rrrr
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- Dec 19, 2007
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...My Dad passed away. My sister and I were holding him as he took his last breath.
Dad's health has been deteriorating rapidly over the last few months. He was down to 140 lbs, from a lifetime of 220 lbs. His memory and cognitive functions left him, and while he remembered many things in his past, the present day facilities were gone.
This man, through his genius and hard work, built a business that at one time employed over 125 sheet metal journeymen, and built projects all over the US, from a 25 story office building in Portland, OR, to huge research facilities at The Ohio State University and the Batelle Institute in Columbus, OH. There was also a 1.2 million SF Kodak film processing facility in Greeley, CO.
The industrial side of the business was impressive as well. The US government work included missile silos, laboratories at Los Alamos, and facilities at Sandia Base in Albuquerque. Beginning in 1945, Sandia Base was the sole source for the construction of atomic and thermonuclear bomb delivery systems. They constructed everything but the warheads. Dad was responsible for the design and construction of the huge ductwork at Four Corners Navajo Generation Facility, a multiple gigawatt coal fired power plant.
But his greatest legacy was what I learned from him. I began working in the shop when I was eleven years old. Over the next few decades, together we built projects that were incredibly complex and demanding. I learned and mastered a universe of skills that spanned many disciplines. This allowed me to continue learning every day, and culminated in my ownership of a technology centered general contracting firm. The data centers I built, the projects for the Navy, large financial firms, hospitals, and well known nationwide concerns, had my Dad's imprint on every one of them. I would not have succeeded to the extent I did without his incredible genius and work ethic.
I'm sharing this with my RDP family because I want you all to know of the support and guidance I have received from my Dad over the 67 years of my life. I could not have done it without him.
This is a load of ductwork headed to the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1962. It was for a new contaminated nuclear waste processing facility. That's my Dad's foreman Bill Casey, he had just parked the truck next to an entrance of the facility, and was preparing to unload it. When I turned fifteen, I was driving this rig to jobsites all over New Mexico, an example of my Dad's teaching and confidence in my abilities. Later years had large 48' "birdcage" trailers my Dad engineered and had built in the shop to haul ductwork and equipment across the country. They were pulled by International CO4070 tractors.
Dad's health has been deteriorating rapidly over the last few months. He was down to 140 lbs, from a lifetime of 220 lbs. His memory and cognitive functions left him, and while he remembered many things in his past, the present day facilities were gone.
This man, through his genius and hard work, built a business that at one time employed over 125 sheet metal journeymen, and built projects all over the US, from a 25 story office building in Portland, OR, to huge research facilities at The Ohio State University and the Batelle Institute in Columbus, OH. There was also a 1.2 million SF Kodak film processing facility in Greeley, CO.
The industrial side of the business was impressive as well. The US government work included missile silos, laboratories at Los Alamos, and facilities at Sandia Base in Albuquerque. Beginning in 1945, Sandia Base was the sole source for the construction of atomic and thermonuclear bomb delivery systems. They constructed everything but the warheads. Dad was responsible for the design and construction of the huge ductwork at Four Corners Navajo Generation Facility, a multiple gigawatt coal fired power plant.
But his greatest legacy was what I learned from him. I began working in the shop when I was eleven years old. Over the next few decades, together we built projects that were incredibly complex and demanding. I learned and mastered a universe of skills that spanned many disciplines. This allowed me to continue learning every day, and culminated in my ownership of a technology centered general contracting firm. The data centers I built, the projects for the Navy, large financial firms, hospitals, and well known nationwide concerns, had my Dad's imprint on every one of them. I would not have succeeded to the extent I did without his incredible genius and work ethic.
I'm sharing this with my RDP family because I want you all to know of the support and guidance I have received from my Dad over the 67 years of my life. I could not have done it without him.
This is a load of ductwork headed to the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1962. It was for a new contaminated nuclear waste processing facility. That's my Dad's foreman Bill Casey, he had just parked the truck next to an entrance of the facility, and was preparing to unload it. When I turned fifteen, I was driving this rig to jobsites all over New Mexico, an example of my Dad's teaching and confidence in my abilities. Later years had large 48' "birdcage" trailers my Dad engineered and had built in the shop to haul ductwork and equipment across the country. They were pulled by International CO4070 tractors.
RIP and Prayers for you and the family. Lost my dad a few years back. I cherish the memories.
