Dudleys Diary

Dudley's stepfather passed away one week ago today. He was at home under hospice care and was surrounded by his family. Howard was 92 years old. He and Dudley's mother were married for 35 years. Howard graduated from TCU with a degree in physics. He was in the Army reserves when his unit got called up soon after the US entered WWII. He went to England where he was trained to set up and operate the first generation of radar. He received a direct commission to second lieutenant in the Signal Corps. He returned to the US and was shipped out to Hawaii then to Iwo Jima, Leshima, Saipan and Okinawa. As a first lieutenant, he commanded a platoon of 50 radar operators. After the war, he went to work for New York Life Insurance Company. He became a Chartered Life Underwriter and was a life member of the Million Dollar Roundtable. He retired in 1996 with the distinction of being a 50 year agent. Howard was one of a kind and had many hobbies which included woodworking, making mineral spheres and tumbling/polishing rocks, hiking, catching snakes and turtles. For many years, his favorite hobby and the one that Dudley shared and enjoyed with him was riding Honda dirt bikes. Howard owned a Trail 90, SL70, XL100, XL125 and an XL 250. We had great fun riding the bikes together up in Estes Park Colorado, down at South Padre Island on the beach and closer to home at the Flying P Ranch, my uncle's ranch in Palo Pinto County and up near Lake Grapevine. When Dudley was in college, Howard gave him one of the best presents he ever received. A mint Remington model 700 .243 caliber deer rifle. No one ever appreciated and used a present more. Dudley and Frank have taken around 40 deer with this gun since and are not through yet. Thank You Howard for all of the good times and the memories. You will be missed.