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Happy Birthday, Dad!


jblosser

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Ellsworth Blosser would be 85 years young today.

He grew up Mennonite on a farm in North Lima, Ohio, went to undergrad at Goshen College in Indiana, and attained graduate and post-graduate degrees at Ohio State. Worked as a chemist and metallurgist at Battelle Laboratory in Columbus and then in the same capacity at Worthington Industries.

The man could grow one hell of a garden and could fix anything (and I do mean anything) with a motor or an engine. He also was mean with a stick welder in his hand. Sang a pretty good baritone/bass in the church choir at All Saints Lutheran in Worthington, Ohio, where he and Mom were founding members.

Never missed a single baseball game of mine, from neighborhood games at age 9 to the American Legion World Series in Carson City, Nevada when I was 18. I haven't, and have vowed not to miss any game my son plays in - it's something Dad did that sticks in my memory.

He doted on his only grandchild (my boy) for the 4 years that he knew him, and was married to my mother for 2 months shy of 46 years when death took him.

Extremely frugal, he never earned what one would deem "a lot" of money, but when he died (and mom, less than 6 months later) he left 7+ figures to their church, their schools, and a couple of other charities.

I buried him on my 40th birthday, nearly 7 years ago.

I heard this song for the first time ever the day after he died, and I damn near rear-ended a semi on Rt. 3 in Westerville because I couldn't see.

Happy Birthday Dad! Me and Jr. miss you a lot!

Sorry for being long-winded, and perhaps boring, but it's something I wanted to do.

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j, I lost my dad June 6 of '05, and yesterday was his birthday. One of my bros made a memorial dvd with a Alan Jackson tune playing, and to this day I can hardly listen to it and keep my shit together. So keep him in your heart so close that when your song plays it still tightens the heart up.

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Nice man!!

My dad passed very recently on 6/5/12. He was married 45 years and passed at age 65.

He either went to every track meet that I was in or he was one of the coaches for baseball and football. Going aways back, he was an assistant Scout leader.

From my dad, I got the love of cars and motorcycles.

The song that gets me to tears is one by a group called "Mercy Me" title is I Can Only Imagine. The first 3 notes get me since I know the rest of the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_lrrq_opng

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I have to admit that I had been avoiding reading this thread. My dad is still kicking, but I lost my mom in 1997 (I think, I actually try to forget the date) and there are some little things that set me off bawling like a baby about it.

Last Friday night was the start of the relay for life here in Johnstown. My mom died of colon cancer, so the cause is very near to my heart, on top of the many others that I know that have been affected by cancer. Anyway, we were there when they did the luminary ceremony, and I just about lost it. During the silent lap around the track they had a bagpiper playing Amazing Grace. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to make it through hearing that song played on bagpipes again.

It sounds like you have some really great memories of your father, and that he instilled a strong set of values with you. Hang on to that.

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