Originally posted on IG on April 8, 2023

When was the last time you wrote a letter? Dad was a prolific letter writer. I know he wrote some to mom and I have some of my own. But beside sending a note to a loved one, Dad utilized letter writing to develop his research before there were virtual databases and of course Wikipedia. For anyone who has been excited to learn an athlete or celebrity is from your hometown, you might be able to credit Dad for that info. As you can see there were many iterations of query letters dad sent out requesting background information always relating to high school and more. In some instances this helped dad develop lessons in his classroom but originally was done to produce publications summarizing the data from his research. There are hundreds of letters! As a kid, I remember cases of index cards on which dad hand-wrote lists of athletes and others with the info he gathered with his letters. Dad started self-publishing booklets with his colleagues. The last couple pictures might be Dad’s first ever publication with two of his heroes, Bill Schroeder and Buddy Dyer. The fact that those two icons listed Dad as a co-researcher must have been quite the honor.

As you can see, Dad was interested in more than just sports. Dad loved people and I believe his research was meant to help others always feel at home.
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Dad passed away just before 11:00am 1 year ago today. When he was first diagnosed with cancer I relied on a familiar process of letter writing to help Dad. We both loved @jfrank2308 of @uclafootball. He had just been drafted by the @packers when I wrote the letter to him and yet he took time to write a special note to Dad. And #jetski if you see this: Dad absolutely cherished that letter. He brought it up constantly. And maybe, a man who wrote so many letters is exactly the sort of person who could appreciate receiving one, but I think reality is we all feel special when we receive a personalized note. And that is something Dad could do better than just about anyone.

Dad, I love you more than you will ever know (his eternal word to me). I miss you everyday. And I know I’m not the only one.