. . . Marv . . .

May 19^th , 1983 was the day Daniel called his Dad to tell him that he was getting married, as I listened in. Marv’s reply, “oh no son! You don’t want to do that” . . .

At that moment I couldn’t have pictured the precious relationship I would be blessed with over the next 27 years.

I often reminded Marv of that moment, because it would make him laugh, and his laughter was pure delight to me. His biggest laugh came when I was doing the splits 8 inches above the lake with one foot on the shore and the other in the boat. The boat rocking back and forth as he laughed so hard he cried, meanwhile there I had to wait, facing my reflection in the murky water till he could compose himself long enough to grab the oars.

Being fishing buddies, we had a lot of time to sit and chat, especially in his ice shanty sitting out on the middle of the lake. In the boat, in the car or truck to and from our fishing trips, he took me to other places and times telling me of his adventures with his brothers, life on the farm, the music at the old Ebenezer church when he was “just a young lad”.

Cooking together in the kitchen we would swap stories and try to figure out problems . . . Like his squirrel trap . . . You see, I love squirrels and he loved squirrels to be far, far away. I’ll never forget the night that he was trying to come up with an improvement because of it not working right . . . And I told him, jokingly, that it probably would work better if I would stop letting the squirrels back out of it . . .

There are so many memories of special times and day to day joys with him that I could share, if there was time. Through those times he became a second father to me. Marv has touched so many with his love, care, and friendship, I am grateful to have been one of those he opened his heart to.

So today, I celebrate him, and his life . . . Both here and in heaven.