Oh my goodness! I am so saddened! I don't get to the forums regularly these days and I just saw this. I will never forget Carol's warmth and sweetness, nor how she made me feel welcome in her home one evening after an Ashdown workshop. She had a lovely home and garden - but most special was her charming self. I was thinking of her recently and wondering why we no longer saw any posts from her anymore. Such a loss.

I remember John Starnes writing about him in the old St Pete Times. Condolences on the loss of your mentor, Ricky.

Thanks again to all. Rob333 spoke of the wonder in his eyes. That is pretty much true. Several people spoke at the remembrance gathering about how he always approached life with an almost-childlike sense of wonder. That was part of why all the grandkids loved him so. My sister-in-law told a story of how at the end of a hike she saw her daughter placing several rocks on the floor of the car and said you can't bring all those rocks home, and her daughter pointed at the floor of the car where my father was sitting and said, "But grandpa has just as many." :-) Also in the last few days at the hospital he would tell of a fascinating documentary he had just seen about monarch butterflies. Or remember various interesting rocks he had found over time: One that might be a dinosaur tooth, one that could be a stegosaurus back plate, another that has a interesting artery-like branching structure in it. Or remember a motorized bicycle he built at age 20 and describe it in enough detail that I think I could build one from his description. I'm not sure he's made it into heaven. Likely he will have got as far as the gates, noticed that they are uneven, that they don't latch smoothly, and that one of the hinges squeaks slightly, and will have set to work to fix them. And right now the gates are off their hinges, leaning against the wall, the latch is dismantled in a box nearby. Meanwhile he's designing a counterweight system to make them easier to move, and he's waiting for a 410 stainless steel rod and several top grade stainless tapered roller bearings he ordered to fashion a stronger sag-proof hinge that will work without squeaking and last for eternity. This could take a while. :-) This post was edited by bob_cville on Thu, May 22, 14 at 23:19

They lived next door. My Mom and my brother still do. My Dad was surrounded by the people he loved and who loved him. It hasn't been as tough on me as I thought it would be. This is something I have been very afraid of for many years. But I'm handling it well, and my Mom is doing real good. That might change after all the family has left. But for now I'll take the peace of knowing he is finally resting. I would like to thank everyone here for the kind words and the thoughts and prayers. We really appreciate it. I need to spend more time over here instead of on Facebook. It just didn't feel right to post this on FB, but it did here. I try to come over here at least every couple of days. So even if I don't post and you don't see me, I'm still here. I appreciate each and every one of you. And I can post now without feeling like I need to cry. Pooh Bear