I wanted to put down some of the things that I knew about him, that maybe some people didn't know.
He liked sheep. He and Anne, his Border Collie, worked those sheep often. They did demonstrations for people. Then he got another BC named Gaelic. He was going to train her to do the same. He got me started in raising sheep. He taught me many things about them. He always called when he needed us to bottle raise a lamb because he didn't have the time with all the dog training he did. He gave his flock to me before Christmas and I am grateful for that. He was able to work Anne one last time before he became too ill. I was glad that he was able to do so. It wore him out, but he enjoyed it.
He liked to make peach jam from his peach trees. He often let me come and pick peaches to do the same. He also made others. We would swap jams and jellies. He loved baked goods.
He wanted to milk goats. I even gave him one of my milkers. He never did get around to it, but she was there in case he did. She also came back to me before he passed on. He did make cheese though and he was so excited about it. He even gave me some supplies so I could try it myself.
He liked to do home brews. He loved good food. He would often tell me of the good things his housekeeper, Nancy, would fix for him. He really appreciated her and told me that often.
He would tell me of the pigs he wanted to raise so that he could make some specially cured meats.
He was compassionate about dogs, about helping people train their dogs. He never liked to see anything suffer. He may have raised animals to eat, but he knew that they were raised well and dispatched of quickly when the time came.
He was funny. He loved to tell stories. He often told me one (and I'm sure he told many others about it) involving a lady coming up on the porch asking him to help her with a problem with her dog. She looked past him though, into the window, and said 'nevermind'. And he asked what was it that she needed. She stated that she wanted to ask him about how to train her dog to stay off of her dining room table, but noticed that Anne was standing on his, and so he must not have figured out how to do so either, lol! We just cracked up. He was full of stories like that.
He would listen to me ramble on about things in my life. He never judged, never seemed to tire of listening to me. He would give wisdom from time to time when needed.
He loved Liz. She made him so happy. His eyes lit up when he first told me that he wanted to marry her. I don't know if she knew that yet, but he sure was excited. He wasn't as excited though that she didn't like him raising animals to eat, lol. He always said that they were put here for that.
He loved sailing. He owned jet skis. He liked scenic drives and took the kids and I on a few. They were pretty.
He taught the kids about raising animals for our family to eat. He would say, "bring them with us", when I would lament that I couldn't go with him to the processors that day because I couldn't leave the kids at home. He found ways to teach in many aspects of his life. He felt it important for our kids to see the animals through to the end. My kids learned a lot and are appreciative of the time he spent with them. He would often tell me that I was doing right by them, having them learn to help us on our small farm in the country.
He loved to pay compliments to the ladies. He loved to see them smile.
Here is an article written about him not too long ago.
He was an exceptional person and I will miss him dearly.
