I think they are fortunate.  That is never going to happen again  for me and my dad.

 

He was a good thinker and a great dad.  He had many interests.  When I was young, I was very challenging to him.

 

He was careful and did not make many mistakes.  His last mistake killed him.  I suspect that a loss in his mental capacity caused his death.  He was usually very good about planning and figuring out consequences.  He failed to do so in this case and the tree got him.

 

He, and my mother, were an American success story.  He and my mother started out in an eight foot by forty foot trailer with two infants. They parlayed that into a very comfortable retirement with homes on the lake and on the ocean.

 

I was glad to get to spend some quality time with him is 2014 and 2015.  We did Christmas in Florida went to the Daytona race and to Alaska.  I could tell, and he knew that he was slipping a bit but he still had some good years ahead of him.

 

The whole hospital life support experience was something I could have lived without.  It was brutal seeing him helpless and non-reactive to anything.  Making the call was the right choice, but sad and difficult.  He got great care but there was nothing anyone could do.  As Neil said, it is better to burn out than fade away.

 

He had deep roots in the community and as far as I know, no enemies.  I was impressed by the turn out at the funeral and open house.

 

Here is his obituary which I wrote with some assistance.  Seems inadequate if you actually knew the man, but the facts are correct.

 

 

Hanna, Bruce B.

Age 77, of Medicine Lake passed away August 23, 2014.

 

Bruce Hanna was born in Minneapolis. He graduated from Fairmont High School as Valedictorian and went on to study engineering at Hamline University and the U of M. He worked for Northern States Power as a system analyst and manager.

He loved his family, lakes, mountains, travel, and working on his many projects.  Most of all, he could spend entire days happily puttering in his yard. He spent fifty years on Medicine Lake and often escaped the harsh winters in Florida.

 

A recent high point of his life happened when he hosted his three sons and their families on a cruise through Alaska. Spending time with his family and seeing the majestic beauty of the glaciers was perhaps his most fitting swan song.

 

 Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Marilyn (Moeller) Hanna; his sons, David, Steven  (Mary), and Jonathan (Brooke) Hanna; his brother Philip (Donna) and sister Kathyrn Hanna; four grandsons; David, Jr., Thomas, Jack, and Andrew Hanna; and many other friends and relatives. He was proceeded in death by his parents, Russell and Dorothy Hanna.

Service will be held at Thursday 2:00 p.m. 8-28-14 at Calvary Lutheran Church in Golden Valley.  Visitation from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.

Memorials preferred to the donor’s favorite charity or The Nature Conservancy.