Allen Strasbaugh
I would like to thank everyone for coming to help celebrate the life of my grandpa, Darryl Jack Strasbaugh. I am sure he would have loved all of his friends and family. My grandpa was a great man. He was the type of person who wouldn’t hesitate to help a person in need. There are so many words that come to mind when I think of him – caring, faithful, hard working, funny, story teller and family man. These are just some of the words that describe him, but it is impossible to summarize just how great a man he was. He proudly served our country for over thirty years in the U.S. Army fighting in both WW 2 and Korea. He retired as a Chief Warrant Officer, Grade Four.My earliest memories of him were spent at his house helping him to make my tent out of card tables that I would nap in, hitting a bucket of golf balls in the yard or the countless hours spent in the pool on Saturdays. One of my favorite memories was when he would take me to the doctor to get my shots. I hated shots. To distract me while the nurse gave me the shot, he would put a big piece of tape on his arm. When they went to stick the needle in, he would let me rip the tape off his arm. My goal was to always try to have more hair on the tape then I did on the last time.These are some of the memories I will cherish for the rest of my life. I loved to hear stories of his childhood and the time he spent in the military. I could spend hours with him sitting on his porch, listening to his stories. I knew I could always count on him if I needed anything. From taking me to Boy Scouts, getting my haircut or going to get a new pair of shoes. He was always there for me.As college and work started taking up more of my time, I was not able to spend as much time with him as I wanted. But we tried to go to the gym together eat lunch a couple times a week.I learned a lot from him over the years, things I will never forget. Writing this was probably the hardest thing I have ever done but I am sure he would not want us to be sad that he is gone but glad that he lived a full life. I was truly lucky though, most people will go their entire life never meeting their hero, but I was luck enough to spend the last twenty-seven years with mine.