Here's the slideshow. Enjoy! Feel free to comment with any special memories you have of my dad. It's always nice when people reminisce with us about him....especially since he died when we (his kids) were young adults, and before we were married or had kids. So, the memories we share are the only way his grandkids can get to know him.
For those of you who don't know my dad as well, let me explain all the car photos in the slideshow. My dad loved cars....especially classic and antique cars. He completely restored a 1935 Ford Phaeton and won many awards at car shows for the awesome job he did. This was his "baby." In the slideshow, that's the green one (the yellow one is the same car before he restored it). He also had a 1942 Ford (the white one in the slideshow) and a 1967 Mustang (if I'm remembering the year correctly).
After note: Check out the comments (below this paragraph to the right, click on "comments"). People have shared some great memories of my dad. Feel free to add your own.
8 comments:
Great job on documenting Bob's life Suzie.
He is a man I learned so much from.
My earliest memory was driving the go-cart he made, I looked forward to visiting my grandparents hoping John and Thom were out playing. He would challenge me to do things like climb up a pole to ring the huge bell you had, or climb one of your trees. I learned about drafting when he drew up the plans for Cinnamons barn, and about construction when we built it. I asked many questions, he always took the time to explain. Another thing he taught me was how to tie a man's neck tie (Thom and I had to wear a tie to school on game days). I still think of him when I put one on, or when I put one on Ryan. Oh and how could I forget he showed Thom and I how to write code in the Commodore 64, this early instruction to computers is the basis for how I understand them to work. So many times my Dad and I were working on something, would need a tool, I'd make my way over and Bob would walk me into the garage, we would talk over the project, he would come up with the perfect tool for the job, every time. The most endearing thing I learned from Bob was how he lived his life, loving his family, taking pride in his work, and making time to have fun. He did this in a mild mattered, consistent way. I've never heard him speak down about anyone. I believe he is in a better place, and I believe one day we will meet up again.
Wow, Rob! (sniff, sniff...wipe the tears away) Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your memories of my dad. It's amazing to learn how he touched your life in so many positive ways. And I never would have known this if you didn't take the time to share. I will certainly save your words and read them over and over again to Ammon! How fortunate we are to have a friend like you! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
Suzy, I never knew your dad, but after watching the slide show, I have a pretty good idea of the kind of family man he was. This was very well done. Well done indeed.
I miss Dad everyday!! Thank you sooooo much for making this for him and of all of us to either remmember or learn about him and ALL the wonderful things he did and how amazing and wonderful he truly truly was. I can and always and forever and ever will remember the day dad finally said YES, we could get a horse. I thought he was joking with me at first, of course.....just how dads humor was. But the look in his eyes was so different from the other millions of times I asked for a horse. I'll always be thankful for ALL the hard work he had to do in ofder for us to be able to have a horse. And then there is the day when he said we could go to the Horse Auction and buy a brand spanking new saddle. I was in heaven. I'll always remember Dad teaching me how to tie differnet kinds of knots, not that I remember how to do them all now. But it was so cool to me to learn it. And how he would let us sit on the bow of the boat when we would all go sailing. And, of course, I'll NEVER EVER forget working on the cars with him. I use to love learing about all the different things about the cars from him and getting my hands dirty. He was a good teacher. I always remember Dad being so fun and loving. I use to spread a blanket out on the floor in our TV room in the Summer so he and I could sit on the floor together and watch the Tigers play baseball. Then there were ALL nights as little girls when he would always give us "2 minutes" before we went to bed. Suzie will know what I am talking about. We would just cuddle with him for a few minutes watching TV before we went to bed. It meant so much and I wouldl look forward to it every night. I was always amazed at how smart Dad was. He could do and build and fix ANYTHING!! It was amazing. He was a good, honorable man. I miss him so much everyday and I talk to him everyday. I just pray he can hear me. Oh, Thanks Rob for your awecome memories!! They were so nice to hear and learn about. Sometimes it is so hard. Like today!! But I am sooooooo thankful he is no longer in pain and suffering. He is the lucky one now. I can't wait to see him again. Someday!!! I LOVE YOU DADDY!!
Of course, I never knew your dad, but I wanted to complement your slideshow and thank you for the idea it gives me on how to honor my father for what would be his 64th birthday this year. It really is so important to share wonderful memories like these with our kids who never had the chance to meet their special grandpas.
