Yesterday we celebrated the life of our Father Alan Sr, exactly how he would have wanted it, simply, surrounded by friends and family. We even had the pleasure of meeting a few of you. We know we can never come close to his beautiful words, but we will try and keep up on some posts to keep his memory alive. Continue to share his love of nature and fishing through his photography, and stay connected with all of you, the community that loved and supported him for many years. Thank you all for the tremendous outreach and kind words, they have been so comforting to our family. Pops wouldn't have wanted all this fuss, but if anyone in the world deserves it, its him.
I've finished life's chores assigned to me,
So put me on a boat headed out to sea.
Please send along my fishing pole,
For I've been invited to the fishin' hole.
Where every day is a day to fish,
To fill your heart with every wish.
Don't worry, or feel sad for me,
I'm fishin' with the master of the sea.
We will miss each other for a while,
But you will come and bring your smile.
That won't be long you will see,
Till we're together you and me.
To all those that think of me,
Be happy as I go to sea.
If others wonder why I'm missin'
Just tell 'em I've gone fishin'.
~Dalmar Pepper
Alan, we were glad to be there - but of course it would have been better in other circumstances.
ReplyDeleteCan you tell us, maybe another time, about your father's role as a medic in Vietnam?
He was such a quiet and sweet guy, none of us knew he had served and while I expect he probably never wrote about this - I think it would be a special honor to him for us to remember his contribution in times long gone by.
I am so sorry for your loss Alan Jr.
My best to you and your family.
Hope to see you again soon!
Geoffrey Day
It was great meeting you Geof, and thank you for the goodies. Pops never really spoke much about his time in the war, only the good times and trouble he got into, during his time at basic in Texas for the most part. He was very quietly proud of his service to his country.
DeleteAlan Jr.
A fitting poetic tribute.
ReplyDeletethank you, Mark. We tried to keep as Pops would have wanted it.
DeleteThank you Alan Jr.. and a very beautiful gesture on your part and I will always be visiting your page permanently, which has left me a profound mark of friendship and knowledge... A hug
ReplyDeleteThank you Armando. We will try and keep you all updated as much as we can. Hugs back to you from all of us.
DeleteTo paraphrase another wonderful writer taken too soon -Douglas Adams, "So long and thanks for all the fish!"
ReplyDeleteAlan Jr., your father left quite a mark here in his time. So many of us shared so much with him, yet never met the man face to face. I hope you and your family can draw some measure of happiness from knowing just how much his words and pictures meant to a lot of people. The world needs more Alan Petrucci's.
Thank you, Mike. Our family is finding much comfort in all the wonderful comments and tributes that we have received in memory of Pops. We always knew how amazing he was to us, but maybe never knew just how much he meant to so many. Even more than I think he ever could have imagined.
DeleteAlan was the person who through his blog, "Small Streams Reflections", inspired me to create "Achalabrookies", our passion for fly fishing and Salvelinus Fontinalis united us. The thousands of miles that separated us, I live in Argentina, seemed not to exist when we commented and shared collaborations for our blogs. Over time we came to treat each other as "my friend" something that was an honor for me and I will always value.
ReplyDeleteI will miss Alan very much but at the same time he will also continue to be present because generous people like him are not forgotten.
My respectful regards to his family
Humberto Zilocchi
Alan Jr. and Family, my condolence's in the loss of your father, husband, and grandfather.
ReplyDeleteWe all long for another minute or just one more cast. At the end of the day Alan Petrucci gave more to us than he received, I wish him a peaceful journey.
I never met Alan personally. I developed a close friendship with him the 12 years he and I shared numerous emails and comments through the inspiring post he shared with all of us. I will truly miss him!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing ---the words I typed so many times after one of his post!
Dear family Ken Elmer is the author of the blog “Millers River Fly Fishing” and wrote a nice piece about Alan I thought you might like to read. Ken is based in Massachusetts.
ReplyDeletehttps://millersriverflyfishingforum.blogspot.com/
Hi Alan jnr., Candace and of course Jeanette Petrucci
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you gave Alan snr. a wonderful send off, thank you for sharing this moment with Alan's online friends.
Take care and stay safe
Alistair
Hi Alistair,
DeleteThank you for the kind words and the beautiful card that you send. It is much appreciated.
How nice that you will continue your father's blog, I was hoping for a continuation. I have followed SSR for a few years and always enjoyed each posting, with Alan's pictures of brookies, flies and food. He responded to a recent comment that I had made that he was glad to see that I got the simplicity meaning in his post. I think of him as a fine man.
ReplyDeleteI'm still heart-sick. I felt like I knew him. How lucky we were to have had his blogs.
ReplyDeleteAlan's enthusiasm and encouragement have meant a lot to me. I will miss him and look forward to anything new to share here. My thoughts are with you.
ReplyDeletea fitting tribute to a great man, many times in the past we have shared stories across the great pond that separates us. Rest easy my friend Kind Regards George (scotland)
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
ReplyDelete