John is my step father-in-law. John was a very sweet man. He welcomed me into the family when Cindy and I met and helped Cindy and I and both our boys Rowan and Allen. He was a retired Veteran of the Navy and very special to me.
I'm a Veteran and I looked up to him with great respect because of his 20 years of service and his very calm personality. He was a sounding board for me when we played golf together at Moffett Field NAS. He helped fill a void for me after my own father passed away.
We will always miss him.
John, my father-in-law, has sadly passed away. Even though I have been married to his daughter for 30 years we didn’t meet up very often, since we lived on two separate continents. John and I enjoyed each other's company, and we shared the same kind of humor.
I have a lot of good memories i.e., from my honeymoon in Arnold. We shoveled snow most days and John was wearing his old Icelandic wool sweater that his former mother-in-law knitted for him 30 years before! We also had our good times in Iceland where he loved the Blue Lagoon as well as hot dogs, Icelandic style!
He always took good care of his homes and gardens. The best orange I have had was from his garden which was planted and nourished with love.
Last time we met was during last New Year’s period and even though his sickness was obvious we enjoyed each others company and quality time together. We are pleased to have spent the time with him. John was an excellent barbeque chef and gave me one the best steaks I ever had in my lifetime. We enjoyed the steaks and a lovely evening with him, Louise, Cindy, Tom and Donald.
During our visit he was mostly coherent but did not expect to live very much longer. He seemed to be quite content with that. Shortly after this visit he seems to have deteriorated considerably. Elisabet and I are very grateful for the time we spent with him where he was more or less his good old self. We got there just in time.
Due to his sickness his last months were not the happiest he lived but overall, he had a good and prosperous life.
Despite some difficulties in their communication over the years my wife Elisabet dearly loved her father and he will be a greatly missed presence in our lives. We send Louise our deepest condolences and pray that she will find comfort in the near five decades that they loved each other and all the great times they shared.
Gretar Erlingsson
Love you Dad. You will be missed. See you on the other side.
Lizzy-Tish
Thank you Rowan for capturing the service for our memories and for those who could not be here today.
https://youtu.be/1PvnHakR29k