Sunday, April 19, 2015

Goodbye Dad

Most of my friends already know, but on Thursday, my dad, Ralph Liebenthal, was reunited with my mother, after being separated for 16 years.

He was born and bred in Milwaukee, where he lived his entire life.  He graduated from Rufus King High and went to UW-Milwaukee for a couple of years before enlisting in the Navy.  When his stint was done, he returned to Milwaukee and started working for the Milwaukee Journal, where he met my mother.

They married in 1963 and moved into a home in West Allis, where he lived for the next 53 years. We found out years later, that our home was just a couple of miles north of the land settled by the Liebenthal Brothers, our ancestors who had immigrated here from Germany a few years after the end of the Civil War.

Dad left the Journal when I was young and worked for a number of various graphic arts suppliers, as one company got bought out after another.  He retired in 2001.

Dad and I didn't see eye to eye on many topics.  Hell, we couldn't even agree on fish fries - he liked tartar sauce and I liked squeezed lemons.  One of the major areas of disagreement was politics.  My dad was a staunch conservative and I, of course, am the polar opposite.  But to his credit, he did have his limits.  He was the first to sign a recall petition for me and voted against Scott Walker in the last two elections.

But one thing we always agreed on was that family came first.  Whether it was giving a ride, lending money or doing the yard work, we always put our differences aside and pulled together and did what had to be done.

While he might not have been a war hero or successful business tycoon, he was a hard-working man who took care of his family the best that he could.  He lived his life and left this life on his own terms, which is all that anyone could really want.

Auf Wiedersehen, Vater.  Gehen Sie mit Gott.

11 comments:

  1. Good stuff brother, my deepest sympathies!

    ReplyDelete
  2. very nice picture and words, so sorry Capper

    ReplyDelete
  3. A wonderful memorial. So sorry for your loss.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I suspect that your dad is as proud of you as you are of your dad. So sorry for your loss.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sorry for your loss. I speak to my dad every day, thanking him for his stunning amount of work he did for us 13 kids, no one worked harder. Self employed, unbelievably hard worker. He has been gone for a decade, but I speak to him, thanking him, amazed by him, every day. You may do the same thing, I bet we all do.

    ReplyDelete
  6. "While he might not have been a war hero or successful business tycoon, he was a hard-working man who took care of his family the best that he could. He lived his life and left this life on his own terms, which is all that anyone could really want."

    I'm not sure where this country started to get it wrong. But your tribute to your dad could have been given for most middle class hard working dads. Sacrificing everyday to make life better for their kids.

    My dad passed in 1999. I fish with him every time I have a fishing pole in my hand. Thanks Dad.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey Chris, so sorry about your dad's passing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Capper, cherish these memories, and do all you can to preserve them. I lost my father in 1962 when I was young, and over the years have perforce lost almost every physical memento I once had of him. Thus my hard-learned advice: Keep copies securely locked away so you cannot lose yours. Show and tell about the ones you have at home to your friends, because they are part of you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Deepest condolences on your loss.

    ReplyDelete