A Note of Thanks for Father’s Day

Prior to Memorial Day, we posted an article about Jack’s Dad, Ivan Miller. For those of you who liked, commented and shared that story, thank you. He meant so much to so many people. If you missed it, I have added the link. As Father’s

Day approaches, I’d like to share my dad’s story.

My dad, Norman C. Stranberg, hitchhiked to Fort Worth in 1956, after landing a job with General Dynamics. He had a grand total of $2 in his pocket, and called the YMCA “home” until he earned his first paycheck.

It was his experience during the Korean War that had propelled his career forward. He enlisted in the Air Force and was stationed in Japan as a draftsman. After leaving the armed forces, he went to school on the GI Bill, completing his engineering degree at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

This was a momentous occasion in the Stranberg household; Norm was the first person to graduate from college. He was born in 1930, in Jamestown, New York, to a Swedish immigrant homebuilder and an Irish-American girl from Tennessee.  Because building projects were few and far between during the Great Depression, Norm and his family moved to Mountain City, Tennessee.

Norm was the middle of three children, and was described by most as bright, ambitious, and an over-achiever. He was not above stripping bark off trees after school, and selling the bark to pharmaceutical companies so he could earn a little money for his family ...  FULL ARTICLE HERE