Daddy (and Mommy) Dear I Love You So!

About three weeks ago, my parents came for a short but very enjoyable visit. We went to Coronado (which was a first for all of us), ate good food, did some nice shopping and shot the breeze. I have been doing a lot of family history work lately, which prompted my parents to tell stories about themselves and our extended family. Some of the stories I'd already heard, but it was still nice to hear them again. I think this put Dad in a nostalgic mood, because a few days ago, he wrote this biography for his high school class memory book:

High School Memories


My best memories are of the great friendships, the sports, the student government and how everything seemed hilariously funny. I’ve never laughed as hard as I did in those days.

I had the great good fortune to be assigned to Miss Hanson’s geometry class my sophomore year. After the first grading period when I received a well-earned “D”, Miss Hanson pulled me aside after class and told me to either do better or she would remove me from her class. The thought of the humiliation of being kicked out of her class got my attention. At that moment, she taught me a great lesson…that if I focused on the task at hand, I could do well. Vivian Hanson was simply the best teacher I ever had, at any level. I owe her a great deal.



The last 50 years


The years immediately after high school consisted of dropping in and out of college (wasting my parents’ money), military service, of living with my parents, of working in the family business, and of merrily accumulating the wages of a misspent youth.

In October, 1960, my life changed. I met Noreen Bright (PHS ’58). We were married the following March. With the change in marital status came a renewed focus. I received a BS (education) from ISU and two years later, an MS (Mathematics) from the University of Oregon.

Professionally, I worked in the computer software industry until my retirement in 2000. There’s not much to report of my professional life since I’ve never felt defined by what I did for a living. The only job that had any importance to me was that of a parent.

Noreen and I have three daughters, all wonderful, gifted, and decent human beings:

Dayna, a cancer survivor and computer software contractor, lives in Austin, Texas;

Diane, who after completing her fellowship in Interventional Radiology at Cornell Medical School in New York City, is practicing her specialty at Kaiser Hospital in San Diego, California;

Karen, who lives in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., is a senior copywriter for the advertising company, Organic, in mid-town Manhattan.


In 1991, Noreen and I became empty-nesters. We took a fateful trip to Oslo, Norway and upon return to Boise, we loaded up the necessities in a U-Haul, sold the remainder at a yard sale, and began our great adventure by moving (without jobs) to the hill country of Texas.

So…here we are, a couple of transplanted spuds, our roots now deep in the soil of that wonderful, wild, dynamic, funky, diverse, musical, whacky and weird city of Austin, Texas…living happily forever after.


My dad, Basil, grew up in Pocatello, Idaho, the only child of Reed and Irene Dahlstrom. His childhood sounds pretty idyllic. My dad pretty much could go and do whatever he wanted, so he and his friends had quite the rollicking time in that little town.

Noreen, my mom, grew up in Preston, Idaho (of Napolean Dynamite fame) and Pocatello. She and Dad met at a batchelor party (!). No, it wasn't my dad's party, and she didn't jump out of the cake. It was pretty much love at first sight. One of the things my dad said when they were here was that Mom was the first girl he'd been out with that wasn't superficial. She really talked to him about things. And she was good-looking to boot!

I love my parents so much. To paraphrase a Primary song: I'm very glad that he's my dad (and she's my mom); and I know (they) love me too!