This is such a wonderful video...so sentimental. I couldn't help getting quite teary eyed. Also, whenever I think of your dad, I HAVE to think about the restored cars. He is the only one that I recall in our ENTIRE Beauchamp family to have had such a passion for old cars. lol. Whether it be at a family reunion or coming to visit, he always drove the beautiful, restored cars! :-) I know that you miss him so very much, but each one of you has his wonderful and beautiful personality. I loved watching the video...especially the older pictures with Uncle Richard and Aunt Florence. Wow! Then, as time went on, your mom, and then all of you were in the video. You did a great job, Suzie. I know this may have been hard to do, but thank you for doing this. It just made us stop and think and talk about what a special person he was. I know that this made my dad very happy. He said it brought back so many memories. I better get, but I will say this, "Happy Birthday, Bobby!"
Love,
Renee'
Gosh, Doreen….and you thought I made you cry with the slide show!!! I was literally balling like a baby when I read what you wrote. Thanks for sharing such fond memories you have of Dad. Those are precious! We may not have him here with us physically, but he lives on in our hearts and minds as we remember and share such dear memories with each other. Thank you for sharing. I think my fondest memories are tender moments that we had together that I’ll never forget. When I was about 5 years old we were sitting in church on Easter Sunday waiting for Mass to begin. Being the girly-girl that I was, I pulled out a little mirror and comb from my little purse and started fussing with my hair. Dad gently told me to put them away and said, “You’re here for Jesus. He doesn’t care how your hair looks. He loves you either way. Jesus cares about what’s in your heart.”
I also remember when my best friend was moving clear across the country to Arizona the summer after 7th grade. I thought my heart was going to break. While we were driving one day he told me about how his best friend, Dave Schira, moved away when they were young and how they managed to stay best friends throughout the years. Not only was this reassuring, it felt good to know that he could relate and cared about what I was experiencing.
On another note, one memory I have has often been a thorn in my side. In high school I mentioned that I was getting an A minus in a class and he asked, “Why not an A?” This infuriated me because I always got really good grades by working my tail off in school, and here he was basically telling me my best wasn’t good enough. I believe he explained at the time, but I was too angry to hear it, that he felt I could do better. Kind of a back handed compliment. Perhaps this wasn’t the best way to go about it, but maybe the message must have sunk in because I did continue to get better and better grades to the point where I got all A’s throughout the last two years of undergrad and all of grad school. So, perhaps that thorn in my side helped push me to achieve my true potential….or just make me an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist!! Fortunately, Mom helped balance things out because she was always happy with my grades since she knew I was doing the best I could and that’s what mattered to her.
Those are neat memories you have, Doreen, about watching the Tigers with Dad. It’s no wonder you still love watching baseball as much as you did then!! It’s a way to feel close to Dad. I’m sure you remember when the Tigers won the World Series and Dad surprised us by suggesting we get in the car and drive downtown to celebrate with everyone (driving up and down the streets, windows down and honking our horn). What a blast it was to be in the middle of all the excitement! We were so shocked that he would do this because it was late and it was a school night!!! Dad could be really strict with us kids, but he did know how to have fun!
One thing that bugs me is that we have so few pictures of Dad. As the family photographer, he was always behind the camera. It’s really sad because pictures not only help keep memories of a person fresh in our minds, they are also the only way to show our kids what Grandpa Beauchamp looks like. I have more pictures of Ammon’s first day of life than I do of Dad’s 50 years of life!!! How crazy is that?? So, we all need to make sure we let people take our pictures….for our posterity’s sake!!
And last but not least, yes Doreen, I especially remember having “Two Minutes” with Dad each night. How special that was to get time each night to cuddle with him before going to bed. And I remember taking turns with who went first. I know there were many times the “Two Minutes” was much longer, because my arm often fell asleep. Remember that? But I certainly wasn’t complaining!! What a cool tradition we had with him. Another thing I remember was eating ice cream nearly every evening….all year long. Dad was a big fan of ice cream. I remember covering up with several blankets just so I could eat ice cream in the dead of winter!! I would be shivering like mad, but it didn’t deter me.
Well, I could obviously go on and on, but I won’t. Thanks everyone for sharing your comments and your memories! They sure do help!
Love,
Suzie
Suzie I want to thank you for the beautiful video, it brought tears, but most of all it brought back good memories and it touched my heart. As a little boy your father was always quiet and a thinker, but a real tease, and he came by that honestly. There was always a glint in his eyes and smile on his face. As an adult he was still quiet, a thinker, a big tease, but he also became a kind, thoughtful and sentimental man. Again thank you for the video what a beautiful tribute for the man we knew and loved. Most of his adult life he was called Bob, Dad, maybe even Robert, but to me he will always be Bobby my cousin.
Love to You, Your Mother and Your entire family. How proud he must be of all of you.
Betty Lou
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