He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on Dec. 23, 1943. He served for two years as a radio operator aboard the Destroyer U.S.S. Converse DD509 assigned to the "Little Beaver" Squadron, seeing duty in the Asiatic-Pacific and the Philippine campaigns. He was employed by the Chicago and North Western Railroad for 45 years in the transportation department, starting as a telegraph operator in 1940 and retiring in 1985 as director of operations control, having held various positions within that span of years.
A Daughter's Tribute
Who would have thought it? Discussing laundry, recipes, and such with my father but that is exactly what occurred when Mom passed away. We talked about sorting laundry, which neither one of us did, what bathroom cleaner we used and he even asked for my "secret" spaghetti sauce recipe.
The summer after Mom passed away Dad and I took a road trip to Iowa; as I fondly call it, to look for "dead people" for our family history research. We visited Cedar Rapids, where we lived for a short time years ago. He showed me the house we lived in; stores we shopped in and he visited the railroad office he once worked in. He knew of all the towns in Iowa that we visited and had a story for each one. While searching in a small cemetery in Covington, Iowa just outside Cedar Rapids, he suddenly hollered "Hey it's Virgil!" Since I wasn't looking for a Virgil I couldn't imagine what he was talking about. He had found the grave of Virgil Coonrod. Virgil had owned and operated Coonrod's Towing in Cedar Rapids. Virgil and Dad devised a way to upright derailed train cars in the winter months, which could be miserable in Iowa. Virgil became his friend and colleague. We stopped by Clinton on the way home but both of us were saddened to see that the home and neighborhood we lived in years ago was not the same. I will always remember this trip; the brutal heat, mosquitoes, the dinner conversations each night and the miles we walked in these cemeteries to find the headstones on my list. He wouldn't give up until we found every one of them!
My Dad became my confidant, my true friend. I shared my life crises with him, what happened each day at work, what projects we were doing in our home and yes, recipes and laundry!
I will miss the Sunday afternoon dinners, Saturday morning sweet rolls and coffee, watching Packer games together and the impromptu evening visits.
Goodbye my friend, rest well!
A Daughter's Tribute
Who would have thought it? Discussing laundry, recipes, and such with my father but that is exactly what occurred when Mom passed away. We talked about sorting laundry, which neither one of us did, what bathroom cleaner we used and he even asked for my "secret" spaghetti sauce recipe.
The summer after Mom passed away Dad and I took a road trip to Iowa; as I fondly call it, to look for "dead people" for our family history research. We visited Cedar Rapids, where we lived for a short time years ago. He showed me the house we lived in; stores we shopped in and he visited the railroad office he once worked in. He knew of all the towns in Iowa that we visited and had a story for each one. While searching in a small cemetery in Covington, Iowa just outside Cedar Rapids, he suddenly hollered "Hey it's Virgil!" Since I wasn't looking for a Virgil I couldn't imagine what he was talking about. He had found the grave of Virgil Coonrod. Virgil had owned and operated Coonrod's Towing in Cedar Rapids. Virgil and Dad devised a way to upright derailed train cars in the winter months, which could be miserable in Iowa. Virgil became his friend and colleague. We stopped by Clinton on the way home but both of us were saddened to see that the home and neighborhood we lived in years ago was not the same. I will always remember this trip; the brutal heat, mosquitoes, the dinner conversations each night and the miles we walked in these cemeteries to find the headstones on my list. He wouldn't give up until we found every one of them!
My Dad became my confidant, my true friend. I shared my life crises with him, what happened each day at work, what projects we were doing in our home and yes, recipes and laundry!
I will miss the Sunday afternoon dinners, Saturday morning sweet rolls and coffee, watching Packer games together and the impromptu evening visits.
Goodbye my friend, rest well!
He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on Dec. 23, 1943. He served for two years as a radio operator aboard the Destroyer U.S.S. Converse DD509 assigned to the "Little Beaver" Squadron, seeing duty in the Asiatic-Pacific and the Philippine campaigns. He was employed by the Chicago and North Western Railroad for 45 years in the transportation department, starting as a telegraph operator in 1940 and retiring in 1985 as director of operations control, having held various positions within that span of years.
A Daughter's Tribute
Who would have thought it? Discussing laundry, recipes, and such with my father but that is exactly what occurred when Mom passed away. We talked about sorting laundry, which neither one of us did, what bathroom cleaner we used and he even asked for my "secret" spaghetti sauce recipe.
The summer after Mom passed away Dad and I took a road trip to Iowa; as I fondly call it, to look for "dead people" for our family history research. We visited Cedar Rapids, where we lived for a short time years ago. He showed me the house we lived in; stores we shopped in and he visited the railroad office he once worked in. He knew of all the towns in Iowa that we visited and had a story for each one. While searching in a small cemetery in Covington, Iowa just outside Cedar Rapids, he suddenly hollered "Hey it's Virgil!" Since I wasn't looking for a Virgil I couldn't imagine what he was talking about. He had found the grave of Virgil Coonrod. Virgil had owned and operated Coonrod's Towing in Cedar Rapids. Virgil and Dad devised a way to upright derailed train cars in the winter months, which could be miserable in Iowa. Virgil became his friend and colleague. We stopped by Clinton on the way home but both of us were saddened to see that the home and neighborhood we lived in years ago was not the same. I will always remember this trip; the brutal heat, mosquitoes, the dinner conversations each night and the miles we walked in these cemeteries to find the headstones on my list. He wouldn't give up until we found every one of them!
My Dad became my confidant, my true friend. I shared my life crises with him, what happened each day at work, what projects we were doing in our home and yes, recipes and laundry!
I will miss the Sunday afternoon dinners, Saturday morning sweet rolls and coffee, watching Packer games together and the impromptu evening visits.
Goodbye my friend, rest well!
A Daughter's Tribute
Who would have thought it? Discussing laundry, recipes, and such with my father but that is exactly what occurred when Mom passed away. We talked about sorting laundry, which neither one of us did, what bathroom cleaner we used and he even asked for my "secret" spaghetti sauce recipe.
The summer after Mom passed away Dad and I took a road trip to Iowa; as I fondly call it, to look for "dead people" for our family history research. We visited Cedar Rapids, where we lived for a short time years ago. He showed me the house we lived in; stores we shopped in and he visited the railroad office he once worked in. He knew of all the towns in Iowa that we visited and had a story for each one. While searching in a small cemetery in Covington, Iowa just outside Cedar Rapids, he suddenly hollered "Hey it's Virgil!" Since I wasn't looking for a Virgil I couldn't imagine what he was talking about. He had found the grave of Virgil Coonrod. Virgil had owned and operated Coonrod's Towing in Cedar Rapids. Virgil and Dad devised a way to upright derailed train cars in the winter months, which could be miserable in Iowa. Virgil became his friend and colleague. We stopped by Clinton on the way home but both of us were saddened to see that the home and neighborhood we lived in years ago was not the same. I will always remember this trip; the brutal heat, mosquitoes, the dinner conversations each night and the miles we walked in these cemeteries to find the headstones on my list. He wouldn't give up until we found every one of them!
My Dad became my confidant, my true friend. I shared my life crises with him, what happened each day at work, what projects we were doing in our home and yes, recipes and laundry!
I will miss the Sunday afternoon dinners, Saturday morning sweet rolls and coffee, watching Packer games together and the impromptu evening visits.
Goodbye my friend, rest well!
