Harold Dale Dale Cain

Harold Dale Cain was born April 10, 1920 on a farm near Mountain View, Missouri, parents were Morton and Ava Cain. Siblings were William, Franklin, Lannette and Joy. He went to Maxwell Public School in Maxwell, Nebraska and participated in all sports. He also faithfully attended church. Following school, his 2 years in the CCC in carpenter and leader training set him on his career path. But first it was interrupted by a 4 year tour in the Army during WWII during which he spent 2 years in Europe as a Sergeant in Personnel. Maxine Miller had entered his life by this time and they were married on May 17, 1943.

Living in Denver he and Maxine started a family of 4 children. Dale worked as a carpenter, usually as foreman, for various small contractors in Denver. He built two homes on evenings and weekends in which the family was raised. His final 25 years were spent with F. R. Orr company as a superintendent for large construction projects including schools, shopping centers and office buildings. His job sent him to temporary assignments in Kansas City and Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Following retirement at 65, Dale enjoyed many auto-travel expeditions with Maxine around the US and Canada and they both spent many days in the mountains trout fishing lakes and small streams. He spent nearly every day working in his shop building and refurbishing furniture, building beautiful jewelry boxes, and making all kinds of gadgets and puzzles for giving away. Being the ultimate tinkerer, he also loved repairing mechanical and electrical things and figuring out how they worked, often having to make his own tools and parts to do the repairs. Dale was especially proud of building a model Napoleonic coach from a set of Fisher Body plans that he had obtained as a teenager. That project took several years.

Later in life, a muscle-wasting illness, inclusion body myositis (Google-it) slowly took away his tinkering capabilities so he turned his passion to computers. Even after a fall confined him to a wheelchair when he was 90, he continued to daily wheel out to his shop to do email, web-searches, and learn more about computers. His biggest project on the computer was writing an 83-page autobiography. He loved to burn discs with music, photos and movies for family members. Dale also loved watching the Broncos play football and was able to enjoy their dramatic win the evening before his passing.

Survived by Maxine, wife of 72 years, sister Joy, and by children Neva Blubaugh (Jim - deceased) , Roger (Alice) Cain, David (Debbie) Cain, Debra (Gary) Christlieb, and by 11 grandchildren Becky Castor (Tom), Jason Cain (Sheila), Lori Blubaugh , Mark Blubaugh (Vanessa), Tim Blubaugh (Lumiko), Tess Smeltz (Stephen), Dillon Christlieb, Sadie Christlieb, Stacie Dalpe (Dustin), Whitney Ratzell (Shane), Eric Cain, and 9 great-grandchildren, Anna, Madison, Evan, Lily, Nina, Dane, Delaney, Annaliese and Oliver.

Passed away on Nov. 2, 2015 in Denver, CO. Survived by Maxine, wife of 72 years, children; Neva Blubaugh (Jim - deceased), Roger (Alice) Cain, David (Debbie) Cain, Debra (Gary) Christlieb, 11 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren and sister Joy. A memorial service will be Thurs., Nov. 12 at 10:00 am at Olinger Moore Howard, burial at Ft. Logan at 1:30 pm.

THE TRAIN

At birth we boarded the train and met our parents,

and we believe they will always travel on our side

However, at some station

our parents will step down from the train,

leaving us on this journey alone .

As time goes by,

other people will board the train;

and they will be significant:

our siblings, friends, children,

and even the love of our life.

Many will step down

and leave a permanent vacuum.

Others will go so unnoticed

that we don't realize

they vacated their seats.

This train ride will be full of joy,

sorrow, fantasy, expectations,

hellos, goodbyes, and farewells.

Success consists of having a good relationship

with all passengers

requiring that we give the best of ourselves.

The mystery to everyone is:

We do not know at which station

we ourselves will step down.

So, we must live in the best way,

love, forgive, and offer the best of who we are.

It is important to do

this because when the time comes for us to step down

and leave our seat empty

we should leave behind beautiful memories

for those who will continue to travel on the train of life.

I wish you a joyful journey on the train of life.

Reap success and give lots of love.

More importantly, thank God for the journey.

Lastly, I thank you for being one of the passengers on my train

THE OLD WOODWORKER

Across a bench covered with shavings and tools,

Through passionate eyes his gaze is cast.

With thoughts of children and their toys of wood,

His mind meanders through many times past.

When things that stopped working weren’t cast to one side,

Or, though failing, just given a shove,

But repaired and recycled and even redesigned

And with a new lease of life, were re-loved.

Now, though they’re all gone – the boys with their toys

and little girls playing with dolls – so intense,

There are others here now to fill in the void

and delight in the wonders that Grandpa invents.

For he’ll take up some pine or whatever’s at hand

And look along the grain to see if it's straight.

From there will emerge something truly unique

But to gaze on its beauty we’ll patiently wait.

As the morning sun shines through glistening dew

and reflects on his face while he dreams far away,

He warms to the thought of new projects to make

and so, he begins another new day

Carpenter’s Prayer

They say home is where the heart is.

He constructed the home that kept us safe.

He hugged us with the walls he built around us.

He protected us by putting a roof over our heads.

He taught us to measure twice and cut once.

He gave us the tools to create our own blueprints and build our futures.

He was tough on us so we could be strong.

He laid the cement walkway and hung the door that greeted us and welcomed us in.

He shared glimpses of his tenderness in the detail and craftsmanship he put into the gifts he crafted for us.

His love was poured into the foundation of this family, leaving a legacy 25 bricks strong.

His tanned, weathered face was proof of how hard he worked to provide for us.

His rough and callused hands weakened and softened over time and could work no more, but they never stopped giving us a firm, loving squeeze.

His heart and soul live on in the place we call home, and he can be proud of the legacy he built.