Me taking a picture of dad taking a picture

It seems that Dad was almost always behind the camera lens instead of in front of it.  He LOVED capturing memories on film and then looking at the pictures over and over again.  Here we are on Tori's 3rd birthday taking pictures at the same time :-)

Dad can be heard singing loud and clear as always in this rousing rendition of
"Happy Birthday"

Dad Had a Way with the Weather - One

Dad always had a way with the weather.  In all the years that we went camping for vacation when I was growing up, it never failed to rain (usually torrentially).  It seemed that whenever he came to WI in the winter, he managed to bring a hefty snow :-)

Wii bowling - February 2008

Ben and Pops duking it out in Wii bowling :-)

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Pops. I miss you and love you bunches and bunches behind my back.

Best Buddies - Ocean City - August 2007

Poppy LOVED going to watch the sunrise over the ocean. He actually managed to drag Ben out of bed some mornings to see if we could catch a glimpse of the sunrise. Not much luck on the sunrise front this particular morning, but a great time was had by all.

Best Buddies - Ocean City - August 2007

Poppy and Ben splashing in the waves at OC.
They also played about 40 rounds of minigolf, and went on a dolphin watching cruise. Ben's tummy did not so much enjoy the cruise although he really enjoyed seeing the dolphins.

Port Discovery - August 2007

Our annual trip to Port Discovery in Baltimore with Poppy and Grandmama.
After climbing, sliding, crawling, and contorting his way through the four story "tree house" with Ben (no pictures because they were just everywhere), Poppy took a break to help Tori with a computer game.

Williamsport - Summer 2007

Poppy and Grandmama traveled to Williamsport for Mike and Jeanne's 50th wedding anniversary. Tori looked spectacular in the dress that Grandmama and Poppy bought for her. The kids loved seeing them, too, as you can tell by their faces.

More winter vacation - 2007

Never a shortage of snow in the winter, Poppy takes Tori out again to play and slide down the slide. Notice the Tori lump at the bottom of the slide :-)

Tori's 2nd birthday - 2007

Since Pops spent so much time behind the camera taking pictures of the ones he loved, he usually managed to evade the camera during family celebrations.
Here are some of the pictures taken after Tori's 2nd birthday party once he set his camera down and things started to calm down.

From DeeDee

We are truly saddened by your loss. You have been truly blessed to have had such an amazing father, father-in-law, and grandpa.

From Sheala

Your Poppy Joe was sincere, intelligent, humorous, and truly a blessing to everyone he met. He'll be missed greatly.
Sheala