Would be Dad's 94th!!! 1916-2001

My Dad would be 94 today as he was born in 1916 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was named after his father so he became the William P. Lanphear III---and he followed in his father's footsteps becoming an arborist and helping run the family tree business in South Euclid, Ohio. He went to Case Western Reserve U. and majored in biology and married my mom in 1941. Her dad has just recently died and her mom had cancer so they married in her family home. His dad took her entire family under his wings and helped her sisters to go to college---quite a feat for woman in those days! Dad was drafted and spent two years in the service over in France during WWII. It was hard on mom while he was gone and they wrote back and forth faithfully. I have some of their letters from those years and treasure them.. Reading them gave me many insights into them as young people and who they were before I knew them...they seemed so much more tender toward each other in the letters than as I knew them. They were devoted til the day the died to each other, but much of their softer ways had been worn away sadly due to illnesses and raising of us four hellions!

Pictures are placed on an antique "shaving mirror " which was his that I have now. Top left clockwise are: Dad in army, mom and dad on their wedding day, dad in elementary school, mom and dad on Halloween as a chimney sweep and dad as a witch, dad with his "cool long hair" , dad on his mom's lap as a baby, and dad as a young father---the one on lower right side behind mirror is dad in is twenties.,one in the middle is of mom and dad. Not the best of shots here but I wanted to honor him and get it done today so here it is with part of my arm in the mirror:)