Given to and read outload to Jerry April 25, 2019

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Dear Dad,

I want you to know how much I love you. As I have grown older, I have realized how important you have been to my own formation as a person. I trace my interest and success in software engineering to your own skill and success as an engineer. You gave to me a love of math, science, and logic that I am delighted to see continue on in Katrina and Ellery. I always think of you as building things. I remember you welcoming my own interest in learning how to do the same and patiently teaching me how to use the different tools in your shop.

I remember your love of being at the Ridge. There was always a project going on there - brush to clear, water to get from the spring, the cabin to build, a bee hive to raid, or the vineyard to tend. I remember many trips to the river for a swim or going outside in rain gear during the winter to tend the burn pile. I realized later that this all came from a mixture of a love for nature, a deep curiosity for how things work, and a passion for a certain form of self-sufficiency all of which I see within myself.

You have been my role model as a gentle man with a deep commitment to his family. I learned from you the value of unconditional love, and staying together when things gets difficult even when it’s not clear what more there is to say.

I also carry with me your concern for both your fellow man and for the planet we all share. I learned from you to focus on fairness and to work to ensure that we all have what we need rather than focusing on any sort of extravagance or excess. From you have I learned that it is more important to minimize my negative impacts on others and the world than to focus primarily on making my own mark. The world is a better place for you being and having been a part of it. I aspire to continue following in your footsteps.

Thank you for all these gifts you have given me.

With all my love,

Nathan