My Dad, Happy Father's Day

 This is my dad, Grant Murray

He was born: December 6, 1931 in Wellsville, Utah

He passed: September 24, 2006 in Pocatello, Idaho

Dad passed away from Colon Cancer. 

 I love this picture, I love the soft colors and I love the look on my dads face, this reminds me of him. 

We usually took a yearly vacation when I was young. This particular vacation was to North Dakota to visit my Aunt Jean and Uncle Glen.

Some of the vacations we took over the years were to:
Yellowstone National Park
Mount Rushmore
Crazy Horse Memorial
Bedrock Village, South Dakota
North Dakota
Red Fish Lake in Stanley Idaho
Camping
Preston and Cub River Idaho
We went regularly to see our grandparents in Preston idaho

Dad taught us how to water ski. He would go out into the lake with us, lift us up by our life jacket and push us up as the boat moved forward.

He took us fishing at American Falls Reservoir and dam.

Dad became a farmer after all if his children were grown. We never had horses while we were growing up.

Dad was an avid hunter and went Elk and Deer hunting every year. Another way he put food on our table. 

 I also love this picture of a young girl who really wanted her fathers love. Yes, this is me draped over my dad and my mom holding a 2nd cousin with my cousins wife Carol. 

 My dad always grew a big garden for his family of 5 children. We also had a root cellar for items we didn't can. 

One memory of my dad in the garden is when he squished bugs off of plants with his fingers. It always grossed me out. 

 My dad and his 2 sons, Lyle and Richard

 Fortunately my brothers were taller then my dad's own 5'8" height. 

 My dad was a huge fan of baby boys. I believe this picture is of him holding Kevin. 

It was kind of sad when I had my son, Jason as the first grandson. My sister Cindy who at that time had 4 daughters called him after the birth of Jason and told him about my son. He said, "Yea, I love you" to Cindy which broke her heart because she didn't give my dad a grandson. Every time she called him about the birth of one of her daughters his reply would be, "Can't you grow a spout on one of them?". He was prouder of his sons and grandsons then girls. 

 Dad with his daughters, going youngest to oldest in picture: Sondra, Cindy and Christine

 It's always rare to see pictures of me with my dad. This is a good one with my sister Cindy, Dad and me, Sondra.

 One of my favorite pictures of dad with his grand children at my sister Christine's wedding. 

Dad is holding Laura, Robin is next to Dad, Michele is the red head holding my son, Jason and the blonde in front is Tracy.

The girls are my sister Cindy's daughters and I had the first grandson, Jason. 

That's such a cute picture of my baby Jason. 

 My dad hold Jason at his farm. 

 Dad holding Brady, with Jason and me, Sondra

A good face forward picture of Dad. 

 Quite the look he's giving Brady. but a good one of Brady. 

 My parents divorced when I was a junior in high school. Unfortunately, most of my childhood/teenage years were of my parents fighting, my dad leaving and living somewhere else. When they finally got a divorce it was a relief that they were moving on.

Dad re-married in my senior year to Joan. He basically left our family unit and he was pretty much gone as our father. He raised Joan's kids more then he did us. 

The one thing I really hated is that he basically quit being my father. He never called. If we needed something it was always us reaching out to him. It's really sad. 

This is a picture of my favorite grandpa (my Mom's dad) and my dad. My grandpa died when I was 5 years old, but I loved him a lot. 

My dad worked for Idaho Power starting out as a lineman, then while I was growing up he was the dispatcher that called in power outages. I remember going to see him at work and the whole wall in front of his desk was a grid of Pocatello with lights on it that showed the power was working when the light was green and red when the power was out. It always reminded me of Christmas lights. 

While we visited Dad, the kids would go downstairs to the employee lounge and play pool. There was a pool table down there and my brothers and sisters has such a fun time playing pool.

My dad worked all the time. He also had a side business called Murray's Electric that repaired electric water heaters. He also served in church callings which meant he was always gone doing something. He was very kind and generous to retired people and usually did their service for free. 

He was a handy man, there wasn't anything he couldn't fix. 

I took this picture at the parade yesterday of an old Idaho Power truck, similar to the truck my dad drove. 

Here is Dad's obituary:

Grant Murray, 74, longtime resident of Pocatello area passed away Sunday morning September 24, 2006 at home following an extended illness. He was born December 6, 1931 in Wellsville, Utah a son of Robert and Edith Murray.

When he was a young boy, his family moved from Wellsville to Clifton, Idaho and then to Preston Idaho where he attended schools and graduated from Preston High School. He served int he U.S. Air Force for four years. 

On August 2, 1955, he married Zoey in Preston, Idaho. They later divorced. He married Joan Edwards on December 12, 1980 in Pocatello, Idaho. He worked for Idaho Power Company for over 35 years retiring as a service supervisor. He was a member of the L.D.S. Church and served in various callings. He liked fishing, hunting and all kinds of animals on is farm. He especially loved his horse. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends. 

He is survived by his wife, Joan Murray, Pocatello, Idaho, 2 Sons, 3 daughters, a stepson, 2 step-daughters. 2 brothers Robert and George, a sister Lorraine, a special niece Donna, 22 grandchildren and 9 great grand children. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister Arlene. 

Funeral services will be conducted Thursday, September 28, 2006 at the LDS 37th Ward Chapel (Hwy 91 North) with Bishop Johnson officiating. Interment will be in the Mendon, Utah Cemetery at 3:30 pm with military graveside rites provided by the American Legion. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Manning-Wheatley Funeral Chapel.